Quite surprised I didn’t spot any shout outs for Windy … definitely the best detailed weather app by a country mile!
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Apple-Acquired Weather App Dark Sky Reminding Users That iOS App Shutting Down on January 1
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I’ve also heard this app mentioned in a podcast. I’m going to check it out!
Apple has converted the back end of Dark Sky into Apple WeatherKit. It appears that the data is available via internal api calls and web based api calls. All that is required is an Apple developer account (likely a paid one, but I cannot verify at the moment).
WeatherKit - Apple Developer
WeatherKit brings valuable weather information to your apps and services through a wide range of data that can help people stay up to date, safe, and prepared.developer.apple.com
They did not have to discontinue Dark Sky on Android, but they would have had to rework it a bit. And at that point, why not just make it Apple Weather on Android, but I don't see how that is going to help their bottom line.
In the end, apps like Carrot Weather, etc. can still use the web based WeatherKit api for things like Android apps.
WeatherKit, Apple's Dark Sky replacement, will allow for Android and web apps
Apple announced an iPad Weather app but more importantly detailed WeatherKit to replace the Dark Sky API that was deprecated for Android...9to5google.com
If not having the Dark Sky weather app is a dealbreaker for someone on Android, it seems like Tim Apple just found another way to push people over to iPhone. I hope that reporter is getting his mom a purple one.
You seem educated on this subject. Is it true that since acquisition the accuracy hs gone down? Or has Apple improved this service?
The fact developers can use the API still, tells me this is another "greedy Apple" debunked.
Apple weather app is rubbish in comparison to Dark Sky.
No percentage chance of rain/wind etc by hour.
The forecasts differ and aren't as accurate.
The map isn't as clear, and the UI is is not as good. Everything about Dark Sky had been meticulously thought through - I don't understand why Apple didn't just keep it as it is.
No percentage chance of rain/wind etc by hour.
The forecasts differ and aren't as accurate.
The map isn't as clear, and the UI is is not as good. Everything about Dark Sky had been meticulously thought through - I don't understand why Apple didn't just keep it as it is.
Yep, rain probability at glance is the killer feature missing from Apple Weather.
This is one feature I use all the time in dark sky. The one thing that made me get dark sky was it was a one time payment instead of a subscription. I’ll probably just end up going with the default weather app unless I can find one that works without a subscription. I know they pay for the weather data but so many apps have subscriptions so it’s like death by a thousand paper cuts. Maybe make one large payment. I would rather pay $40 than $1.99 a month.
That’s actually really unappealing interface. Everything is in blue. No contrast with different colors. Mine has nicer user interface and colors.
Monopoly?? on the contrary! Do you think the developers of Dark Sky are going to sell underwear online? No! They made a great weather app, sold it for a ton of money, now ready to make an even better one. I'm sure they knew way in advance that Apple was going to discontinue the app after purchasing it. Apple will take what they need from it and add it to their own Weather app.
No need to panic here, it's all business.
I did find the precipitation view for today and future dates. While this doesn't give a percentage by the hour it does give a prediction of expected amount of precipitation so it's similar, I suppose. This is for this coming Sunday
Good to see its features slowly being added to Apple's weather app.
I've been pretty happy with the Weather app now that more Dark Sky data and features have been integrated.
Mac user here who moved to Android from iPhone a few years ago and has been living with the lack of Dark Sky for a couple of years now, so hopefully I might have some useful info on Dark Sky alternatives.
The challenges are getting Dark Sky like weather in a UI that suits you, the second is getting real time rain alerts.
For the first, if Apple Weather is the closest source to the current Dark Sky (although I find there are quite a few differences in predictions between the two, so Apple Weather is definitely not Dark Sky with a new UI and name) then try some of the apps that have Apple Weather as a source - Hello Weather and Today Weather already have Apple Weather as a source. Shadow Weather, much loved on Android and with a similar hour-by-hour view as Dark Sky, has just moved to iOS, still running Dark Sky but no doubt it will be switched to Apple Weather in time.
For rain predictions it is worth trying on some the radar based apps like RainViewer - notifications of upcoming rain work well.
I've actually now migrated totally away from Dark Sky data and haven't found Apple Weather that great where I live either so am using OpenWeather, which has really good rain predictions for my area. I'm actually using 5 different apps using OpenWeather as a source to build my weather widget screen - and that is perhaps my biggest piece of advice of all - get used to having multiple apps each replicating a piece of what Dark Sky used to do. There is just not a like for like replacement out there...
The challenges are getting Dark Sky like weather in a UI that suits you, the second is getting real time rain alerts.
For the first, if Apple Weather is the closest source to the current Dark Sky (although I find there are quite a few differences in predictions between the two, so Apple Weather is definitely not Dark Sky with a new UI and name) then try some of the apps that have Apple Weather as a source - Hello Weather and Today Weather already have Apple Weather as a source. Shadow Weather, much loved on Android and with a similar hour-by-hour view as Dark Sky, has just moved to iOS, still running Dark Sky but no doubt it will be switched to Apple Weather in time.
For rain predictions it is worth trying on some the radar based apps like RainViewer - notifications of upcoming rain work well.
I've actually now migrated totally away from Dark Sky data and haven't found Apple Weather that great where I live either so am using OpenWeather, which has really good rain predictions for my area. I'm actually using 5 different apps using OpenWeather as a source to build my weather widget screen - and that is perhaps my biggest piece of advice of all - get used to having multiple apps each replicating a piece of what Dark Sky used to do. There is just not a like for like replacement out there...
Ugly quantised bars (with gaps, and spanning a relatively long time period) and uninformative cloud icons...
Good point. I assumed that DarkSky was using user reports to train a neural network - refining predictions based on various weather data used as inputs. It is possible they have trained the weights in the network to reach asymptotic performance already, so don't need to do this any more (which would be fine, assuming that conditions don't change - climate change might throw a wrench into this).
Yeah, even iOS 16 version of Weather isn't that great in terms of UI. I still prefer how Dark Sky displays the data.
Yeah that’s incorrect. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211777 Scroll to the bottom to see the Data Sources Apple uses.
Weather is one of my hobbies and Apple’s Weather app is awesome!! I loved and enjoyed Dark Sky but for a year now I’ve noticed the inaccuracies with my local
weather.
Unfortunately not everyone can be pleased and this is nothing new for Apple.
In my opinion it’s the right balance between sophisticated & easy to use.
I really like the daily summary & explanation of the different products the app now offers. The live satellite radar is absolutely fantastic and the ability to report weather is such a great addition carried over from Dark Sky.
Now I agree with others… Apple needs to make use of precipitation probability. Knowing the chance of rain is paramount for many people.
Apple’s Weather app also needs to integrate the notification system that Dark Sky offered. Dark Sky’s notifications system allowed for custom notifications triggered by precipitation/temperature/wind events. I & I’m sure others need this implemented.
All in all I like the weather app and look forward to even more changes in the future!!
weather.
Unfortunately not everyone can be pleased and this is nothing new for Apple.
In my opinion it’s the right balance between sophisticated & easy to use.
I really like the daily summary & explanation of the different products the app now offers. The live satellite radar is absolutely fantastic and the ability to report weather is such a great addition carried over from Dark Sky.
Now I agree with others… Apple needs to make use of precipitation probability. Knowing the chance of rain is paramount for many people.
Apple’s Weather app also needs to integrate the notification system that Dark Sky offered. Dark Sky’s notifications system allowed for custom notifications triggered by precipitation/temperature/wind events. I & I’m sure others need this implemented.
All in all I like the weather app and look forward to even more changes in the future!!
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I think they mean monopoly in the “Apps named Dark Sky” market. Which, for the purposes of defining a monopoly IS a proper definition. However, it’s generally seen as an absurd definition, just like any other definition that includes a company’s trademarked product name.
I don't disagree but having those bars and expected rainfall is still better than not having it at all. I've been using the view as a replacement for % but like you I would prefer to have the easy to see % instead.
Yes, but even if those two develop, there were 21 depressions for all of last year, 31 in 2020 and only 6 this year… that’s before considering how many hurricanes actually developed. Any models that would predict 20 or more depressions and 5 or more major hurricanes are no longer modeling the real world and that inaccuracy must extend even to the prediction of everyday rain.
It was an acqui-hire. The Dark Sky developers became core members of the team that worked on iOS 16's WeatherKit (and backing servers) and the new Weather App, including the upcoming iPad and Mac versions.
Some features which are dropped from the new app (weather history) are supposedly still exposed via WeatherKit, for third parties to use for their own weather apps.
Weather app in iOS 16 has this data and associated views. It’s not present in previous iOS versions.
The weather app is more pro!Gotta keep that iPad lifecycle going. I mean despite how iPadOS 16 still supports older iPads, I'm sure Apple would want those people to upgrade.
iPadOS 16 is not yet available which is why the OP was seeing that message.
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That is incorrect. Weather app does have such a feature. There is a “Report an Issue” at the bottom where you can report weather issues for your current location.