Launcher widget, standalone app, or something else entirely?
For the last year or two, I’ve been stuck in a rut with weather apps on Android. Ever since the death of Dark Sky — not to mention Weather Timeline — I’ve been unable to find a service I enjoy using, one that’s as up-to-date on current conditions in my area while matching it with an excellent design. I’m not alone — there are plenty of great weather apps on Android these days, but they all seem to come with some kind of catch, be it a subscription model or a barrage of ads.
That might change over the next few months. This week, Apple announced WeatherKit, a new weather API that supports platforms outside the company’s own. It’s Dark Sky by any other name, likely featuring the same hyperlocal weather information we’ve been missing out on. We’ll have to see if apps end up adopting WeatherKit, but it’s great to see another option come back to life — especially one as good as Dark Sky.
It’s been a rough period for weather apps on our smartphones, and the last time we asked this question was over four years ago. Since then, weather apps have focused on subscriptions, ads, and locked features to help pay the bills — all to the detriment of the overall forecasting experience. Despite the options available on Android, I’ve mostly stuck to using Pixel’s At a Glance widget on my home screen. It’s not perfect, but at least it’s free.
So, how are you checking the weather on your phone? Are you sticking to a tried-and-true weather app first installed a decade ago, or are you a stickler for bookmarks in your browser? Maybe you don’t look at the forecast at all, letting the rain pour down whenever and wherever it decides. We don’t judge.
