Andrew Melder

Over the past few days, I’ve noticed a number of blog posts lamenting the slow death of the Arc browser as it is no longer being actively worked on. A lot of the posts are from long term enthusiastic users of the browser since its release in 2022, as Arc gained traction quickly and earned a lot of praise in its ideas of what a modern browser should be.

However with the company moving onto its next browser Dia, will those users take to its new product with as much enthusiasm?

For myself, it feels like abandoning Arc has left a question mark around why you should trust and invest the effort into any product from The Browser Company moving forward.

Sure, many who loved Arc will also try Dia once it is available to them. However, it would be foolish to go all-in on a product from a company who now has a track record of killing much loved products without a clear reason.

Browsers may be easier to migrate to and from compared to mobile operating systems as an example; but it’s still an annoyance if you have gone all in on a browser and how it works, and are now forced to give that up.

Sound familiar? That’s because its the same reputation Google has built over at least the last decade, most notably since its culling of Google Reader. Hell, there’s even a page dedicated to outlining all the products they have killed over the years.

Seemingly, The Browser Company got to that level of distrust in two years.

Much in the same way I was observing Arc from afar, I’ll be doing the same for Dia as it progresses. This time, I think many former Arc loyalists will also be doing the same.

I get it, technology progresses and handheld gaming systems are getting way more powerful than before. As a result of the new power, and higher spec screens and battery requirements; handheld devices need to naturally get bigger.

However, one of the reasons I still look at picking up a cheap Switch Lite is the size and weight is closer to one of my all time favourite devices; the Playstation Vita.

Many of the games I play on the Vita are now on the Switch. With that, and the additional of all the great games available to the Switch, there’s very little reason for me to use the Vita these days.

But my god its a far nicer handheld gaming console physically.

It’s very wishful thinking, but I do hope Nintendo has a little Game Boy Micro moment and releases a super small yet premium version of the original Switch.