Apple has made noticeable improvements to the built-in Weather app in iOS 16 and expanded the available data. Users can now tap on any weather module for additional useful information that wasn’t available in the previous iOS 15.
For example, clicking on the main hourly or 10-day forecast will bring up more detailed forecasts that allow users to see daily temperatures in a graph view and make it easier to visualize temperature ranges and hourly weather conditions.
Most modules will provide hourly additional information. With the UV Index, users can see an estimate of UV throughout the day and gain a visual understanding of when UV exposure is greatest.
Wind, precipitation, humidity, visibility, and air pressure all have similar hourly graphs. The Sunset/Sunrise module provides information on first light, sunrise and sunset, last light and total insolation, as well as monthly averages of sunrise and sunset. When rain is forecast, there is a 10-minute interval rainfall map.
While Apple’s precipitation, temperature, and air quality maps are the same as before, with little added functionality, they have some slight design updates to round out the look. The updated Weather app now also offers severe weather alerts, though this is limited to specific regions. Apple says not all-weather features will be available in all countries.
To provide more information through the weather module, Apple is using data from Dark Sky, the weather app it acquired in 2020. In a blog post updated on June 6, Dark Sky noted that its forecasting technology has been enhanced and integrated into Apple’s Weather app, which in turn powers the new Weather app.
Dark Sky technology is also the technology behind WeatherKit, a new API for developers. WeatherKit is designed to let users incorporate weather forecast data into their apps. According to Apple, WeatherKit allows apps to provide current weather conditions and hourly forecasts for 10 days of temperature, precipitation, wind, UV index, and more, as well as minute-by-minute precipitation for the next hour and severe weather alerts for selected areas.
It is reported that Apple is bringing the weather app to the iPad for the first time with iPad OS 16. It’s the same weather app as iOS 16, but thanks to the larger display, users can get more information on one screen. There’s also a dedicated Weather app on macOS Ventura, which is identical to the iOS and iPadOS Weather apps, bringing functional parity to Apple’s device lineup.