Apple Weather
Ranked 3 of 14 weather apps by recommenders
Praised for accurate rain and wind forecasts and a 10-day view with precipitation; critics say it lags Dark Sky on accuracy and notifications.
Praised for accurate rain and wind forecasts and a 10-day view with precipitation; critics say it lags Dark Sky on accuracy and notifications.
74 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 54
- approval share
- 27%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Accurate rain and weather forecasts
“The rainfall-per-minute over the next hour on iOS seems about the same accuracy as Dark Sky had”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” “seems the most accurate forecast for Prague when it comes to TP/FP for rain in Prague”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “WeatherNext 3” “the iOS weather app is hyper accurate I’ve found in Europe in comparison to America”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “WeatherNext 3” - Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “WeatherNext 3”
- Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “WeatherNext 3”
Matches Dark Sky accuracy since acquisition
“The rainfall-per-minute over the next hour on iOS seems about the same accuracy as Dark Sky had”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” “Apple's weather app is finally good though since the Dark Sky acquisition.”
Comment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Acme Weather” “it works the same as it did with Dark Sky”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” Smooth and well optimized app
“Overall the app is relatively optimized”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM” “the macOS one feels very smooth”
Comment from 10 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Less accurate than Dark Sky
“they've never gotten close to the the accuracy and reliability that Dark Sky had for everything local climate/weather related”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27” “Apple Weather has never been as accurate as Dark Sky for me, especially for rain forecast.”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “WeatherNext 3” “mostly with Apple Weather as the source (no source is as good as Dark Sky was”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” - Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)”
Rain forecasts often wrong
“I've been burned by Apple's rain forecast many times causing me to time my bike ride home at the worst possible time”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “WeatherNext 2: Our most advanced weather forecasting model” “A lot of times I’m literary standing in the rain and Apple tells me the chance for rain is 0%”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” “Its precipitation percentages have also been much more accurate than Apple weather”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” Uses too much RAM
“250 MB is exactly the sort of bloat you'd expect from this sort of daft web-browser-wrapper application”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM” “can jump to 1GB on a mac if you click around a little with the wind gust direction particle effect”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM” “Even a weather app that uses "only" 250MB of RAM should never have been delivered”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM” - Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM”
Awkward, dull design
“Apple Weather is functional, but dull.”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023)” “They just feel awkward and unreliable.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “WeatherNext 2: Our most advanced weather forecasting model” “I got fed up with several things in Apple Weather but they appeared to be lack of care and attention to design”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Why You Hate Your Weather App” - Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “macOS 27 is so buggy”
Other weather apps people recommend
The four most recommended other weather apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brolly | 28 | 7 | 80% | 1 | — | — |
| Sundial weather app | 22 | 1 | 96% | 3 | — | — |
| Apple WeatherThis page | 20 | 54 | 27% | 6 | — | — |
| Acme Weather | 17 | 13 | 57% | 2 | — | — |
| Yr | 12 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 80 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“my gripe is with their implementation, which seems very in tune with Apple's way of complying with regulations”
“all modal windows on iOS have a close button on the right, except the weather app that has a close on the left”
“The weather app for new precipitation and wind forecasts that can be seen in the 10 day forecast, without having to tap on every day for details.”
“they've never gotten close to the the accuracy and reliability that Dark Sky had for everything local climate/weather related”
“Hilarious that the article is like "Apple's weather app is only 200MB!"”
“Apple Weather has never been as accurate as Dark Sky for me, especially for rain forecast.”
“Apple weather is one of the most accurate ones.”
“the iOS weather app is hyper accurate I’ve found in Europe in comparison to America”
“seems the most accurate forecast for Prague when it comes to TP/FP for rain in Prague”
“remarkably accurate at predicting rain, both timing and severity”
“the macOS one feels very smooth”
“Even a weather app that uses "only" 250MB of RAM should never have been delivered”
“Overall the app is relatively optimized”
“250 MB is exactly the sort of bloat you'd expect from this sort of daft web-browser-wrapper application”
“I don't mind e.g Apple's weather app design at all”
“That's also bloated, couldn't they find a better comparison to illustrate the egregious waste?”
“can jump to 1GB on a mac if you click around a little with the wind gust direction particle effect”
“DarkSky was just killed by Apple for everyone but Apple customers when they merged it in.”
“I got fed up with several things in Apple Weather but they appeared to be lack of care and attention to design”
“Apple Weather^* and some separte fridge-tracking app”
“Apple Weather is surprising evolved from the app of 20 years ago”
“Apple's weather app is finally good though since the Dark Sky acquisition.”
“is supposedly safer to share real-time location with since Apple won't share it with anyone”
“Not seen any ads or news in it yet.”
“it works the same as it did with Dark Sky”
“Apple Weather is functional, but dull.”
“mostly with Apple Weather as the source (no source is as good as Dark Sky was”
“marked decline in the reliability & accuracy of the information provided to me”
“Its precipitation percentages have also been much more accurate than Apple weather”
“A lot of times I’m literary standing in the rain and Apple tells me the chance for rain is 0%”
“I've never seen them not match”
“the map will show rain coming that doesn't show anywhere else in the Weather app”
“why do they use high/low based on calendar date rather than daily high and overnight low.”
“The Apple weather application seems less motivated to send me notifications with any sort of regularity.”
“The rainfall-per-minute over the next hour on iOS seems about the same accuracy as Dark Sky had”
“Apple does offer location specific notifications of rain which I find to be pretty accurate”
“I've been burned by Apple's rain forecast many times causing me to time my bike ride home at the worst possible time”
“They just feel awkward and unreliable.”
“it's as good as it ever was, imho”
“generally this is pretty accurate”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.