CARROT Weather Gains Weather Report Videos and Smart Layouts

[MacRumors]

CARROT Weather, a popular app known for its funny and sarcastic weather information, today received a major update that adds a new video Weather Report option.

CARROT Weather's News Reports and screenshot customization features​

CARROT Weather users can now film 30-second TV news-style videos to share with friends using the onscreen script that the CARROT Weather app generates.

These quick 30-second weather reports turn CARROT Weather users into citizen weather reporters offering up current weather temperatures, next-day temperatures, and fake little news tidbits to add flair.

For premium users, there's a new Smart Layouts feature that changes the CARROT Weather interface based on the weather or the time of day. If it's raining, for example, CARROT Weather can automatically switch over to a precipitation-focused UI.

Today's update also introduces new layouts and designs for layout components, screenshot styles, along with support for wet-bulb temperature readings. Wet-bulb temperature readings are useful for determining human survivability in extreme heat events.

CARROT Weather can be downloaded from the App Store for free, and there is an optional $4.99 per month premium tier that unlocks new weather data sources, notifications, customization, widgets, and Apple Watch complications. There's also a higher tier $9.99 per month option with even more features. [Direct Link]

Article Link: CARROT Weather Gains Weather Report Videos and Smart Layouts

 

[btrach144]

I’m a top tier paying customer of the app and like it but some things that need to be changed/added:

- radar really is lacking
- need a CarPlay radar that simply displays a static radar image and refreshes every 10 minutes
- Mac app needs serious attention
- appleTV app needs serious attention
- appletv app with critical alerts would be nice

 

[ratspg]

I’m a top tier paying customer of the app and like it but some things that need to be changed/added:

- radar really is lacking
- need a CarPlay radar that simply displays a static radar image and refreshes every 10 minutes
- Mac app needs serious attention
- appleTV app needs serious attention
- appletv app with critical alerts would be nice

As a top-tier user of the app what features stand out to you the most? I casually used it years ago for the funny weather reports.

 

[User 6502]

Not sure why you his app has been promoted so much, or why one would pay for it. To each their own I suppose…

 

[MakerOfCARROT]

I’m a top tier paying customer of the app and like it but some things that need to be changed/added:

- radar really is lacking
- need a CarPlay radar that simply displays a static radar image and refreshes every 10 minutes
- Mac app needs serious attention
- appleTV app needs serious attention
- appletv app with critical alerts would be nice

#1 is going to be addressed in version 5.5 this fall. Major, major changes coming on that front.
For #2, Apple unfortunately only allows certain types of apps in CarPlay and weather apps aren't one of the allowed categories yet :\
#3 is planned for the winter, just wanted to get the major updates to the main app done before starting work on moving everything back to the Mac
And I'm hoping to get back to Apple TV at some point, it's just got by far the lowest number of users (probably less than 1% of the iOS app) so it's hard to prioritize that ahead of anything else. But maybe I could just do something really simple in terms of UI but that would still have features like being able to pick your own data source...

 

[Morgenland]

#1 is going to be addressed in version 5.5 this fall. Major, major changes coming on that front.
For #2, Apple unfortunately only allows certain types of apps in CarPlay and weather apps aren't one of the allowed categories yet :\
#3 is planned for the winter, just wanted to get the major updates to the main app done before starting work on moving everything back to the Mac
And I'm hoping to get back to Apple TV at some point, it's just got by far the lowest number of users (probably less than 1% of the iOS app) so it's hard to prioritize that ahead of anything else. But maybe I could just do something really simple in terms of UI but that would still have features like being able to pick your own data source...

That's good to hear. So when CARROT grows out of its infancy, maybe next year I'll check it out too.
(sarcasm, maybe)

 

[zinacef]

#1 is going to be addressed in version 5.5 this fall. Major, major changes coming on that front.
For #2, Apple unfortunately only allows certain types of apps in CarPlay and weather apps aren't one of the allowed categories yet :\
#3 is planned for the winter, just wanted to get the major updates to the main app done before starting work on moving everything back to the Mac
And I'm hoping to get back to Apple TV at some point, it's just got by far the lowest number of users (probably less than 1% of the iOS app) so it's hard to prioritize that ahead of anything else. But maybe I could just do something really simple in terms of UI but that would still have features like being able to pick your own data source...

Do you plan on offering a one-time subscription fee?

 

[EdT]

I have been looking for a good weather app with radar that works on Apple TV. I don’t live in a city and when severe weather is heading my way the OTA stations I can get don’t really bother covering that storm cell unless it’s likely to then move into their very local area. By which time it’s already done whatever to where I live.

I don’t need snark and that seems to be the selling point for the Carrot App, I want an as accurate as possible immediate outlook and up to date radar screens showing wind , precipitation and severity if possible. It doesn’t need to be free.

 

[Vulkan]

Do you plan on offering a one-time subscription fee?

that's not a subscription...

 

[Puonti]

Do you plan on offering a one-time subscription fee?

I'm not the developer, however...

A subscription refers to an exchange of money for a limited-time period of service. A one-time subscription would therefore be, say, you paying once for one month of service, then cancelling payment and no longer receiving service.

I suspect in order for CARROT Weather to be able to provide some of the information it displays the developer needs to pay a provider for that data. A subscription, if you will - keep paying, keep receiving data that can then be displayed in the app. Weather being notoriously non-static paying for one set of weather data isn't very useful for an app that's supposed to show up-to-date weather data.

You can see how a "one-time subscription" would not work.

Also, developers like to subscribe to things like breakfast, lunch and dinner. And electricity. And water. Stuff like that.

 

[unfunfionn]

I use Carrot and I like it, although I’m happiest with it in its most basic form. I do feel that it’s vastly overpriced though based on features that I have absolutely no interest in using. I switched when Weather Line was acquired but realistically I’m still looking for something else.

 

[nutmac]

I loooove CARROT Weather. It's the very best 3rd party Apple Watch app ever made and quite possibly the most customizable app on the iPhone and iPad.

However, as Siracusa famously said, nothing is as perfect that cannot be criticized.

iOS 15 brings a vastly improved Weather app. For a vast majority of users, it has everything you need.

• Radar map with temperature, precipitation and air quality
• Very comprehensive yet glanceable weather information
• Among the most accurate weather data
• Hyperlocal precipitation push notification
• Beautiful animation

I think it will Sherlock many weather apps.

Thankfully, CARROT Weather is way more powerful, with super customizable layout that is very thoughtfully designed and implemented. I discover something new and amazing nearly every time I "play" with CARROT Weather. But it is a subscription-based app that costs anywhere between $14.99/year to $44.99/year. At that price, I expect a bit more.

• I live in California and tinkered with all 6 CARROT Weather data sources. None are as accurate as Apple's Weather app.
• As typical of multi-tier subscription apps, CARROT Weather exposes all the premium features for everyone to see. Try to use them, the app will upsell with a subscription screen. This gets annoying real quick.
• Speaking of subscription tiers, the app cries out for cheaper family plan (e.g., $22.99/year). $44.99/year is too much when you just need features of Premium Plus tier.
• Precipitation notification doesn't work reliably enough. Dark Sky is far more consistent, which I presume iOS 15 Weather app will replicate.
• The color scheme is rather plain, with either stark white in the light mode or stark black in the dark mode. It needs more color themes.

 

[YourPalMichael]

As a top-tier user of the app what features stand out to you the most? I casually used it years ago for the funny weather reports.

Another family plan subscriber here. I love the default layout, but being able to tweak it a little or change it completely is pretty awesome. I'm pretty excited about the new auto-switching layouts. The info cards added in the last major update aren't life-changing, but they're cool to have.

The fact that AccuWeather is an available data source. I live in their hometown so that forecast should be damn near perfect.

The snarky lines (you can turn those off but why would you?) are usually good for a laugh and sometimes alert me to news I didn't know was happening.

I do love the widgets though. I have a stack with the forecast/radar widgets that make it easier to just get a glance of what meteorological terrors might await me.

And the watch app is super solid and fast. It doesn't seem like the watch apps are easy to develop, but CARROT's Maker has done a really solid job. I used both CARROT and Hello Weather (another great app) for a long time, but the widgets and watch app have won me over completely.

And I'm hoping to get back to Apple TV at some point, it's just got by far the lowest number of users (probably less than 1% of the iOS app) so it's hard to prioritize that ahead of anything else. But maybe I could just do something really simple in terms of UI but that would still have features like being able to pick your own data source...

Get rid of the interface completely and just play the closest submitted citizen weather report. 😁

 

[Zimmy68]

And to celebrate Carrot Weather is introducing 7 more confusing subscription payment tiers!

 

[Stewie]

Does a weather app really need a social sharing ability? I don't really care for what unhelpful details Joe Supercell or anyone else has to share. I want usable radar. I know that is coming, but I have already moved on.

 

[keithdoc]

I love this app. One of the few I'm willing to pay for a subscription . .. over multiple years now.

I LOVE the snark, without political overtones. Keep up the Great work

I would like better radar and precipitation / localized (I"m running weather station in back yard - can I tie to it???

 

[K-W]

I don’t need snark and that seems to be the selling point for the Carrot App, I want an as accurate as possible immediate outlook and up to date radar screens showing wind , precipitation and severity if possible. It doesn’t need to be free.

The snark is easily neutered. (Drag the Personality setting all the way to Professional, and you get just what it says on the tin.)

I do live in a city, but a Gulf Coast one where timely weather notifications are especially important. (Especially since I rarely get my weather from over-the-air sources.) I haven't found a source more accurate than Apple's Dark Sky, so I keep CARROT Weather set to that.

If the question is why someone would ever subscribe to CARROT Weather when Apple's Weather app is a free alternative, here's are my reasons conveniently organized from least to most important.

1. The iOS and watchOS layouts are extremely customizable, meaning I can set the app up to focus on what's relevant to me — and even to automatically adjust when there's current information that's especially relevant at the moment (iOS).
2. There's a home screen weather radar widget that automagically rotates to the top of my smart stack when there are green, yellow, orange, or red blobs on it that could be of interest.
3. You can essentially design your own Apple Watch complications.
4. The notifications I get from it about National Weather Service alerts are more granular than just county-level. I routinely get NWS text messages about severe weather warnings for my area a few moments after a CARROT Weather notification saying that yeah, there's a NWS severe weather warning somewhere in my county but not my immediate area. There's value in knowing how much I should worry.
5. Lightning strike alerts. Clear-day lightning is a thing here, and I'm involved in activities with rules that require suspension for an hour if there's a strike within 20 miles. Getting these notifications on my wrist from CARROT is cheaper and more convenient than virtually any of these.

YMMV, but I've never regretted setting up a CARROT Weather subscription.

And I'm hoping to get back to Apple TV at some point, it's just got by far the lowest number of users (probably less than 1% of the iOS app) so it's hard to prioritize that ahead of anything else. But maybe I could just do something really simple in terms of UI but that would still have features like being able to pick your own data source...

There would be value in an Apple TV app that did nothing more than pop up notifications on screen for severe weather warnings in the area.

 

[nutmac]

And to celebrate Carrot Weather is introducing 7 more confusing subscription payment tiers!

Actually, it's more of a rebranding.

In terms of actual features, CARROT Weather has 2 subscription tiers, Plus ($14.99/year) and Ultra ($29.99). There's a third Family tier ($44.99) that is identical to Ultra, enabled for Family Sharing.

While I think having 2 separate tiers (plus family tier) is confusing, it is a necessary compromise to help pay for on-going weather data and server side costs.

As a Plus subscriber, it is annoying to see Ultra features sprinkled all around with a padlock. I wish I can hide these features. In addition, I wish this tier is also eligible for Family Sharing at 1.5x price premium.

 

[mattdeezy]

I love Carrot. It's highly customisable and has many data points you can use as complications on the apple watch. I rate it as one of the best apps on iOS.

 

[whsbuss]

I have 3 weather apps on my iPhone; AccuWeather, Weather Channel, MyRadar. I studied meteorology (not a meteorologist) and hobby it everyday. Love reading GFS and Euro models and compare them to the various apps/services. As was mentioned, Apple default weather app is very accurate, although in the short term of about 96 hours. Dark Sky was a pretty reliable app but not since Apple took it over. I think they only acquired them for their realtime precipitation hourly presentation. Carrot is a fine app, just not my cup of tea.

 

[nutmac]

Get rid of the interface completely and just play the closest submitted citizen weather report. 😁

That might incur expensive hosting fee, as each video is about 40-50MB in size. Maybe it can be done with iCloud/CloudKit?

But the idea is a good starting point. CARROT Weather for tvOS does not need to replicate the iOS experience nor features. It should more or less feel like The Weather Channel, a slide show of today's forecast, weekly forecast, and forecast for favorited locations.

 

[btrach144]

#1 is going to be addressed in version 5.5 this fall. Major, major changes coming on that front.
For #2, Apple unfortunately only allows certain types of apps in CarPlay and weather apps aren't one of the allowed categories yet :\
#3 is planned for the winter, just wanted to get the major updates to the main app done before starting work on moving everything back to the Mac
And I'm hoping to get back to Apple TV at some point, it's just got by far the lowest number of users (probably less than 1% of the iOS app) so it's hard to prioritize that ahead of anything else. But maybe I could just do something really simple in terms of UI but that would still have features like being able to pick your own data source...

Thank you for the response! Love the app and looking forward to the radar changes and Mac app.

carplay limitation stinks but it’s certainly out of your hands. I know you’re only a one person team but maybe your new Apple award gained you the ears of some important people at Apple? Would be cool to float wireframes by them of what carrot could offer for CarPlay and maybe they’d consider it for iOS 16. I know Toyota/Lexus provide static radar images for their cars.

Apple TV app is more of a pipe dream as we usually hunker down in the basement and turn on the weather on the tv when things are nasty outside to see how close we are to impending doom.