I tested Arc Search's Android beta, and it makes me want to ditch Chrome

There was a time a while ago when the tech world was buzzing about how cool the Arc browser was. However, us Android users were left stuck on the sidelines without access to all its coolness. After serving its iOS-exclusive spell, Arc is finally making its Android debut in beta, and I couldn’t wait to test it out. So, I did.

Its novel take on browser design and AI niceties quickly tempted me to switch away from Google Chrome on my phone. But before you whip out your favorite Android phone and download the Arc beta from the Play Store, you should know why I ultimately decided against the switch, at least for now.

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The playfulness draws you in

And what works, works

Arc Search's tab switcher on Android (left) vs. iOS

The Arc browser is a bubbly, cheery portal to the internet and not some boring tool that screams, "WORK!!" It carries that persona to the Android app as well, welcoming you with colorful slates that set the lively vibe right from the onboarding screen. That feeling spreads to the app’s settings page and other sections you’ll often use. Even the menu bar is cleaner and less densely packed than Chrome (or any other mainstream mobile browser, for that matter).

Your open tabs are arranged in large cards, mimicking Android’s recent apps screen (above), though I wish it looked more like iOS’s stacked layout, which takes far less space and scrolls to reach the right tab. Speaking of which, scrolling through the tabs gives you sharp haptic feedback, which makes it all the more pleasing to use. It’s little things like this that contribute to winning the user over. I know I got convinced — well, almost.

As its name suggests, Arc Search isn't your typical web browser. Think of it as a richer version of the Google Search app, but with tab support. Arc Search actually wants you to search the web instead of directing you to a home page like other browsers to push ads disguised as suggestions. The app starts with the cursor in the search bar and your keyboard open to eliminate any friction from the process. While you can change that, I hope Arc retains this default option and doesn't add its own front page down the line.

Arc on Android makes your life easier by even looking up the web for you with the very literally named Browse For Me feature. It’s a Perplexity-like search engine that scans over half a dozen articles to give you a quick, well-laid-out summary dotted with emoji for that extra bit of zest.

It is generally helpful for researching topics on your behalf, but it also suggested I search for Arc on the Play Store to get the beta release days before it was actually out on Android’s app store. Either it has super-human (super-AI?) qualities to see the future, or it is just cooking up things just like every other AI sometimes does. I’m leaning towards the latter.

Nevertheless, the app worked for me without a hiccup — for the available features, that is. Because there’s a lot missing.

What makes Arc, Arc?

You’ll need an iPhone to know that

Arc Search first came to iOS back in January this year. That’s a lot of months for the iOS version to mature and gain more features. That’s exactly what you’d feel when you compare the Android beta with its iPhone counterpart.

What made the Arc browser stand out are its tab management tools and AI features roster, which doesn’t seem like an afterthought, but rather an integrated part of the experience. Arc Search for iOS is far ahead in the game, while this Android beta is just starting out with the basics. For starters, Arc Sync is missing. Even though the feature is already quite limited, without it, the browser can't sync anything at all, not even your open tabs.

Another feature that I dig on the iPhone is the ability to switch between search engines after you’ve sent your query, as shown in the images below. If Google Search’s AI Overviews isn’t able to give you the answer you’re looking for, you can simply tap a button to switch to Arc’s Browse For Me. It saves a lot of taps since the entire process of opening a new tab and typing out your query is compressed into a single, swift gesture.

That's everything Arc Search on iOS has, while Android doesn't

Arc Search for iOS also has a pinch gesture to quickly summarize any webpage. It’s handy for sure, but again, no trace of it on Android. Similarly, Call Arc is a pretty cool, built-in alternative to Gemini Live, where you can interact with AI, but as if on a phone call — all the wait times between replies indeed make it feel like one. It has sort of become a theme at this point, but once again, Call Arc isn’t available on Android just yet.

I’d like to see advanced features from Arc’s desktop app, like automatic tab grouping, labeling, and folder management. All these were the reasons I switched to Arc on the desktop in the first place.

If you ask me for that one thing I want on Arc Search for Android, it would be better tab management. What you have now is automatic tab archiving, which clears your tabs after a set amount of time — the default is one day. While that keeps the clutter away, I’d like to see advanced features from Arc’s desktop app, like automatic tab grouping, labeling, and folder management. All these were the reasons I switched to Arc on the desktop in the first place.

That’s how it goes

Everybody knows

The version I tested is Arc’s first Android beta. You expect a lot of things to be missing and broken from an app this early in its development cycle. As I previously said, the beta felt snappy, and its features worked as expected. But spending some time with it has left me wanting more. I hope things change for the better by the time everyone gets to lay their hands on the stable release in the coming weeks.

Until that happens, I'm sticking to Chrome and Firefox on my phone even though I've transitioned entirely to Arc on my Mac; these missing sync features are as good as not having the mobile browser at all, as it had been until a few days ago. I’ll happily go back to my broken, cross-device setup and check back once again when the stable release is out to ensure my meticulously arranged profiles and favorites can be brought to the phone app.

But hey, at least Arc Search got a Material You-themed icon right off the bat.