It really is just Arch with a different init system. There are no noticeable major differences. The faster bootup times are probably negligible.

Of course I like the idea of minimalism and the unix philosophy, but the reason I chose Artix isn’t so philosophic. I was already using Arch on my laptop and wanted to install it on my desktop, but I enjoy trying to do harder things and learning in the process, so I ended up learning how to use a different init system… and I also did it because I liked the Artix logo better lol.

I’m very happy with both Artix and Arch and while I wish systemd wasn’t almost a monopoly, at the end of the day everyone is free to use what they want as long as it doesn’t hurt the linux ecosystem for others.