Apple pushes Dark Sky holdouts to switch to Apple Weather, but some users aren’t happy
As we covered in depth yesterday, the Dark Sky weather app that Apple acquired in 2020 will be officially shut down in less than two weeks. While there are a number of popular alternatives out there, Apple has published a new support document detailing why it thinks Dark Sky users should make the jump to the stock Weather app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
The closing of Dark Sky looms
In the support document, Apple says that many of Dark Sky’s features are “integrated into Apple Weather.” The company says it includes things like hyperlocal forecasts for your current location, including next-hour precipitation, hourly forecasts for the next 10 days, high-resolution radar, and notifications.
The rest of the support document is focused on guiding Dark Sky users through the features and design of the Apple Weather app. Apple breaks down the various features of the app, how to use the cards, managing notifications, and more.
However, despite Apple’s promises, some users are not convinced that Apple Weather is a suitable replacement for Dark Sky. In a recent thread on Reddit, a number of Dark Sky users say that Apple Weather is still behind Dark Sky when it comes to data, notifications and more.
What I’m most interested in is the real time forecast – like “it will stop raining in 10 minutes and then pick up again in 45 minutes”. I found Dark Sky to be good at that. Apple is so-so. This link is not about the kind of prediction I’m interested in. (Which I can use to help decide exactly when to commute by bike.. often, waiting to leave by 15 minutes can make a big difference)
I’m afraid of January 1st. Dark Sky has been my go-to wx app for many years. I’m trying to get used to Weather, but it just doesn’t give me what I need without using dropdown menus. Not to mention zero notifications of weather events.
But one thing to keep in mind is that the reliability of each weather app can vary greatly from one location to another. Much of the Apple Weather app is based on Dark Sky data, so there is little reason for the app to be less accurate than the Dark Sky app was.
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 play into the reliability of weather data and notifications, and it’s important to try several different apps to get a feel for which is most accurate in your location.
This could be a YMMV type of situation. I switched to the stock apple weather app from dark sky and the weather alerts seem pretty accurate to me. It feels like Apple simply integrated Dark Sky’s core functionality into its stock weather app while ditching its UI.
Dark Sky will be closed 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 in the comments.
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