Perfect Weather Review

I always feel a bit ambivalent about weather apps since picking one involves replacing a default app that is more or less perfectly competent. However, there are a handful of weather apps that are well-designed and provide very specific sets of data for users seeking information more tailored to their needs. Perfect Weather is one of these awesome weather apps due to its sleek aesthetic, an intuitive user interface, and NOAA-sourced weather information.

The first thing users will notice about Perfect Weather is its appearance. The app is has a clean, colorful, and flat look that matches the new iOS 7 aesthetic and is very eye-catching to boot. By default the app uses location services to provide local weather information, but users can add up to six additional locations to keep weather tabs on. Each of these locations is neatly displayed within a colored bar that gives a simple temperature and conditions overview. Tapping on any location's overview then expands the weather data for that particular location so users can see radar maps, a 7 day forecast, and other more granular data.

Once users are in the more detailed menu, the benefits of tapping into information provided by NOAA become readily apparent. Current conditions information provides data like the heat index, humidity, barometric pressure, times for sunrise/sunset, and more. There is also a neat temperature graph that shows what the temperature will be like at certain hours throughout the day. Of course all of this information could overwhelm some users, but luckily data can be revealed or hidden at the swipe of a finger, making for a very customizable experience.

Although nearly everything about Perfect Weather is, well, perfect, there is at least one nagging issue with the app. While the temperature graph that indicates hourly temperature shifts looks neat and helps illustrate exactly how quickly the weather might change, it is harder to read than a more typical hourly temperature readout. This isn't a huge issue if I am leisurely looking at the day's weather and have the time to study the graph, but if I am in a hurry or on-the-go, checking this particular piece of data (which is usually pretty important in an "on-the-go" situation) can be a hassle.

That being said, for all of the things that Perfect Weather does right, I can excuse one or two minor flaws. Overall, Perfect Weather is a pretty fantastic weather app. It's NOAA data is naturally solid, it functions beautifully, and it looks at home on the iPhone.