The creators of Dark Sky—the beloved app Apple acquired in 2020—are officially back. After years at Apple building WeatherKit, co-founder Adam Grossman and his team have launched Acme Weather.
The goal? To move beyond “best guesses” and show users the messy truth about forecasting.
A New Philosophy: Showing the “Gray Areas”
Most apps give you a single number or icon. Acme Weather does something different.
While the app provides a primary homegrown forecast, it also displays alternate predictions as gray lines on its graphs.
- The “Why”: Forecasting is rarely 100% certain.
- The Benefit: If half the models say snow and half say rain, you’ll see both possibilities on your timeline.
- Pro Planning: This is designed for high-stakes planning, like determining if a winter storm will impact a morning commute or turn into an afternoon drizzle.
“Acme Labs” and Rainbow Alerts
Acme Weather isn’t just about raw data; it’s also trying to make weather fun again. Through a special “Acme Labs” section, users can opt-in to experimental notifications:
- Rainbow Predictions: Get an alert when conditions are perfect for a rainbow.
- Sunset Alerts: Notifications for “extraordinarily beautiful” sunsets.
- Hyper-Customization: You can set specific alerts for wind speeds, UV index, or exact rainfall windows.
Why Leave Apple to Go Indie?
Grossman noted that while he loved his time at Apple, the scale of a billion-user company makes “weird” experimentation difficult.
“At a big company, mistakes are costly. Being an indie team lets us try things that might be a little experimental or niche.”
Pricing and Availability
Acme Weather is moving away from the “free with ads” model to ensure high-quality data and privacy.
- Cost: $25 per year.
- Trial: Two-week free trial included.
- Platform: Currently available on iOS, with an Android version in development.
The team remains a small, bootstrapped group of former Dark Sky veterans and new talent, focused on building their own data provider rather than relying on third-party maps.
