Taking weather apps into the 21st century
Gone are the days of simple weather apps that merely predict tomorrow’s weather and instead today there is a world of innovative weather apps that are truly shaping everything from the logistics of global companies right through to the strategies of emergency aid charities.
With such a breadth of different weather apps, and with technology and APIs that are always advancing, here we wanted to highlight just what it means to be a weather app developer in the 21st century.
No more unreliable weather data
In the earliest days of weather app development (back when Smartphones were just starting out and distinctly the underdogs in an Apple dominated market) the options for weather data were seriously restricted. Today however there is a plethora of weather APIs from which to choose with ever more reliable data as well as always advancing features.
If we take a look at our own API to highlight this, we can see that nowadays forecasts even ten days ahead can be seriously reliable, which is then backed up by fast, efficient and always up-to-date data delivery and a range of upcoming features (such as Historical weather actuals, Analytics API and a Map Layer API which will empower our users further).
A range of features beyond weather forecasts
The features that are included in the modern range of weather apps are incredibly varied and wide ranging, and as a team that leads the way within the industry we’re proud to be at the forefront of API offerings.
To this end we currently provide the following, rather robust, API features:
– Wind direction
– Local forecasts
– Emergency alerts
– Dynamic backgrounds
– Hazards
– Cloud coverage
– Satellite images
– Integration with other features that truly work the weather into everyday lives (through features such as clock, calendar and route planner integration).
Weather apps that are truly part of the 21st century
Sometimes the best inspiration comes directly from appreciating what current developers have achieved, so here is a rundown of what some of the most diverse, 21st century weather apps have achieved today, so far.
1. Weather Extreme (iOS)
Weather Extreme is a seriously comprehensive app for iPhone and iPad. It includes beautifully detailed retina graphics and features all of the everyday weather forecasts, as well as 3D earth integration and the use of the handset’s clocks and calendars to plan ahead, whatever the weather.
2. Weather Live (iOS)
Weather Live is an app that has focused upon the beauty of weather forecast presentation. It opts for a fresh, clean interface over and above the extensive weather data that apps such as Weather Extreme serve up.
3. Simple Weather Alert (Android)
The Simple Weather Alert app for Android doesn’t pretend to be focused on being pretty, and instead provides functional weather alerts with sufficient, up-to-date details to keep the user constantly informed.
The APIXU team appreciate the importance of innovation within today’s hustling, bustling, crowded app market and when innovating coders need to know that they have APIs at their fingertips. We know that coders need APIs that will serve as the solid backend, data partner for their forward thinking, freshly designed app interfaces and user experiences.
