With the web browser a key part of any operating system, a shift in how browsers work will impact countless users' lives. This makesHuge hiring news to share: Apple’s Safari browser has 2 lead designers. Today we’re welcoming one of them, Charlie Deets to The Browser Company team! It’s a big deal for us — and plays into a larger strategic bet we’re making in 2024.That move involves the key phrase that will be mentioned in almost every product launch: the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence.
That requires thinking about the interface desig, and that’s where hiring Charlie Deets is important. Unlike a desktop browser, any browser running on an iPhone or iPad is forced to use Apple's own Webkit rendering engine . To make any material difference in the iPhone browser experience, it cannot be made in how the pages are rendered or laid out, but instead have to be in the interface. The use of AI in the Arc Browser offers something more than a light reskinning of the WebKit browser engine to look different to Safari.
How much difference can AI make to the underlying experience? Arc can answer that, assuming The Browser Company can find a happy user base to buy into the vision.