As we covered in depth yesterday, the Dark Sky weather app that Apple acquired in 2020 is set to go offline in less than two weeks. While there are a number of popular alternatives, Apple has released a new support document explaining why it thinks Dark Sky users should upgrade to the stock Weather app on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Dark Sky shutdown looms
In the support document, Apple announces that many features of Dark Sky “have been integrated into Apple Weather”. The company says this includes things like useful hyperlocales for your current location, including next hour’s rainfall, useful schedules for the next 10 days, high-resolution radar, and notifications.
The rest of the support document aims to guide Dark Sky users through the functionality and design of the Apple Weather app. Apple breaks down the app’s various features, how to use maps, manage notifications, and more.
Despite Apple’s promises, some users aren’t convinced that Apple Weather is a suitable replacement for Dark Sky. In a recent Reddit thread, a number of Dark Sky claim that Apple Weather still lags Dark Sky in terms of data, notifications, etc.
What interests me the most are the real-time consumables – like “it will stop raining in 10 minutes and then start again in 45 minutes”. I found Dark Sky excellent in this area. Apple is average. This link is not for the type of buyer I am interested in. (Which I can use to decide exactly when I should commute by bike…often waiting 15 minutes to leave can make a big difference)
I dread January 1st. Dark Sky has been my favorite wx app for many years. I’m trying to get used to the weather, but it just doesn’t give me what I need without using the drop down menus. Not to mention zero notification of weather events.
But one thing to keep in mind is that the reliability of each weather app can vary wildly from place to place. Much of the Apple Weather app is based on Dark Sky data, so there’s no reason for the app to be less accurate than the Dark Sky app.
In fact, one Reddit user even points out that Dark Sky was “notorious for being inaccurate for most locations.” There are a number of other factors that go into the reliability of weather data and notifications, and it’s important to try several different apps to get an idea of which one is most accurate to your location.
This could be a YMMV type situation. I migrated to the stock apple weather app from dark sky and the weather alerts seem pretty accurate to me. Looks like Apple just rolled the basic functionality of Dark Sky into its stock weather app while stripping its user interface.
Dark Sky is scheduled to shut down on January 1, 2023. If you’re looking for a replacement, check out our full guide here. If you’re still a Dark Sky user, what are your plans for the new year? Let us know on our social networks.
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