Another Dark Sky-style feature arriving with a new subscription plan
Weather apps are a dime a dozen on the Play Store, but they all usually pull from the same handful of APIs and services. Dark Sky was the favorite of many, but after it left Android in the wake of being bought by Apple, many were left without alternatives. AccuWeather revamped its entire service to entice potential users, pulling the app from Play Pass and adding minute-by-minute forecasts originally offered by Dark Sky. Now, a new update delivers even more functionality — at a cost.
Hyperlocal weather forecasts were Dark Sky’s marquee feature, and remain so on any iPhones you might have lying around your house. Today’s AccuWeather update brings hyperlocal forecasts back to Android as part of its new Premium+ subscription (via 9to5Google). At $20 per year, it won’t exactly break the bank, even if it’s frustrating to see some of the best weather reporting available locked behind yet another subscription package.
These localized weather reports should make it easy to predict when a storm is rolling into your community, keeping you from getting drenched in the rain while out on a walk. It should pair well with those existing minute-by-minute forecasts, which already predict weather events at specific intervals. Now, the app should report more specific and accurate updates based on your location, receiving alerts as the conditions in your area change.
Unfortunately, this new subscription package also picks up a mainstay feature familiar to countless Android users. If you’ve kept the current temperature as a persistent notification on your phone, you’ll notice it’s changed to a generic AccuWeather icon instead. To restore that original functionality, you’ll need to pony up $20 a year — even if you aren’t interested in the usual roundup of premium features. Accuweather also offers a standard “Premium” subscription for $8.99 per year, though this doesn’t include the always-available temperature icon.
I haven’t spotted the new subscription available in the app just yet, although I can confirm the generic AccuWeather icon now shows up in my toolbar. Presumably, Premium+ should be available to everyone over the next few days
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