Weather Complications

[MakerOfCARROT]

Thanks for the kind words about the CARROT Weather complication, meatbags! Very gratifying to see so many, including prominent writers and fruit company employees, with the app right on their watch face.

I've been very busy since releasing version 2.1 on the App Store. In addition to adding a toggle to switch all the complications between actual and "feels like" temperatures, I've also added the ability to switch the small complication slot between temperature only, temp + condition, wind, UV index, precipitation chance, and humidity. The temperature-only complication even changes color to match the current condition.

So yeah, this complication is getting really freaking powerful now.

It'll be releasing in the next couple weeks after it's all been beta tested. This is top secret info, so don't tell CARROT I told you!

 

[gsmornot]

Carrot vs DS- still trying to choose

For the complication especially and for current updates

For cycling, I like to know the wind conditions. Both current and upcoming if possible

What would you recommend ?

Thanks

Carrot will do this for you now on the small complication alone or in addition to the main complication. You have an option in the application to use the small complication to show wind speed or show current temperature and condition. Its easy to switch. You can have two complications now as well. If you use modular, you can put the main weather info in the big space and use a small space for wind info. I think this would work for you and as a cyclist I too look at wind conditions but I only check before heading out. Once out, it is what it is and sometimes it is too much. Ha.

 

[gsmornot]

Thanks for the kind words about the CARROT Weather complication, meatbags! Very gratifying to see so many, including prominent writers and fruit company employees, with the app right on their watch face.

I've been very busy since releasing version 2.1 on the App Store. In addition to adding a toggle to switch all the complications between actual and "feels like" temperatures, I've also added the ability to switch the small complication slot between temperature only, temp + condition, wind, UV index, precipitation chance, and humidity. The temperature-only complication even changes color to match the current condition.

So yeah, this complication is getting really freaking powerful now.

It'll be releasing in the next couple weeks after it's all been beta tested. This is top secret info, so don't tell CARROT I told you!

I sent an email to MakerOfCARROT yesterday asking a question and making a suggestion for what I would like to see from the application. In no time, I received a reply answering my questions. Customer service here has been fantastic and I have no regrets spending the money to both buy the app and subscribe to the premium service. I started this thread not sure which weather app was going to work best for my needs and already I have dropped two long used applications and switched to CARROT for my today widget and my watch complication(s). If you guys are looking for a fantastic app with excellent support, CARROT is the one for you. Not a paid advertisement, just a public statement of great customer service.

 

[BlueMoon63]

I sent an email to MakerOfCARROT yesterday asking a question and making a suggestion for what I would like to see from the application. In no time, I received a reply answering my questions. Customer service here has been fantastic and I have no regrets spending the money to both buy the app and subscribe to the premium service. I started this thread not sure which weather app was going to work best for my needs and already I have dropped two long used applications and switched to CARROT for my today widget and my watch complication(s). If you guys are looking for a fantastic app with excellent support, CARROT is the one for you. Not a paid advertisement, just a public statement of great customer service.

That is awesome. It is also the one I use after thinking dark sky was the best.

Did I read correctly that the next update will only us to change the small application to so many choices or was that already available?

I know some have asked for feels like for the small complication and I would love actual with wind as a small complication.

 

[gsmornot]

That is awesome. It is also the one I use after thinking dark sky was the best.

Did I read correctly that the next update will only us to change the small application to so many choices or was that already available?

I know some have asked for feels like for the small complication and I would love actual with wind as a small complication.

In the next update, you will have the option of showing the feels like or real temp via a switch selector. The small complication will be able to show all of the options listed by MakerOfCARROT. Currently the small complication has two options. Wind speed or real temp and conditions. In the future more options will be available.

 

[BlueMoon63]

In the next update, you will have the option of showing the feels like or real temp via a switch selector. The small complication will be able to show all of the options listed by MakerOfCARROT. Currently the small complication has two options. Wind speed or real temp and conditions. In the future more options will be available.

Perfect. Looking forward to the update. you still need to pay $12 for the Mac version to get the severe weather info. Debating that or just using carrot with dark sky.

 

[ericg301]

BeWeather updated their app this morning with Watch support. Has a lot of options.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beweather-2-custom-weather/id931212644?mt=8

Unfortunately, like all the other weather apps I've tested so far, it's very slow to update. I drove 20 miles from home to work and it still shows my home location, 45 minutes after getting here.

So far, it seems like real-time data like weather and sports scores are limited by the "every 30 minutes refresh" rule for 3rd party complication APIs. What's the point of showing a baseball game complication if it's constantly 2 innings behind? Better off telling the MLB app to send me a push alert for every score change.

Despite the now-wealth of weather options, I still think the best bet for the most accuracy, is to use the stock weather complication, along with push alerts (from the iPhone) from Dark Sky.

 

[MakerOfCARROT]

Perfect. Looking forward to the update. you still need to pay $12 for the Mac version to get the severe weather info. Debating that or just using carrot with dark sky.

I'm hoping to add push alerts to the premium subscription in the future. The Mac app was just the first step for notifications - I was already building the Mac app, and it was relatively easy to just have it act like a server, constantly checking the weather in the background and then sending out notifications whenever it needed to. Having a central server that does all the work for everyone is a bit more complicated, but I'm hoping to start on that once I get an app for a certain new TV platform finished. So it's probably still a few months away.

 

[ericg301]

Saw this on reddit, regarding the API rules for 3rd party complications:

"Do not ask the system to update your complication within minutes. Instead, provide data to last for many hours or for an entire day. If your budget is exhausted, the next scheduled update does not occur until after your budget is replenished."

https://developer.apple.com/library...CLKComplicationDataSource_protocol/index.html

AKA - "do not expect weather complications to update anywhere close to real-time."

 

[MakerOfCARROT]

AKA - "do not expect weather complications to update anywhere close to real-time."

Yeah, complications are limited by the system to prevent apps from running code constantly throughout the day and thus draining your Watch's battery.

See my post in this thread that explains how the CARROT Weather complication works (and why it works that way).

 

[Traverse]

Yeah the app has gotten a lot better after the Weather Channel bought Weather Underground. They recently added a "hyper local" feature, similar to Dark Sky, to forecast precip down to the minute, for the next 6 hours.

How do you do this?

Also, can WU send me push rain notifications?

 

[ericg301]

How do you do this?

Also, can WU send me push rain notifications?

Check out the screenshots on the app store page:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weather-underground-radar/id486154808?mt=8

No push notifications for rain, yet. Kinda an oversight.

So I use WU for my day-to-day weather needs, and Dark Sky for precip notifications.

 

[Hamster100]

What are you guys using for weather on your watch face? We have several complications available now and I have tried a couple but continue to use the stock weather app. Dark Sky works, shows the temperature like the stock app and shows an umbrella and the word Soon when rain is in the area. WUnderground shows the temperature and current conditions with a small icon above the temperature. Update to temperature seems slower than the stock application.

One thing I have grown to like is the blue color of the temperature complication when using the multicolor option on the modular face. Using the other complications they only show in white. Not sure exactly what I'm looking for to be honest but that's why I'm asking. I'm curious what you guys are doing and like.

I have an Apple Watch Series 2. Its an interesting thread as I was reviewing the same on my Watch. For me I actually think that Yahoo Weather (Weather!) App is pretty decent, and I have been comparing this against Apple Weather, and Carrott Weather for accuracy against the actual temp at home. On testing these for over a week (in the UK where the temp is extremely variable) Yahoo came out on top for accurate readings. BUT the thing that is an annoyance is that it was slow to refresh...so when the complication might say -2 the App itself will say 2 or 3 (if its a few hours later). This also applied to Apple Weather to a certain extent and the problem with this is that you can never rely 100% on the complication which makes it less useful. I havent tried Dark Sky yet, and I found Carrot weather a little childish and unnecessary, for example one day, when it was sunny there was a message joking about skin cancer which was inappropriate.

 

[gsmornot]

I have an Apple Watch Series 2. Its an interesting thread as I was reviewing the same on my Watch. For me I actually think that Yahoo Weather (Weather!) App is pretty decent, and I have been comparing this against Apple Weather, and Carrott Weather for accuracy against the actual temp at home. On testing these for over a week (in the UK where the temp is extremely variable) Yahoo came out on top for accurate readings. BUT the thing that is an annoyance is that it was slow to refresh...so when the complication might say -2 the App itself will say 2 or 3 (if its a few hours later). This also applied to Apple Weather to a certain extent and the problem with this is that you can never rely 100% on the complication which makes it less useful. I havent tried Dark Sky yet, and I found Carrot weather a little childish and unnecessary, for example one day, when it was sunny there was a message joking about skin cancer which was inappropriate.

This is an old thread but I thought I would reply since you took the time to add here. I have settled on Carrot as it offers everything I'm looking for. The messages about cancer is called snark and can be turned off if you want the app to be more serious.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Carrot seems nice, but I can't bring myself to pay $6.50 for a weather app. I'm all for supporting developers, but come on! Plus the double-dip is especially insulting.

 

[MakerOfCARROT]

Carrot seems nice, but I can't bring myself to pay $6.50 for a weather app. I'm all for supporting developers, but come on! Plus the double-dip is especially insulting.

"Double dip"? I'm guessing you're referring to the subscription here. Believe me, I'd prefer not to have to charge a subscription, but I get charged a small amount for each update request to my weather data provider. Not a problem for an iPhone user, since they typically only check the weather once or twice a day - but the Apple Watch complication makes the app update 48 times a day, every day. That quickly adds up... to the point where it'd cost me more to deliver weather data to you than you paid for the app. So my choice was either charge a subscription or not offer an Apple Watch complication at all. I think my tens of thousands of subscribers would say I made the right decision

 

[oneMadRssn]

"Double dip"? I'm guessing you're referring to the subscription here. Believe me, I'd prefer not to have to charge a subscription, but I get charged a small amount for each update request to my weather data provider. Not a problem for an iPhone user, since they typically only check the weather once or twice a day - but the Apple Watch complication makes the app update 48 times a day, every day. That quickly adds up... to the point where it'd cost me more to deliver weather data to you than you paid for the app. So my choice was either charge a subscription or not offer an Apple Watch complication at all. I think my tens of thousands of subscribers would say I made the right decision

I appreciate that you have costs. I'm actually referring to the separate tvOS app for $4 (even though it is possible to make a universal iPhone/iPad/tv app); and the $12 macOS app.

 

[MakerOfCARROT]

I appreciate that you have costs. I'm actually referring to the separate tvOS app for $4 (even though it is possible to make a universal iPhone/iPad/tv app); and the $12 macOS app.

Ah. The macOS app is expensive for the same reason - it's constantly checking the weather throughout the day in the background. It just made more sense to charge an upfront fee on the Mac App Store rather than do a subscription there. The Apple TV app took a lot of additional work to get it functioning on the larger screen and working with the new remote. Without charging separately for it, it just wouldn't have made sense to make an Apple TV app at all.

 

[Hamster100]

I appreciate that you have costs. I'm actually referring to the separate tvOS app for $4 (even though it is possible to make a universal iPhone/iPad/tv app); and the $12 macOS app.

"Double dip"? I'm guessing you're referring to the subscription here. Believe me, I'd prefer not to have to charge a subscription, but I get charged a small amount for each update request to my weather data provider. Not a problem for an iPhone user, since they typically only check the weather once or twice a day - but the Apple Watch complication makes the app update 48 times a day, every day. That quickly adds up... to the point where it'd cost me more to deliver weather data to you than you paid for the app. So my choice was either charge a subscription or not offer an Apple Watch complication at all. I think my tens of thousands of subscribers would say I made the right decision

48 times a day....so once every 30 mins then and explains why there has to be the subscription. Thanks for clarification on this makes sense now, the complication is expected to always display as real time as possible as its always on display. I dont even think that Apple Weather or Yahoo Weather updates that frequently as often you have to tap it to update it

 

[Luba]

Apple Weather updates pretty quickly when you change location. The complication in Modular mode states the location that you're in so just by glancing you know whether the weather has been updated to your new location.