THE iPHONE’s weather app got much-needed a facelift in iOS 15 with new capabilities that can help you avoid dodgy weather.
The upgrades to the weather app could make third-party weather apps unnecessary.
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Apple has eaten criticisms of their weather app, prompting unflattering headlines like “Why Apple’s Weather app for iOS sucks” and “Why is the weather app always so wrong?“.
Apple’s in-house weather app has a paltry rating of 3.3 out of 5 on the App Store – more than full point behind the AccuWeather app, which is free.
The weather app was one of the default apps that often found itself tucked away in a folder titled “Apps I Don’t Use But Can’t Delete” alongside the Apple compass and lightly-used Keynote app.
But Apple has turned a storm into sunshine without revamping the weather app entirely.
iOS 15 brought a barrage of new features to the iPhone’s software including Facemask ID and the Focus program.
Improvements to the weather app have flown under the radar, with a 10 day forecast and new notification options.
Perhaps the lack of hype is attributable to the fact the best new features are subtle or tucked away – but still accessible and useful.
To view a full-screen radar, tap the map icon in the lower left corner of the weather app – the map can be curated to show precipitation, temperature and even air quality over a given region.
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With the radar open, tap the screen once to animate the forecast over a 12-hour cycle.
Click “Done” in the upper left corner of the full-screen radar to return to the Weather app’s main page.
Below the hourly forecast is a colored bar with a white dot – this dot represents the current temperature in comparison to the day’s expected high and low.
Scroll down on the Weather app to view more detailed weather data like the UV index, real feel and visibility.
Apple acquired the weather app Dark Sky, which sold for $3.99 on the app store, for an undisclosed amount in 2020 – Apple has applied some of Dark Sky’s tech in their weather app reboot.
The Dark Sky app is still available but no longer functions on phones that do not run iOS like the Android.
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