Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

I would interpret “anyone can lose weight” to mean that anyone has the capability to lose weight, not that it is easy. On the contrary, I find losing weight to be pretty hard!

I do recognize that the phrase “anyone can do x” can often carry the connotation of being easy. But it depends on context.

Since we’re talking about a proprietary weather forecasting model and accompanying UI, I see no reason to assume it would be trivial. But rather that the data is available for anyone to use, should they decide to attempt to build the next Dark Sky. This is in contrast to building the next Google Maps, for example, where just getting a hold of the necessary data would probably cost a good deal of money.

1. It’s never up to date, and there’s no way to tell when it last updated. This has always been an issue, and it’s still not fixed in iOS 16. As I write this, Dark Sky says it’s 70°F outside, while Weather says it’s 68°F. Dark Sky is closer: it’s 71°F. There’s no way to get the Weather app to refresh. The temperature predictions in Weather are out-of-date. In a few minutes, it might randomly update.

2. There’s no way to see the precipitation probability in the Weather app, despite that being a very basic feature. Apple brands themselves as an outdoorsy lifestyle company. As someone who actually spends a lot of time outside, I consider this an essential feature.

3. Custom alerts are gone. Really, most alerts are gone. “Next-Hour Precipitation” alerts exist as an option but don’t work. Dark Sky’s precipitation alerts are almost always correct, but I rarely get alerts from Weather, and when I do they’re unhelpful.

4. Historical weather is missing from Weather.

I’ll be going back to using the NWS website once Dark Sky is gone. At least it’s better than the Weather app.

I don’t understand how a company that brands themselves as an essential component of an outdoors lifestyle could ax a feature like Dark Sky’s precipitation notifications and replace them with “next hour” notifications. That might make sense if you’re just using the app to decide whether it’s a suitable time for a jog, but that’s about it. If you’re going to be outside regardless of the weather, and you want to know whether to cover your backpack or temporarily take shelter, sorry, you’re out of luck.

I’m curious whether they made similar mistakes with the new Apple Watch Ultra. Once the cool factor wears off, is it actually going to be as versatile as Apple claims? Is it really for use outdoors, or is it just for showing off at parties? Anyone who’s tried to use an Apple Watch in the rain or water on a regular basis has probably experienced usability issues at one point or another; for example, if you’re swimming, Apple Watch might repeatedly prompt you to select your type of exercise, despite the fact that you’ve already enabled water mode and can’t interact with the screen. Rain can land you in a similar situation.

Edit: Reworded some excessively snarky comments.

WeatherNerd: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/weather-nerd/id958363882

Has a calendar icon, tap it to see any actual day historically or, if more tham 2 weeks ahead, based on almanac type prediction. Used to be best out there for considering travel three months from now.

I’m a weather geek with ~4 folder panes of 9 apps each, and WeatherNerd is in the “must have” front pane.

Dark Sky used to be my #1, but was superseded by Carrot (which has a Dark Sky feed) for everyday use and Windy.app at storm-prone water front with microclimates and wind/wave/tide patterns, thanks to meteogram-style overlay of competing weather models for precipitation and wind.

Windy.app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/windy-app-wind-weather/id99707...

iOS 16 Weather is remarkable though. It’s now easily third on my list, and would likely be first for most people especially since no subscription fee. For instance, try to use apps to look at UV graph for next Saturday — few can. The live background is fun, and the iPad layout is as much detail instrumentation as most people can handle.

But in my book, DarkSky started it all — the race for precise accurate practical usable micro cell weather, and happy for them they are now getting into so many more hands through the new iOS 16 app.

But Carrot is the spiritual successor.

Carrot: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather-alerts-radar/id...

It has TimeTravel too. And because Carrot has a fully editable UI builder, it transmogrifies into whatever weather app you like best.

While not directly comparable I love weatherspark for planning travel [0]. I first used it to help plan honeymoon travel.

[0] https://weatherspark.com/

> Our goal has always been to provide the world with the best weather information possible, to help as many people as we can stay dry and safe, and to do so in a way that respects your privacy.

There is no better place to accomplish these goals than at Apple. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to reach far more people, with far more impact, than we ever could alone.

...

> Service to existing users and subscribers of the Android app will now continue until August 1, 2020, at which point the app will be shut down. Subscribers who are active at that time will receive a full refund. Weather forecasts, maps, and embeds available on the Dark Sky website will also shut down on August 1, 2020.

Even if you follow their reasoning here, apparently blessing new iOS users with their technology who have never asked for it (by integrating it into the system app) is more important than keeping the tech available for old Android users who did ask for it.