What you need to know
- Apple is bringing new features to the Weather app in the United Kingdom.
- Next-hour precipitation, one of the features gained through the Dark Sky acquisition, is one such feature.
Update, February 1 (8:00 pm ET): It appears the update is available to users on the current public release of iOS 14.
Update, February 1 (9:00 pm ET): The feature appears to be available to users in Ireland as well.
When Apple announced its acquisition of the Dark Sky weather app, some of the features of the app quickly popped up in the stock Weather app on the iPhone, including more localized weather predictions, next-hour precipitation information, and more detailed air quality metrics.
One feature that United States users have been enjoying for a while now seems to be coming to the United Kingdom. Spotted by Shaun Jenks on Twitter, the new iOS 14.5 developer beta now shows the next-hour precipitation for U.K. users, just like it has for users in the U.S.
"In the iOS 14.5 beta 1 it seems the precipitation features from @DarkSkyApp have been merged in to the stock weather app for the U.K now too. This was a US only feature until now."
In the iOS 14.5 beta 1 it seems the precipitation features from @DarkSkyApp have been merged in to the stock weather app for the U.K now too. This was a US only feature until now. pic.twitter.com/gZ7L0QwQ4dIn the iOS 14.5 beta 1 it seems the precipitation features from @DarkSkyApp have been merged in to the stock weather app for the U.K now too. This was a US only feature until now. pic.twitter.com/gZ7L0QwQ4d— Shaun Jenks 💙🇬🇧📱⌚️💻📸✈️ (@Shaunjenks) February 1, 2021February 1, 2021
Keep in mind that these features are currently only available to developers. It will be a bit before they are released to the public, and it is currently unclear exactly when that will be. Apple could also remove features before iOS 14.5 is released to the public, but it seems unlikely they would do so with a feature so basic and anticipated.
The iOS 14.5 developer beta also includes a number of new features, such as unlocking an iPhone with your Apple Watch when wearing a face mask, support for the new Xbox and Playstation controllers, and dual-SIM 5G support for the iPhone 12 lineup.
Update, February 1 (8:00 pm ET) — It appears the update is available to users on the current public release of iOS 14.
Other users in the United Kingdom are reporting access to the new Weather app features while on the current public release of iOS 14. It appears that the new features, while happening to go live on the same day of the iOS 14.5 developer beta, are most likely a server-side update that are not tied to the beta.
A few others who aren't on the beta have told me they are seeing it this evening too. Seems to have been enabled server side to coincide with the 14.5 beta but not exclusive to it.A few others who aren't on the beta have told me they are seeing it this evening too. Seems to have been enabled server side to coincide with the 14.5 beta but not exclusive to it.— Shaun Jenks 💙🇬🇧📱⌚️💻📸✈️ (@Shaunjenks) February 2, 2021February 2, 2021
Update, February 1 (9:00 pm ET) — The feature appears to be available to users in Ireland as well.
According to a new report from MacRumors, users in Ireland are also reporting that next-hour precipitation is available in the Weather app.
