Any thoughts on Apple shutting down Dark Sky. It has been my favorite weather app since its launch and Apple's integration of it into their weather app leaves so much of out.
Comments
Quin1617 t1_j2flapv wrote
Unfortunately the site dies on 3/31/23.
david_chi t1_j2f4imq wrote
Apple messed up big time. They should have dumped their own Weather app and made Dark Sky their installed default app.
clojrinauo t1_j2f8tgp wrote
That would have been amazing.
PlasticReaction421 t1_j2fu0bs wrote
That's exactly what they're doing, just the other way around. The former Dark Sky team maintains the Weather app now. They've just built the old Dark Sky features into the existing Weather app rather than rebrand the existing Dark Sky app. Which makes obvious sense if you think about the realities of how Apple's default apps are maintained.
david_chi t1_j2fv9f3 wrote
Nope.
Bear with me and a crude analogy. They had an 81 AMC Pacer, then they went out and bought a Ferrari. Instead of just driving the Ferrari they tried to take some parts from the Ferrari and slap them on the antiquated AMC Pacer.
Look ma, I put lipstick on a pig!!!!!
curiousitymdg t1_j2etbzr wrote
I’m waiting to see if it improves. Forecasts have been iffy lately.
ottoofc t1_j2exbe3 wrote
For where I live, the weather app showed yesterday that max temp tomorrow (today) would be 4C today but actual max was 11C.
clojrinauo t1_j2f8khy wrote
Sounds about right
clojrinauo t1_j2f8jnv wrote
But why kill Dark Sky? What’s the point?
tubezninja t1_j2fhfx1 wrote
They bought dark sky for the API and that's pretty much it. They don't want to maintain two weather apps, especially one that wasn't made with their design principles in mind.
Not defending the decision, just relaying the (very likely) philosophy.
Quin1617 t1_j2fk803 wrote
I love that app’s UI and have used it since late 2017.
The Weather app is great but all of Dark Sky’s features still aren’t implemented. Like Time Machine.
Oddly, Dark Sky is also much faster than Weather at sending alerts.
clojrinauo t1_j2evagh wrote
I weep for the death of this app.
A ridiculous decision by Apple.
Their own app doesn’t come close. Doesn’t even have the same weather forecast, let alone the interface being terrible (although admittedly a lot prettier than Dark Sky - way less functional).
Although one thing. I’m hoping it might stay on until April now? I get this new message in place of the old “we will needlessly kill this brilliant app on 31 December”: https://i.imgur.com/T0djYOK.jpg
“More info” goes to this page https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT213526
Maximum_Chicken5472 t1_j2evy11 wrote
I was wondering the same. Hopefully they keep it active longer.
clojrinauo t1_j2ewckx wrote
Fingers crossed. Interesting to note the conciliatory tone of the new message. I should imagine the feedback from Dark Sky users has been overwhelmingly negative given how appalling the replacement is.
Maximum_Chicken5472 t1_j2ewiwd wrote
I’ve given carrot a try, apple weather, and others. Just leave me and my dark sky alone!
0000GKP t1_j2f0nka wrote
>Although one thing. I’m hoping it might stay on until April now?
The Dark Sky API will remain available through the end of March, so services like Carrot Weather that use it for their weather data can continue using the data until then, then they will have to switch to Apple WeatherKit or find another provider.
The Dark Sky app should die tonight.
f-x_1-1 t1_j2f8xi0 wrote
I hate subscription-based weather apps ): will miss you Dark Sky.
dimlylitmurder t1_j2frukr wrote
After I heard the news I actually did switch myself over to the Apple weather app, and I’ve actually been quite enjoying it too. The design is nice and it shows me a majority of what I really need to know, and the widget is quite nice as well. As far as Apple apps go it’s probably the only app of theirs that I feel is actually done well and that’s 100% because of them buying dark sky lol
My least favorite part of the app is the clunky nature of clicking on things to get more info, dark sky was snappy and when you tapped on something it would play a quick animation but show everything right below what you tapped on, like the temps through the day for example. Apples app plays a much longer and more clumsy animation that brings up a separate page or “card” which I just really hate. It’s overall an alright app that I don’t hate using but god I’m gonna miss how intuitive and snappy dark sky was…
yellowstickycard t1_j2fvn4r wrote
I’ve tried to move over to Apple Weather, but it doesn’t have the clean, simple UI that DarkSky has.
WalnutWhipWilly t1_j2fi7nl wrote
Dark Sky was awesome. I stopped using it about 6 months ago when I heard the news, sad that it’s effectively being torn apart for scrap. An acrimonious end to a very useful app.
aljones27 t1_j2fryss wrote
Bit annoyed as best weather app I’ve used. They taken the info into the native weather app but I don’t think it displays as nicely (and losing the ability to see DarkSky on other platforms)… Suspect I’ll be playing with other weather apps again until I settle on one again.
theskyopenedup t1_j2f8ofv wrote
What happens to Carrot if you’re not a subscriber, since that’s the free default option?
Legoman718 t1_j2fldie wrote
will probably switch to Apple's Weather API, but you should ask CARROT's developer to be sure
neonraspberry_ t1_j2fpvuc wrote
Foreca is the free option for me. Both Dark Sky and Apple Weather are paid options.
Legoman718 t1_j2fl2wg wrote
I switched to CARROT a couple months ago after the announcement that Dark Sky would be shut down. I absolutely love it, but I'll forever miss Dark Sky's simplicity and accurate forecasts
scarflicter t1_j2f9in2 wrote
What are people using on their Macs? Ideally I'm looking for a weather app that will automatically give a daily update on today's weather.
Skripka t1_j2erk7z wrote
Given how Apple has unused the DS resources following purchase....it strikes me as buying the only weather app worth a damn to come to Android--rather than an actual useful acquisition for Apple.
A few days of Apple's weather app was enough for me to subscribe to Carrot.
clojrinauo t1_j2ewjlq wrote
It would have been better if they just burnt the money the spent on Dark Sky.
blue_socks123 t1_j2f14fr wrote
What is dark sky? Is it the «normal» iPhone weather app?
Edit: people Are downvoting because i al asking a question bruh
jccfis t1_j2fp765 wrote
It’s the gold standard of iPhone weather apps. It pioneered “hyperlocal” forecasting, where the app would tell you down to the minute when it would start and stop raining, for example. Apple bought the app a couple of years ago, integrated some, but not all, of its features into the stock Westher app, removed it from Android, and will shut down the app entirely on 01 Jan 2023.
PlasticReaction421 t1_j2fuaeg wrote
What is being conveniently ignored in this parade of morons is that Apple bought Dark Sky so they could use that team and their technology to rebuild the iOS Weather app, which was released with iOS 16. If you're on 16 then the Weather app is basically Dark Sky. Idk why anyone is acting like Dark Sky was just deleted from existence.
samanthaxboateng t1_j2fv7tz wrote
So I should just delete the app now? It's not worth keeping? It's won't work at all?
theulysses t1_j2fu1o6 wrote
I never saw the hype but I don’t fault anyone for liking it.
cr0wit0 t1_j2ewarf wrote
I dont know what the fuzz about this is. I use dark sky and myRADAR, and trust me, here in central Texas, the weather changes every 5 minutes… dark sky could not keep up. It is better than the stock yahoo weather that apple uses, but not better than myRADAR… The weather app would be better, as long as they use their pretty map and the hour by hour precipitation… I think that’s the only parts that dark sky has, everything else is normal. Will stick with myRADAR for now.
0000GKP t1_j2f0s59 wrote
>I dont know what the fuzz about this is.
It was the best weather app there was. Apple obviously agreed, because they chose to buy that one and not some other one.
cr0wit0 t1_j2f1ypi wrote
I did say that the pretty map and hour by hour precipitation… thats why apple bought it… everything else is regular.
clojrinauo t1_j2f8q4b wrote
Dark Sky Time Machine is amazing. For a start
tgeekb t1_j2fl2fk wrote
Dark Sky had a cult following. If you read what meteorologists say it was really nothing special. It was good at telling you what the current weather was but had no magical way of predicting future weather any better that the others. There are multiple weather apps that are just as good.
IntelPentium4 t1_j2fo8kx wrote
Which apps? I’ve installed a bunch but I’m still looking for a worthy Dark Sky replacement. I can’t stomach Carrot’s fees.
tgeekb t1_j2fp7gg wrote
It probably depends on where you live, what type of weather you receive, etc. I personally use Today weather. But there are lots to chose from. Try them out and see which works best for you.
chemicalsam t1_j2fih52 wrote
The new Weather app is a great replacement for dark sky
0000GKP t1_j2f1h5z wrote
Dark Sky definitely got it right with an incredibly efficient and informative display. Almost all of that data has now made it into Apple's Weather app, but with much more concern for making it pretty than making it efficient.
I started using Dark Sky in 2008 when it was nothing but the forecast.io website. There was no app yet and it had not been renamed to Dark Sky yet. I started transitioning to Weather after Apple announced the death of the app. I used both of them for a while, but have now been 100% Weather app for a few months.
I use https://maps.darksky.net quite often. I'll miss that when it's gone, or maybe they will leave it up and rename it?