Apple Weather app not a legit alternative for Dark Sky without features like 'Time Machine'; gets criticized for bad UI/UX

Acquired by Apple, the Dark Sky app was a popular weather app that provided users with detailed and accurate weather forecasts. It is particularly known for its innovative ‘Time Machine’ feature.

Time Machine allowed users to see historical weather data and get a glimpse of what the weather was like at a specific time in the past.

However, Apple recently announced that it would be retiring the Dark Sky app and integrating some of its features into the Weather app.

Apple Weather app criticized for bad UI/UX

The decision has met a lot of criticism from Dark Sky users, who pointed out that Apple Weather lacks many of the features, especially the user-friendly interface that made Dark Sky so popular.

Yuck @appleweather app! Steadfast until the very end..missing my Dark Sky. Looking for sweet UI weather app! Whatcha got?
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The Apple weather app is awful. Why did dark sky sell out to an inferior app? Apple weather app is awful. Difficult to use and locate information. Why did Dark Sky sell out?
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One of the most requested features from the Dark Sky app is the ‘Time Machine’, which allows users to see historical data for a specific area.

The feature is not yet available in the Weather app and a lot of users are asking for its inclusion.

In addition, some users have also pointed out other features that are not available on the Weather app as compared to the Dark Sky app.

These include the ability to set custom notifications for specific weather conditions and the option to view weather data in a variety of different formats, such as radar maps and temperature graphs.

The hyperlocal radar implementation in Apple Weather has been very sloppy though. One obvious example: the animation has been forecasting that rain clouds will take a sharp turn north ever since iOS 16 launch
Shame Apple didn’t fix these basic issues before turning Dark Sky off
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When Apple mods came across reports about the Weather app’s UI and UX on Apple forums, they responded by highlighting an article published by Apple that details how Dark Sky’s features have been integrated into app.

However, they also stated that the ‘Time Machine’ feature is not supported by the Weather app. They suggested users to write to the developers for the inclusion of such features.

On the flip side, premium users of the Dark Sky app are asking Apple if they will get refunds for the purchase owing to its discontinuation.

I just paid for this app a few months ago and now it’s being discontinued. Will I get a refund. Dark sky’s is merging with the weather app and I want to know if I’ll get my money back since it wasn’t mentioned when I purchased the app this year
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It remains to be seen whether Apple’s Weather app will be able to satisfy users’ needs with the current UI/UX and feature set.

That being said, we really hope that Apple pays attention to the users’ requests and resolves the issue as soon as possible.

Keep tabs on this story as we will update it with further developments.

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