I’ve always been a Google Chrome guy. Like, my entire life. Never really questioned it. It was just the browser I used, and that was that.
Then in 2022, I got my hands on the Arc browser, and honestly? That was the beginning of my problems.
Arc had this sidebar. Vertical tabs on the left instead of the tiny horizontal ones at the top. And I know this sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but once you use it, you can’t go back. There’s something about having your tabs stacked neatly on the side that just makes sense.
I was hooked.
And Then Arc Started Dying
For a while, I tried to stick with it. The browser was getting abandoned, but I kept telling myself it’s fine, I can still use this, it won’t be a problem.
Except it became a problem. On my Intel Mac, Arc started slowing down my entire system. Like, everything would lag.
So I did what I never wanted to do. I went back to Chrome.
And look, Chrome is fine. It’s fast, it works, it’s reliable. But tbh, it felt like a downgrade. I kept missing that sidebar.
Trying to Find a Replacement
In February 2025, I heard about Comet browser. Everyone was saying it’s going to be the best thing ever, so I filled out the form, joined the waitlist, got excited.
Never got an invite.
Eventually I found the .dmg file somewhere and tried it anyway. And I hated it. The browser was buggy, laggy, just not ready. I gave up on it pretty quickly.
Then I heard Dia browser added vertical tabs, and I immediately made the switch.
Now, moving to Dia was a pain. There’s no way to import bookmarks directly, and since it’s based on the Arc development kit, I tried going to arc://bookmarks to see if that would work. It kind of did. But still, rebuilding everything from scratch is annoying.
Why I’m Staying (For Now)
Here’s the thing. I don’t use Dia for the AI features. I really don’t care about that stuff, and honestly, the AI summaries feel like slop to me. I’m only here for the sidebar. That’s it.
I’ve tried Zen browser too, but I’m tired of switching between browsers constantly. I just want one browser where all my stuff is in one place and it works.
Oh, and this is important. Widevine and DRM support. I spend a lot of time on Netflix, Prime Video, Spotify. If a browser can’t handle protected content, it’s not an option for me. Doesn’t matter how nice the UI is.
So yeah, Dia works for now. The sidebar is there, DRM works, I’m comfortable.
But here’s my worry. If Dia becomes a paid browser, I’m going to have to find something else again. And I really don’t want to go through this whole cycle one more time.
What I’ve Learned From All This
Basically, one design choice, putting tabs on the side, has ruined every “normal” browser for me. I genuinely cannot go back to horizontal tabs without feeling like something is wrong.
Is that a good thing? I don’t know. It means I’m stuck chasing indie browsers that might die, might get buggy, might start charging money. Meanwhile, Chrome is right there, stable and free, and I just… can’t settle for it.
I guess that’s the trade-off. You find a feature you love, and suddenly the safe options don’t feel good enough anymore.
For now, I’m on Dia. Ask me again in six months. Who knows where I’ll be.