Mar. 31st 2020 3:54 pm

If you’ve ever looked for a good weather app, Dark Sky was probably on the list of recommendations. That’s well-deserved as the app was well built on both Android and iOS with a clean design, great features, and excellent weather forecasts too. Now, Apple has acquired Dark Sky and killed off the Android app. If, like me, that’s left you wondering what to move on to, here are the best weather apps for Android.

Dark Sky is dead — What made it so great?

To briefly go over what’s happened, on March 31 Dark Sky announced that it has joined Apple. Starting June 30, all current Dark Sky subscribers will lose access to the Android app and, over time, the Dark Sky API will be killed off as well. It’s not confirmed, but it seems very likely that Apple has plans to use the team and tech from Dark Sky to bolster the iOS Weather app.

Still, this leaves Android users without that excellent service. What made Dark Sky the best weather app on Android? It offered up a very clean, functional design for one thing. Dark Sky was always quick to support new Android features, followed design trends, and offered an ad-free, yearly subscription-supported experience. Plus, it was hard to beat the up-to-the-minute precipitation forecasts in Dark Sky and its decent Wear OS app too.

Dark Sky ends service in July, but the app has already disappeared from the Play Store. If you want to sideload the APK and enjoy the last few minutes, you can always do that.

There’s no true replacement for Dark Sky, but below I’ve gone through a handful of other weather apps on Android so you can, hopefully, find a replacement that’s right for you.

The Best Weather Apps for Android

Essentially since the moment it was revealed Dark Sky was being killed off, I’ve been on the hunt for a proper replacement. There are a lot of weather apps available on the Google Play Store, but many are poorly designed, full of ads, or lack features I loved from Dark Sky.

If you want to replace Dark Sky, here are the best weather apps on Android that, in my opinion, fill that empty spot on your homescreen.

Cutting right to the chase, I think Today Weather is going to be my replacement for Dark Sky. Out of everything on this list, I think it does the best job of replicating Dark Sky’s features and even adding on to them.

Today’s clean UI shows current conditions right at the top with a ton of detail below. You’ll see an hourly forecast for the day as well as details on humidity, visibility, and the “feels like” temperature. Scrolling down the single page the app also details a weekly forecast, the current chance of precipitation, air quality, pollen counts, sunrise/sunset times, the moon phase, current wind conditions, and the radar too. Any of these sections can also be turned off easily in the settings menu.

The app respects Android’s dark theme toggle, has a customizable widget, and allows users to control almost all aspects of the app. As mentioned, the “widgets” on the app’s main screen can be turned off if you prefer, but users can also change units and the data source that Today Weather uses. Dark Sky is on that list, but there are over a dozen in total. The app also supports daily notifications and alerts for incoming weather conditions.

Today Weather costs $2.99 per year, just like Dark Sky was, but there’s a “forever” option for $6.49 and a 6-month subscription for $1.59. Of course, you can still use it for free if you’re willing to put up with ads.

Perhaps the best part of Dark Sky was its up-to-the-minute precipitation forecasts. Most apps that provide those are using the Dark Sky API to offer it, but luckily there are other options! Accuweather is perhaps the most notable, here.

With its “MinuteCast” feature, Accuweather offers something very similar to what Dark Sky offered. It looks at your location and gives you an estimate on when precipitation might strike and it even does a bit better by better separating different types of precipitation and the intensity.

I’m not in love with Accuweather’s overall design, but it provides plenty of detail with hourly and daily forecasts on secondary tabs, as well as a tab for radar and even another for news you might be interested in. There’s even a pollen count! The app is supported by ads by default but they can be removed for $4. Personally, the ads in place don’t even really get in the way as it stands.

In terms of design, Dark Sky’s simplicity was an asset. The app put information front and center so you could see everything with a simple glance. Overdrop is one app I feel does a good job in copying that philosophy.

There’s a single page to the app which shows current conditions with a cute animation. Underneath, you’ll find the temperature, precipitation, and wind details as well as an hourly weather forecast which can also show wind and rain. Just like Dark Sky, too, there’s a weekly forecast beneath that. There’s a lot I like about Overdrop, but the fact that it’s missing Radar is the deal-breaker for me. Still, the app’s design is excellent and, as long as you don’t need radar on hand, it’ll work well.

Overdrop has ads by default, but those can be turned off with a one-time purchase or monthly options. Unlocking the pro model also enables users to switch from Dark Sky — the default weather provider — over to Accuweather. Presumably, Overdrop will be switching its default provider once Dark Sky kicks the bucket for good, but there are no details on that just yet. Overdrop is free with ads and costs $2.19/year or $7.49 for a lifetime license.

Another excellent option I’ve had recommended to me by several people is Hello Weather. The app has a clean interface that keeps things very simple. It has current conditions front and center, an hourly forecast directly underneath, and the weekly forecast at the bottom. Each section also shows more information with a quick swipe back and forth.

Radar is available in the app on a tab with saved locations and settings also on other tabs. The app defaults to using Dark Sky for data, but the developers have already confirmed they’ll be switching to another provider when the API dies off.

Notifications are probably the biggest sore point of this app, as you can’t be notified when conditions change. The only options are to get a daily weather forecast or a constant weather forecast notification. Hello Weather costs $4.99/year or can be used free with ads.

For a great design without any ads, Geometric Weather is a solid choice. It has a very clean design that shows the temperature and current conditions above a daily forecast, hourly forecast, allergen details, and quite a few other bits of information all on a single page. The app can send notifications for incoming weather, supports dark mode, and uses Accuweather as its source for data.

All in all, it’s a very good option! The lack of radar hurts it a fair bit, but the simple fact that it’s completely free and open source is a big win in my book. If you’re not ready to pay for a weather app, this is the app you should download.

Honorable mentions

Google Weather/Assistant Google’s own weather app is frankly all most people will ever need. The cost-free, ad-free service is already built into your phone with a quick search of “weather” either through the Google Assistant or Google app. In either case, you’ll get accurate weather with a nice UI that can even add a shortcut to your homescreen.



Weather Underground If you want data and don’t care what it looks like, Weather Underground (or “Wunderground”) is a solid option. The app’s interface is far from pretty, but it puts current conditions, radar, daily/hourly forecasts, air quality, and sunset/sunrise all on one page. Those are split up by plenty of ads, but you can turn them off for $3.49.



Carrot Weather Want a bit more snark in your life? Carrot Weather debuted on Android last year with its audible responses that throw often-hilarious weather-related jokes into your day. There are “personality” settings for “Friendly,” “Snarky,” “Homicidal,” and “Overkill.” It’s a fun way to get details on the weather, but it’s not really for everyone with a pretty basic UI and a $3.99/year price to get rid of ads.



Shadow Weather Visually, Shadow Weather might be the most similar to Dark Sky that I’ve seen. The app pulls a lot of similarities to that beloved app, but it can show a lot more data. On the main page, you’ll see current conditions, the forecast for the next hour, and forecasts for the rest of the day and the coming week. There’s also an interactive radar map and a “Lightning Tracker” too. The app is free with ads, and watching a video can even unlock the usually $5/year premium license for 24 hours. You’ll want that premium license, too, as the radar is tucked away behind the paywall.



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