Dark Sky Goes Dead 😞

david19 · September 12, 2022, 11:11pm

Just opened Dark Sky today and saw the following information. It’s being discontinued on January 1, 2023. Happy New Years!

I have Apple’s Weather forecast, but I liked the way Dark Sky presented the

bookrats · September 12, 2022, 11:54pm

I knew its demise was coming; just didn’t know when. I do like the way they presented the deadline – no pop-up, and it’s visible where you can’t miss it.

For me, I really liked Dark Sky’s old UI, before they revamped it; if they were still using that, instead of the current one, it would be a lot disappointed. Given that, the difference between the Apple Weather app and the current Dark Sky app is fairly small, and I’m good with switching to the former. YMMV, of course.

aforkosh · September 12, 2022, 11:54pm

I think that it was a common expectation that Dark Sky would die at some point after Apple bought it. Amusingly, Dark Sky and Apple show different readings and forecasts for my location. Dark Sky’s readings and forecasts seem to be about 3 degrees Fahrenheit below Apple’s

Simon · September 13, 2022, 12:44am

I still enjoy using their website. For my home, their forecast is not identical to Apple’s and I appreciate being able to look up theirs. I dread the day their web page no longer works.

alvarnell · September 13, 2022, 5:04am

As I recall the dates were announced a year or more ago. Perhaps they recently started posting the banner notices, but I’ve been seeing them for at least two or three months on my Mac as it has long been my go-to weather page.

tommy · September 13, 2022, 6:17am

My wife will be disappointed, it was her fave. I had moved on to a combo of Windy for detail / local and Apple’s weather for a quick overview, mainly accessed via Siri.

mahu · September 16, 2022, 4:29pm

The globe was my favorite part – are they killing that too? That’s a shame and so pointless.

gib · September 18, 2022, 3:56pm

This is, unfortunately, pretty standard stuff when a big outfit like Apple buys a little startup: they often do it in because it’s competitive. I’ll miss those chimes announcing “rain starting in 7 minutes, ending 12 minutes later.” Nothing else comes close to its accuracy (which has diminished significantly since Apple’s purchase).

aforkosh · September 18, 2022, 4:44pm

Apple has moved a lot of that functionality over its own Weather app. Unfortunately, currently, the app is available only for the iPhone. As I recall, it will also be available on the iPad with the new update. Hopefully, it will also show u on the Mac. Unfortunately, )for the world, not Apple), it will probably email an Apple exclusive.

One nice touch: When it’s raining, sthe raindrops in the background animation bounce off the information cards.

jeff2 · September 19, 2022, 1:58am

I noticed the raindrops, too. And they rain right on through between half-width cards. Fun.

But I agree with folks who note less accuracy in the Apple app.

david19 · September 19, 2022, 3:03am

Apple weather will show you a map of the world and world wide precipitation and temperatures, but not a globe if you zoom all the way out. The globe was fun to spin.

george · September 20, 2022, 1:38pm

I got Dark sky for my iPad. No Apple weather there unless it isn OS16. So a big loss for me.

ace · September 20, 2022, 8:18pm

Yes, iOS 16 does have Apple’s Weather app finally.

dianed143 · September 23, 2022, 2:27pm

Here’s something I didn’t see mentioned. I use the hourly wind forecast to plan my bike rides. Apple’s weather can tell me the current wind (as does my weather station) but I really like seeing the hourly estimate. I used to use the Weather Channel app but deleted that quite a few years ago. Is there a way to see this is iOS 16 or do I have to go to another app again? (right now I go to Dark Sky on the web)

david19 · September 23, 2022, 3:52pm

Actually…

In iOS 16, there’s a drop-down menu on the top right that lets you select what hourly estimates you want. Wind speed and direction is one of them.

dianed143 · September 23, 2022, 4:03pm

THANK YOU! This just showed up in 16? I haven’t run the update yet and couldn’t find it in 15.

Thanks
Diane

ace · September 23, 2022, 4:06pm

Yep. See the article I just wrote:

dianed143 · September 23, 2022, 4:36pm

Thanks Adam! Sorry I had missed the article the other day. I look forward to trying the new features, not sure I want to pay for Carrot. Is it me or can one not see the subscription cost unless it’s downloaded? I had downloaded it at one point but deleted it.

Diane

ace · September 23, 2022, 5:15pm

Looks like the pricing details are in the press kit. It’s not cheap, so it depends on how weather-involved you are.

http://www.meetcarrot.com/weather/presskit.html

dianed143 · September 23, 2022, 7:02pm

Thanks! I like weather a lot but pretty sure I don’t want a subscription for that much. I’ll wait till I upgrade the phone and go from there.

Diane