One of the most innovative features of mobile web browsers Arc Search Browser Company Ability to search the web for you And instead of returning traditional search results, it returns summaries of what it’s learned. The “Browse” feature is one of several ways the company is using AI to offer new ways to search the web; another, “Pinch to Summary,” displays AI summaries of individual web pages. But these AI features also seem like they could be the target of Apple’s latest “Sherlock” endeavor, a term that refers to how Apple has historically borrowed ideas from its developer community to flesh out its own apps and OS features.
The term originates from the late 1990s, when Apple released a finder app called Sherlock that offered similar functionality to the third-party finder app Watson. Since then, “Sherlock” has been the moniker used by Apple whenever they release a new feature or app that is supposedly “inspired” by another app.
In recent years, Apple has been accused of rigging products such as Camo, which allowed the iPhone to be used as a webcam, which became a built-in feature known as Continuity Camera. The release of Sidecar, a way to use an iPad as a second screen, rigged apps such as Duet Display and Luna. Apple’s “buy now, pay later” service, Apple Pay Later, is said to have rigged other BNPL apps such as Klarna. Several features, including medication tracking, period tracking, mood logging, diary and sleep tracking features, were also first discovered by the third-party developer community.
With the release of iOS 18 later this year, Apple may again borrow ideas from the app developer community, this time potentially affecting Arc.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple A new technology called “Smart Recap” Core apps like Photos, Notes, and Safari have added AI-powered features. As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman explains, Smart Recap gives users “more than just summaries of missed notifications and individual text messages. Web pages, news articlesdocuments, notes, and other media.” [emphasis ours].
Using AI to summarize the web is one of the things Arc is best known for today, and it’s an area where the company continues to innovate. For example, last week Arc announced “Call Arc,” another new way to search the web with AI, by holding the phone to your ear and asking a question. Combined with the “browse for me” and “pinch to summary” search tools, Arc gives users another way to use AI as a partner in their search.
AI-based news summarization, more broadly, is being explored through apps like Particle, written by ex-Twitter engineers, and smart RSS Reader NewsTrend Summary Breaking the Weband countless other iOS apps.
Apple’s inclusion of AI summarization in its Safari browser may reduce demand for alternative browsers and apps that offer their own AI tools, but that’s unlikely to hurt Arc’s growth. Beyond AI summarization, the web browser startup is experimenting with other ideas, including new ways to minimize distractions, organize tabs, block ads, and more. Max, the AI Assistant.
As for browser companies, I’m not worried.
“That’s what’s fun about our job,” says co-founder and CEO Josh Miller, “It inspires more imagination and courage.”