iOS 5 Brings Improvements to Weather App

[NightFox]

Also (I'm getting into this now 😉) if you can just look out of the window, why show the current weather at your location inside the app at all?

That's like TV weather forecasting for you:

50% telling you what the weather did today - useless
25% telling you what the weather is doing now - useless, I can see for myself
25% guessing what it's going to do and getting it wrong 50% of the time

 

[jowie]

Also, applying a bit of maths, if you assume the icon would need to be able to show a range of temps between -20 and 80 (to cater for celsius and fahrenheit) and there are at a guess about 10 different pictures to represent the different types of weather, that's 1,000 different variants required for the icon.

I don't think you are aware of how dynamic icons work... The icon is built up using component parts, you don't just store all the combinations on disk. Even the calendar icon doesn't store all combinations.

 

[NightFox]

I don't think you are aware of how dynamic icons work... The icon is built up using component parts, you don't just store all the combinations on disk. Even the calendar icon doesn't store all combinations.

I was under the impression (just from what I'd read previously) that iOS wasn't capable of generating icons on the fly - not disputing you if you say this definitely isn't the case, but surprised to hear that

 

[reactions]

That's why weather icon from cydia rocks

 

[jowie]

I was under the impression (just from what I'd read previously) that iOS wasn't capable of generating icons on the fly - not disputing you if you say this definitely isn't the case, but surprised to hear that

Apple is definitely capable of creating a system for dynamic icons, even if it's a private API. You could definitely create them using Core Graphics technologies, so it's not that much of a leap to save those images to the icon file.

I can't believe that the Calendar app has 217 built-in icons, that would be insane... 😱

 

[jowie]

That's why weather icon from cydia rocks

If it can be done in Cydia, then Apple definitely have the ability!

 

[GregA]

The best enhancement they could make would be to ditch Yahoo Weather and use something else, because the current version is regularly 3-4 degrees C (5.5-7 degrees F) out in certain international locations. ie: mine.

Presenting the weather with more features and more options is pointless if you're presenting the wrong weather.

Yes the weather app is misleading in Australia. Not sure where they get the details from.

That's like TV weather forecasting for you:
25% guessing what it's going to do and getting it wrong 50% of the time

Just to be clear, this is about the weather app not using the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to get its weather information and predictions. It still can get it wrong, but why not use the best source info?

Today the forecast is only 1'c different.

 

[diamond.g]

Yes the weather app is misleading in Australia. Not sure where they get the details from.



Just to be clear, this is about the weather app not using the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to get its weather information and predictions. It still can get it wrong, but why not use the best source info?

Today the forecast is only 1'c different.

Is yahoo weather off as well? That is the source that Apple uses.

 

[Since '84]

I would like to be able to set the weather for my current location and have it come true. Come on Apple I know you can do it 😉