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weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
Hey guys!

Weather Front is now available to download from the App Store

Weather Front is a stunning weather app providing hyper-local weather forecasts on your iPhone. With cutting edge weather data provided by Forecast.io, Weather Front provides current conditions, minute-by-minute rainfall predictions for the next hour and hour-by-hour forecasts for the next week! The app’s UI has been beautifully designed to ensure an intuitive, user friendly experience whilst displaying all the data you need. The app’s “Today Widget” offers super quick access to current conditions, rainfall predictions and today’s forecast without even having to open the app.

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So if you want to stay dry on your walk to work, check the temperature at 2pm or look over the forecast for next weekend, Weather Front is the weather app for you!

VISUALLY STUNNING - With Weather Front’s beautiful interface, you can view a summary of the entire week’s forecast at a single glance with a single swipe.

EXTREMELY ACCURATE - Weather Front offers hyper-accurate weather data and rainfall predictions powered by Forecast.io.

TODAY WIDGET - The app’s “Today Widget” allows super quick access to today’s forecast right in your device’s notification center. View current conditions, minutely rainfall predictions and today’s hourly forecast without even having to open the app.

WORLDWIDE - Weather Front provides current conditions and hour-by-hour forecasts for anywhere in the world! Minutely rainfall data is only available in the US, UK and Ireland.

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Beautiful forecasts at a glance.
- Hyper-accurate data powered by Forecast.io.
- Current conditions for any location! (Temperature, Feels Like Temperature, Precipitation, Humidity, Sunrise, Sunset, Cloud Cover, Wind Speed and Wind Direction).
- Minutely rainfall predictions for the next hour! (US, UK and Ireland only.)
- Hourly forecasts for the next week!
- “Today Widget” in notification center.
- Forecasts for any location! (streets, landmarks, towns, cities, post codes and your EXACT location).
- Units: Celsius/Fahrenheit and MPH/KPH.
- Carefully crafted UI.

Note: Minutely rainfall data is only available in the US, UK and Ireland. All other data is available worldwide.

If you have any problems or ideas to improve Weather Front, don’t hesitate to get in touch through my website or email. :)

If you would like to find out more about Weather Front, please visit the app’s website here: Weather Front for iOS. I also have a Twitter account for updates about the app @weatherfrontapp.

Weather Front is now available to download from the App Store

The app is available worldwide and is available for $2.99/£2.29! :) If you have ideas or suggestions to improve Weather Front, or any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch! Thanks a lot! :)
 
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weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
Looks good.
Will you be adding Apple Watch compatibility?

Thanks! :)

Apple Watch compatibility is something I am definitely going to explore further down the line; particularly if users are requesting it. In the immediate future, I am going to focus on the iOS app to ensure users are happy with the functionality and experience.

I will keep this thread updated though with my intentions for Weather Front on Apple Watch though!

Thanks for your interest! :)
 
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weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
It looks nice. Does it have a Notification Center Widget and if so what is shown there?

Thanks! :)

Weather Front currently doesn't have a widget in version 1.0. However, this feature is on my ToDo list and I will be adding it into the app in a future update. :)

Off the top of my head, I will look to show the following things in the widget:
- Current Location
- Current Temperature
- Current Weather Icon (e.g sun, cloud etc)
- Rainfall graph (if there is any precipitation forecast in the next hour.) or perhaps a rainfall summary (e.g "Light rain starting in 12 mins.")
- Hourly forecast 'graph' for the remainder of the day.

If you have any other suggestions for what you would like to be shown, please say! :) Thanks!
 
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pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,119
507
the Netherlands
It would
Thanks! :)

If you have any other suggestions for what you would like to be shown, please say! :) Thanks!

It would also be good to show:
- chance of rain (percentage) per day / hour (for today) aside from the minute by minute rain forecast which isn't available in most European countries unfortunately
- expected amount of mm rain per day / per hour (for today)
- option to show the date (e.g. 27-7 or 27-Jul.) for the next few days
 

weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
It would


It would also be good to show:
- chance of rain (percentage) per day / hour (for today) aside from the minute by minute rain forecast which isn't available in most European countries unfortunately
- expected amount of mm rain per day / per hour (for today)
- option to show the date (e.g. 27-7 or 27-Jul.) for the next few days

Okay! Thanks for your suggestions! Much appreciated! I will endeavour to incorporate these suggestions in a future update of the app!
 

dictoresno

macrumors 601
Apr 30, 2012
4,515
658
NJ
Thanks! :)

Apple Watch compatibility is something I am definitely going to explore further down the line; particularly if users are requesting it. In the immediate future, I am going to focus on the iOS app to ensure users are happy with the functionality and experience.

I will keep this thread updated though with my intentions for Weather Front on Apple Watch though!

Thanks for your interest! :)

your competitors Carrot Weather and Forecast Bar, both use forecast.io and also have well liked and established watch apps. i would suggest if you plan on stealing some of their customers, you will need to definitely make a watch app. i beta test both and can tell you they offer a lot for their customers. if you need a tester, lemme know!
 
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weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
your competitors Carrot Weather and Forecast Bar, both use forecast.io and also have well liked and established watch apps. i would suggest if you plan on stealing some of their customers, you will need to definitely make a watch app. i beta test both and can tell you they offer a lot for their customers. if you need a tester, lemme know!

Thanks for your comment! :)

Yes I will definitely be looking into Apple Watch integration in a few weeks time. In the meantime, I have a few tweaks and one or two new features I would like to add to the iOS app.

Thanks for the offer! :) I'll PM you!
 

GIZBUG

macrumors 68020
Oct 28, 2006
2,459
1,625
Chicago, IL
Hard to justify $2.99 when the app is missing key components as others above mentioned. Forecast.io has been the least accurate for me in Chicago also. I may come back and check it out when essential features are added, but no Apple Watch and it's a paid app, I'll have to pass and stick with weather underground that provides the essentials for free
 

weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
Hard to justify $2.99 when the app is missing key components as others above mentioned. Forecast.io has been the least accurate for me in Chicago also. I may come back and check it out when essential features are added, but no Apple Watch and it's a paid app, I'll have to pass and stick with weather underground that provides the essentials for free

Thanks for your interest! :)

From my experience, Forecast.io data is very accurate, but also not free. I believe a one-off cost of $2.99 is a reasonable price to pay for the app.

Okay, I will be working on these features asap!
 
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dictoresno

macrumors 601
Apr 30, 2012
4,515
658
NJ
theres a lot of potential in this app. it offers the same reliable backbone as carrot and forecast bar, but offering a different visual experience. i would like to see where this goes and how the watch app will look.
 
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weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
theres a lot of potential in this app. it offers the same reliable backbone as carrot and forecast bar, but offering a different visual experience. i would like to see where this goes and how the watch app will look.

Thanks for testing the app and providing feedback! :)

I'm already working on an update for the iOS so will post when it's available! Thanks! :)
 
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weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
Hey guys! :)

Over the last few weeks I've been working on a "Today Widget" for Weather Front! I'm just in the process of adding finishing touches so thought I'd share some screenshots to see what you think! The widget fetches your exact current location and displays the current conditions, minutely rainfall predictions (if available!) and today's hourly forecast.

I've also updated the hourly forecast bar used in both the app and widget. The bar now represents different intensities of rain using different shades of blue and also displays the probability of rainfall as a percentage. Therefore, if minutely rainfall data is unavailable for your location, you still have a good idea if you need your umbrella or not!

The update should hopefully be available within the next week! Thanks! :)
 

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gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,435
249
Does the app and widget display weather for saved locations without using location services? That would be really useful, so that the app doesn't ping the GPS every time and thus saving battery.

Hey guys! :)

Over the last few weeks I've been working on a "Today Widget" for Weather Front! I'm just in the process of adding finishing touches so thought I'd share some screenshots to see what you think! The widget fetches your exact current location and displays the current conditions, minutely rainfall predictions (if available!) and today's hourly forecast.

I've also updated the hourly forecast bar used in both the app and widget. The bar now represents different intensities of rain using different shades of blue and also displays the probability of rainfall as a percentage. Therefore, if minutely rainfall data is unavailable for your location, you still have a good idea if you need your umbrella or not!

The update should hopefully be available within the next week! Thanks! :)
 

weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
Does the app and widget display weather for saved locations without using location services? That would be really useful, so that the app doesn't ping the GPS every time and thus saving battery.

Thanks for your question! :)

Short answer: the app will, the widget won't!

The app will fetch the weather data for any saved location without using location services. Location services will only be used when the 'current location' page is viewed or refreshed. The app also remembers which location was viewed in the last session; therefore if this was a saved location, location services will not be used at the start of the next app session.

The widget currently only fetches the forecast of your current location so location services will be used. To view the forecast of saved locations, the app must be used.

Thanks! :)
 

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,435
249
Why can't the widget fetch weather data for the saved locations? Is it just because how the app is coded or Apple forces to use current location?


Thanks for your question! :)

Short answer: the app will, the widget won't!

The app will fetch the weather data for any saved location without using location services. Location services will only be used when the 'current location' page is viewed or refreshed. The app also remembers which location was viewed in the last session; therefore if this was a saved location, location services will not be used at the start of the next app session.

The widget currently only fetches the forecast of your current location so location services will be used. To view the forecast of saved locations, the app must be used.

Thanks! :)
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Why can't the widget fetch weather data for the saved locations? Is it just because how the app is coded or Apple forces to use current location?
Apple doesn't force current location as various other apps can display a particular selected saved location instead of the current location. Most apps go for current location as that is usually the most applicable ones, but it's certainly good to have a choice between being able to select that for the widget or to select a particular saved location that would always be used.
 

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,435
249
Which apps allow to show saved locations? I have tried Freshair and Living Earth but both only show current location in the widget.

Apple doesn't force current location as various other apps can display a particular selected saved location instead of the current location. Most apps go for current location as that is usually the most applicable ones, but it's certainly good to have a choice between being able to select that for the widget or to select a particular saved location that would always be used.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Which apps allow to show saved locations? I have tried Freshair and Living Earth but both only show current location in the widget.
BeWeather allows for that. So does Weather Underground. I think AccuWeather might allow for that as well.
 

weatherfront

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2016
16
9
United Kingdom
Why can't the widget fetch weather data for the saved locations? Is it just because how the app is coded or Apple forces to use current location?

That's just the way I implemented it. When designing the widget, I concluded (and perhaps wrongly!) that most users would use the widget to quickly glance at the weather conditions for their current location and then open the app for other saved locations.

As I say, that conclusion may have been wrong so in a future update, I will look to add the functionality so that the widget uses either the current location or a saved location. :)
 

allaround

macrumors newbie
Aug 27, 2016
7
1
I'm not really familiar with these hyperlocal weather apps anymore, but I recall using an app called "Dark Sky" way back when. What's changed since then (e.g. are the forecasts more accurate, or are there any new features you've added)?
 
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