Vertical Tabs in Dia
Make no mistake: I’m a longtime Arc fan, and I love vertical tabs. They’re intuitive and efficient. But let’s be clear—the reason Dia was created was to become a mainstream browser, not a niche product. Mainstream browsers almost universally use horizontal tabs; only a small subset of users prefer vertical tabs.
Notice the difference in how each browser displays URLs: Chrome shows the full, often messy web address, while Dia transforms it into a clean, human-readable title right in the tab bar. This subtle design choice makes browsing more intuitive and visually appealing.
There’s another point: the Dia team developed a thoughtful feature for horizontal tabs—a way to display even the ugliest URLs in a clean, human-readable format within the tab bar. If Dia switches to vertical tabs, this feature becomes irrelevant, and the effort invested in it is lost.
I’ve seen customer demand for vertical tabs—Josh’s tweets make that clear—and it looks like the team is listening. But if they had chosen not to add vertical tabs, I’d understand why. Consider Apple’s MacBook Air: adding a touchscreen might seem logical, but it would cannibalize iPad sales. Similarly, if the Browser Company wants to build a family of browsers and adjacent tools, giving Dia vertical tabs would blur the lines between Arc and Dia. One of Arc’s core identities is its vertical tabs and Spaces. If Dia adopts the same, it risks cannibalizing Arc’s unique place in the portfolio, undermining the distinct value of each product.
However, now that the Browser Company has made it clear they are no longer actively developing new features for Arc (though they aren’t sunsetting it), it makes sense for them to add vertical tabs in Dia. After all, it remains one of the most requested features in Dia.