Check The Weather Review

A minimalist attitude to design is something that has been popular throughout everything to do with the iPhone. It's that level of simplicity yet attractiveness that has ensured its success. It's also something that many apps have tried to ape, some well, some not so well. Check the Weather has all the weather information anyone would want at a glance but it lacks a classy presentation.

Setup and guidance is a breeze. Tracking the user's current location, Check the Weather hardly requires any user input at first. The opening screen displays the location, the current temperature and weather conditions. A graph demonstrates how the temperature is meant to change throughout the day while there is also a brief overview of what weather is expected over the next few days. The all important sunrise and sunset times are also offered here.

Swipes to the left and right dictate the rest of the information. A swipe to the left offers hour by hour forecasting including the risk of rain or snow in percentage form. A swipe to the right offers a brief forecast for the next seven days along with those important percentages. For US users, a swipe downwards shows a weather radar map that tracks the risk of rain in the next hour. It's a particularly useful feature and one that as someone based in the UK, I wish I could use. It's possible to set up numerous different locations, as is common with other weather apps, and thus saving time.

It all works very well. Check the Weather is quite smooth and fast to react to any interactions. It's far from attractive to look at though. A particularly sharp font has been used and everything looks a little too clinical and cold. None of it is very in keeping with the aesthetics we're used to with iOS apps, instead feeling more crude.

It's a shame that the look of Check the Weather lets it down so significantly as content wise, it covers all the relevant bases. Looks might not be everything but in an ever competitive market, it's important to be that step ahead of the rest in every respect.