Weather apps from Apple, CNN, the Weather Channel, and Yahoo all have their advantages. Here’s how to know which is right for you.
Ask people which app they use most frequently on their phones, and they’re likely to pick one of five types: a messaging app, a maps app, a web browser, a clock app, or a weather app. If they go with a weather app, it could be one of many.
In fact, there are so many weather forecasting apps available for the iPhone—hundreds of them—that Apple’s App Store gives them their own category, something that can’t be said for, say, clock apps. While most come from smaller indie developers, there are a handful of ones from major brands, including Apple, CNN, The Weather Channel, and Yahoo. Here’s how these biggies compare, and which may be the right one for you.
Apple Weather
The first weather app that most iPhone owners become acquainted with is Apple’s own, Weather. It’s the default weather app and ships on all new iPhones. It’s also one of the iPhone’s only default Apple-owned apps that is truly best in class. This is evident in its design.
The Weather app has that familiar Apple polish: clean, easy-to-read elements that let you access a wealth of weather data with a single tap. The app features a single long vertical design that displays widgets for everything from hourly and 10-day forecasts to air pollution levels, precipitation maps, wind data, UV indices, and even the phases of the moon.
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All of this is set against a beautifully animated backdrop that reflects the real-time weather conditions in the areas being viewed. An added bonus: Your saved locations in the Weather app sync across all your Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even Apple Watch.
CNN Weather
When you think of CNN, you probably think of the international news network that kickstarted the cable news boom in the 1980s. CNN has long made news apps for iPhone, but in May, the network released its first weather app, called CNN Weather.
There are two big benefits to the CNN Weather app that the other entrants on this list lack: simplicity and live weather news coverage. CNN Weather’s design is sparse. Launch the app, and you’re presented with primarily black text set against a white background, along with simple weather chart graphics. This delivers the most important weather information (hourly and 10-day forecasts, along with current conditions) without the fuss.
Source: www.inc.com
