Could someone test this with programs like GIMP, Darktable, and Inkscape? I’m curious about the potential of the Android phone as PC, particularly with the merging of Android and Chrome OS. If Android’s desktop mode progresses enough to a level of maturity to run Linux programs sufficiently, this combined with the general Linux on ARM efforts of Asahi and others could prove to be THE solution. Just imagine one of those tri-folding phones unfold to a tablet size with a folio-style keyboard and trackpad, then plugging the tablet-phone into a monitor and desktop setup to “get real work done.”

Just to make things simple regarding the Mac apps and tweaks, imma just go ahead and forward my “Mac app recommendation suite.” of course, not everyone needs all of these apps, and this isn’t over every use case, but this is just about every program I have on my system. You can check these out and determine if anything sounds like it could be beneficial for you. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pSsLcM4lVnqGt68yu-GgKFApOJBv2aIzMmUs_8iT_2c/edit?usp=drivesdk

Now then, specifically regarding window management and multitasking, I have a few key tips:

1. Learn to utilize the App Expose, Mission Control, and true full screen app switching. macOS inheritly handles things differently from other Operating Systems. The sooner you get a grasp on that, the sooner you may start to appreciate it, or determine what other apps and programs you may want to add with it. Don’t start just adding a bunch of apps and programs before you determine what all you need. For most people, just this and macOS’s built in tiling is enough… but from the looks of things, you and I would not be “most people,” so if you would agree, read along.
2. If you’re on a trackpad or Magic Mouse, you can enable and configure the settings easily within the System Settings application, and I’d argue macOS has the best trackpad experience in these regards.
3. If you’re on a non-Magic Mouse, get an app like Mac Mouse Fix. It is absolutely amazing and legitimately has become part of my essential application suite anytime I use a non-magic mouse. You can download the latest 2.x version on the developer’s GitHub (which yes, does work on Tahoe) to use it free forever, configure individual app settings for things like smooth scrolling, and my personal recommendation: Map the multitasking features with extra buttons on your mouse and/or gestures. Previously, I couldn’t use any regular mouse with macOS as it felt clunky and cumbersome, but now I’m just as eager to use one as I am my trackpad, and I don’t miss the Magic Mouse one bit.
4. Set apps to minimize into their application windows, then get an app like DockDoor to show window previews like Windows and most other operating systems.
5. DockDoor also has a pretty basic Alt Tab-style window switcher which could be enough for some, but the dedicated “AltTab” application is a lifesaver with the right tweaks and setups for you. You can set multiple shortcuts to show different things like only app windows on that virtual desktop, windows from a certain app, non-minimized windows, and so on.
6. You already said Rectangle, which I use as well. Just a general improvement over the built-in macOS window snapping (that only finally released in Sequoia or Sonoma).
7. Supposedly apps like BetterTouchTool and Swish are “essentials” for many, but for me, even across my sometimes-quintuple monitor setup, the things I recommended there are about all I really need. My advice? Don’t treat macOS like a tiling manager system. it likes to have virtual desktops and different full screen windows, so utilize those. Sure, supplement the OS with nice modifications from other Operating Systems if you like, but you don’t HAVE to use those. About the last program I use is just one called Dockey that wraps a GUI around a terminal command to make the dock animate faster so I can get more out of my screen, but that’s it. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am a power user, but I also do enough tech support that I try not to become too far removed from stock so that I can help others as well. More powerful window, tiling management apps and features definitely exist, and I’ve used a few here and there, but those are the ones that work for my use case.

Sorry, that’s on me for not clarifying well enough in my wording. What I mean is that:

• Yes, Firefox sync on iOS DOES work with Zen on desktop, so I could use it even without a dedicated Zen app on iOS.
• I DON’T use Firefox on iOS due to the lack of tab swiping, a major dealbreaker.
• I’d otherwise be fine with using Zen on my computer and Firefox with sync on my phone.

Follow-up: What exactly do you like about tree-style tabs? I’ve not really looked into them before, and even in all my tech-ness (I taught myself macOS, Windows, Linux, and programs like GIMP, Darktable, Inkscape, and a good amount of DaVinci Resolve, for reference)… the two times I tried Vivaldi, I couldn’t quite get it. I mean, it visually makes sense, but why? What are your thoughts as opposed to just tab groups and a single column or row as most browsers do things?

It’s definitely worth a shot. Again, Arc probably has the best implementation of this feature, and is worth trying out if only to understand what I mean. MS Edge’s variation is better than basically everything else that’s not Arc in my testing, and Zen might also have a variation of this but I hadn’t used it in a while.

Built-in browser splitscreen in a browser that handles it well is genuinely game-changing. You can do things like link the Split View (links you click on one side open in the other; excellent for reviews and information gathering), quick window resizing, all your typical tab grouping and collections, and more – all without having to open another window instance.

P.S. macOS window management is certainly not its strong suit, but with the right programs and tweaks, it’s not half bad either :)

Oh yeah, I’m totally open to Firefox forks, and Zen’s great. Problem is, that doesn’t fix the Firefox MOBILE issue… no matter how great the desktop client is, if I can’t tab swipe, I’d be using two different browsers anyway. And sure, Zen uses Firefox sync so a theoretical Zen iOS app with tab swiping would fix the issue, but said iOS app doesn’t exist (yet).

Thankfully, Mozilla said they’re looking into tab swiping on iOS, so hopefully it gets added sooner than later… hence why this post is called “Notify me when…” https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/swipe-between-open-tabs-on-ios/idi-p/2088

By “native split screen”, I simply mean the ability to display multiple windows side-by-side or on top of each other (or in other arrangements with multiple windows) within a single browser tab or window instance. I think Arc has the best implementation of this feature, but MS Edge is not far behind with the basic ability of horizontal and/or vertical Split View, plus a possible third view with the sidebar since it is distinct from vertical tabs.

Firefox’s implementation, last time I checked, still required the sidebar extension and only allowed two tabs side-by-side. It’s a start, but even vanilla Chromium has that much now and it’s built in with a flag rather than being an extension. Not to mention, again, if the vertical tabs were separate from the sidebar, you could still use separate sidebar extensions more easily and all.

Any particular reason you don’t just sign in? Genuine question, and you could even create a dummy account that solely holds those extensions and anything else you would want to sync.

‘Nother former Asashi Linux user here (now using a Fedora VM on my M4 MBA until Asahi is natively supported 🤞); just here to say we are all for it! From the moment I first tested it on my M1 MBA, I knew this was the way for the future, and I am glad to see wider adoption of Linux on ARM device devices beyond Apple Silicon.