Apple Acquires Weather App Dark Sky

Apple has acquired weather app Dark Sky, Dark Sky's developers announced today. Dark Sky is one of the most popular weather apps on the App Store, known for its accuracy and storm warnings.

Our goal has always been to provide the world with the best weather information possible, to help as many people as we can stay dry and safe, and to do so in a way that respects your privacy.

There is no better place to accomplish these goals than at Apple. We're thrilled to have the opportunity to reach far more people, with far more impact, than we ever could alone.

There will be no changes to the Dark Sky for iOS app, and it will continue to be available for purchase in the ‌App Store‌. Apple does not appear to be making the app free at this time, and it continues to be priced at $3.99.

In the future, Apple could be planning to build Dark Sky into its own weather app, which relies on data from The Weather Channel at this time.

Dark Sky features include minute-by-minute weather predictions based on precise location, hour-by-hour weather forecasts for the next day and week, detailed weather animations, and advanced notification updates that include down-to-the-minute alerts before rain starts and severe weather alerts. The app also includes a Today Widget, a Time Machine feature so you can see weather in the past or present, and an Apple Watch app.

Dark Sky for Android and Wear OS is being discontinued on July 1, 2020. The website's weather forecasts, maps, and embeds will be available until July 1, 2020, and the website itself will remain available in support of API and iOS app customers.

Dark Sky says its API service for existing customers is not changing, but new signups will no longer be accepted. The API will work through the end of 2021, but after that time, developers will need to find another solution. The end of Dark Sky's API will impact other popular weather apps like Carrot, which uses the Dark Sky API.