This week the trend is Arc Search

This week the trend is reconsidering mobile search, specifically around the new Arc Search app. This mobile app comes from the makers of Arc—a web browser for the Mac. Arc is built on Chromium but has substantial customizations to it. Arc Search, on the other hand, is meant to be wildly different. It's essentially an AI search app that will run your queries in an expanded method to gather the most information it can to get comprehensive results. Then it delivers those results on a custom-built web page.

That's all well and good, but what I immediately liked the most was that it was a quick way to get to an internet search bar. I’ve used the Google widget on iOS for a while now to do this. Tap the Google widget and it launches directly to a Google search box. Then do a quick search for random info.

Since I'm becoming more reluctant to funnel more of my data into Google than is necessary, I've been looking for an alternative. This new Arc Search app kinda solves that problem. Tap the Arc Search icon and you’ll get a search bar ready to type in.

Tap "Browse for Me" and the results are delivered fast on an ad-free page.

Of course, the “Browse for Me” is also a demo of its AI research about your query. For example, a search for “when is the Super Bowl?” will not only pull in the answer but also tell you the location, teams, halftime performer, where it’s being streamed, betting odds, ticket prices, and more. It’s slick.

(By the way, if you don't tap on "Browse for Me" it will just do a normal Google search.)

Like all AI of the moment, I did get at least one result that was not truthful/correct. Mostly though, my problem has been figuring out what to ask it. I’ve been conditioned my whole digital life to turn my questions into short keywords.

Instead of wanting to type in, “when is the Super Bowl?” I knew that typing “Super Bowl” will get me the little bit of info I wanted. I’m curious to see if I can be converted into typing different types of questions into a search bar or how long it takes to change my thinking around searching.

What I’m most excited about at the moment with Arc Search though is that fast access to a search bar. This actually reminded me of a piece I wrote back in 2015—nine years ago—for The Week about how Safari’s method of mobile browsing was outdated. All the tiny toolbars and fiddly desktop features shrunken down were bad, in my mind.

The column came about because of Opera’s Coast browser had a lot of ideas about making a phone browser more simplified. Now, I see a lot of that thinking demonstrated in Arc Search, but with the buzz of AI.

If you haven’t tried Arc on Mac yet, it’s worth giving a shot. I’m not crazy about Chrome for a few reasons, but mostly because it can be a battery drainer. I’ve found Arc to be better in this regard. Plus, I can still use my iCloud Passwords with the Chrome extension.

Other things I’m thinking about this week

Apple announced that its show Hijack is being renewed for a second season. This is great but also a bit weird. When it was released as a "real-time" thriller with 7 episodes in the same 7 hours the plane flight would take, it implied this was a limited series. I mean, is Idris Elba going to be on another hijacked flight?

If I had to guess about the plot, I'd say it takes the Speed franchise approach. That is to say, a similar situation that happens while Elba is on a different method of transportation.

Regardless, I really liked the show. I reviewed it for How-To Geek when it was released. It was short and fast-paced which made any flaws easy to ignore.

Music

I've been listening to the new Goth Babe album Lola this week. It's mostly low-key and easy to work with in the background.

Not this week

In the Know is a new stop-motion show on Peacock about an NPR host. The twist, kinda, is that real celebrities are being interviewed, and are not claymation characters. It’s an interesting concept, that I thought I would be into, but wasn't/ The first episode was too satirical and overly self-aware for my taste. Overall I was left indifferent. Maybe I’ll come around to it another time, but not this week.

On the other side of the spectrum, Masters of the Air seems to be well-reviewed and generally liked. I always find it a bit hard to get excited about WWII shows or movies though. Since it’s a weekly show, I’m also trying to give it a week or two to accumulate a few episodes. It’s next on my list though.

Misc links

• Apple has confirmed Severance has resumed filming season two. This is super exciting because season one was one of my all-time favorite shows.
• The Nintendo Switch 2 should have an 8-inch LCD, according to Bloomberg. On one hand, the 6.2-inch screen on the original Switch was just a tiny bit small. But will an 8-inch screen make the whole device less portable? Also, a default LCD instead of an OLED? That’s kind of a bummer. This next-gen Nintendo console better be under $250.
• I’ve been testing the GE Smart Indoor Smoker for several weeks and I’m pretty obsessed with it. It works wonderfully. The only issue is its $1,000 price. It’s not for people who have outdoor space for a traditional smoker. For urban dwellers though, it’s amazing. Check out my full review.
• While the Rivian R2 may be announced in March, it won’t be available until 2026. (It was designed with qualifying for federal tax credits though.) It just reminds me that the product cycle for electric vehicles is unbearable. A two-year wait from announcement to shipping and then a queue once ordered. No matter which company is making an EV, there always seem to be bottlenecks and months-long waits.