Popular iOS weather app Dark Sky was released for Android this week.
The weather app is best known for its elegant design and its hyperlocal forecasting, produced by aggregating data from 19 different meteorological sources as well as sourcing information from users directly. The results are specific and often accurate as well, with notifications like ‘rain stopping’ or ‘snow beginning in 19 minutes!’ that you’ll want to show your friends when they come true.
Experimental pricing
Dark Sky on iOS is a one-time purchase for £3, but the company is taking a different approach on the Play Store. The app is available for free, but all of the truly excellent features require an in-app purchase to access. You’re given a two week trial of these premium features, and after that you’ll have the choice of upgrading to a £3 yearly subscription or using the basic version of the app for free.
The app’s advanced features only work in the US, UK and Ireland, so it’s probably not worth the purchase if you’re outside of these areas. If you are, then the modest purchase price seems quite reasonable. I personally use this app daily, and its uncanny accuracy for predicting imminent rain is worth the price of admission alone.
The iOS version plus widgets
The Android app contains of almost all of the same features as the iOS version, lacking only the ability for barometric data to be reported from your phone’s sensors (not a big loss). The Android version does include some obligatory widgets (shown below) which look quite pretty.
Dark Sky is available now on the Google Play Store. It’s free and well worth trying out, so give it a download and let us know what you think! You can also take a look at Dark Sky’s forecasting service on the web at forecast.io, which gives you a good idea of what to expect in the app itself.
Image credits / via: Dan Seifert (The Verge), Aaron Souppouris (Engadget)