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posted by Fnord666 on Friday April 03 2020, @04:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the dark-skies-ahead dept.

Apple buys Dark Sky weather app and shuts down the Android version, will also end API access for other apps that use it

Dark Sky for iOS is one of the most popular weather apps available, and Apple has clearly taken notice, because now the tech giant has officially acquired the "hyperlocal" weather app.

Compared with other contenders in the same category, Dark Sky is noted for having more granular detail on the weather at a user's actual location, offering "down-to-the-minute forecasts" via a pleasing user interface.

[...] News of the acquisition was announced via a blog post from the app developers which also outlined the key changes that the purchase will bring. Most notably among them will be the discontinuation of the Android and Wear OS version of the Dark Sky apps.

"The app will no longer be available for download. Service to existing users and subscribers will continue until July 1, 2020, at which point the app will be shut down. Subscribers who are still active at that time will receive a refund."

That same July 1, 2020 cutoff applies to weather forecasts, maps and embeds from the Dark Sky website, which will be shut down on that date.

Along with the death of the Android app, Dark Sky's API (application programming interface) will no longer be available for others to use, meaning that other popular apps like Carrot Weather that rely on the API will have to find an alternative solution, although they'll be given until the end of 2021 to do so.

Also a similar article on The Verge.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by r_a_trip on Friday April 03 2020, @01:12PM (2 children)

    by r_a_trip (5276) on Friday April 03 2020, @01:12PM (#978681)

    This is exactly why I don't spend oodles of money on mobile apps. Too much volatility, too limited functionality and no guarantees of continuity. Terms can be changed right under your nose as a paying customer and you've got no recourse. So it's just the "free" crap, if it has a modicum of functionality.

    If Apple thinks that this is an enticement for me to get an Apple device, think again. These kind of moat digging moves are exactly the thing that puts me off of a platform and Apple is the biggest moat digger in the business right now.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 03 2020, @02:45PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 03 2020, @02:45PM (#978718)

    I don't think they did this to entice more people to Apple. I think it's because their current data source for their own Weather app is The Weather Channel. With Dark Sky, they'll no longer be relying on an outside source.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday April 03 2020, @04:27PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday April 03 2020, @04:27PM (#978777) Journal

      As a nice side effect it hurts a competing platform. Just for spite.

      (In my younger days a few decades ago, classic Mac OS, I was a naive card carrying Apple fanboy.)

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.