Okay, here’s my experience with the Arc browser and its battery usage on my Mac, written in a casual, blog-style format:
So, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about this new browser called Arc. Everyone’s raving about its cool features and fancy interface. But I’m a practical guy. I need to know if it’s going to kill my MacBook’s battery life. I decided to put it to the test.
The Experiment Begins
First things first, I made sure my MacBook Pro (it’s a 2021 14-inch model, if you’re curious) was fully charged. I usually use Safari for basic browsing, but for the Arc browser testing, I did all activities there.
I started my day like I normally would. Checking emails, reading some news, and goofing around on YouTube. Nothing too crazy. I kept an eye on my battery percentage throughout the morning.
Mid-Day Check-In
After a few hours, I was actually pretty surprised. The battery drain didn’t seem that much worse than what I’m used to with Safari. I mean, it was definitely going down faster, but it wasn’t a catastrophic drop.
I did notice that Arc was using a decent chunk of my Mac’s resources. I popped open Activity Monitor, and sure enough, Arc was right up there, hogging some CPU and memory. But hey, that’s kind of expected with a browser that’s doing a lot of extra stuff, right?
The Afternoon Slump
The real test came in the afternoon. I had a couple of video calls, did some more intensive web browsing with multiple tabs open (don’t judge, I was researching… stuff), and even streamed some music.
And I started with Arc browser for all the video calls, researching with multiple tabs and streaming music.
This is where I really started to see the battery dip. It wasn’t a nosedive, but it was noticeably faster than what I’d expect with my usual Safari setup.
The Verdict
So, here’s the deal: Does Arc browser use more battery on a Mac? My totally unscientific, personal experience says… yes, probably a bit more.
It’s not a deal-breaker for me, though. The extra features and the overall snappiness of Arc might be worth the slightly faster battery drain, especially if you’re plugged in most of the time.
I also did switch back to Safari at some points of the day.
But if you’re super conscious about battery life and you’re often working away from a power outlet, it’s something to keep in mind. You might want to stick with Safari for those long flights or coffee shop work sessions.
My advice? Give Arc a try. See how it feels for your workflow. If the battery drain is too much, you can always go back. But you might just find that the extra features are worth the trade-off.