How to choose a readable weather app

Most weather apps show the same forecast. They differ in how easy it is to read. Use this checklist on your own iPhone, at the text size you use.

The checklist

1. The temperature is first and largest. Open the app. The current temperature should be the biggest thing on the screen, above any map or search box.
2. The type follows your settings. Change your iPhone text size and open the app again. The temperature and the forecast should change with it. The iPhone text-size guide explains the settings.
3. The high and low are separate. Find today’s high and low without reading a chart.
4. The chance of rain is explained. Look for the percent and a word or sentence that says what it means.
5. Alerts name their source. Open an alert if one is in effect. It should name the agency and keep the official wording.
6. Nothing is in the way. Note where ads sit and how much of the forecast remains above them.
7. The controls are reachable. Find the radar’s play button and the location switcher at your text size.
8. It reads aloud. Turn on VoiceOver or Speak Screen and listen to the main screen. Numbers should have labels, and icons should have names.
9. It respects your privacy. Check whether the app needs an account and what it says about location.

Trying more than one app

Install two or three apps and use each for a day. Check them at the same time of day so the forecasts match. Pay attention to which one you can read from the kitchen table without picking up the phone.

Helping someone else choose

Let the person who will use the app try it on their own phone at their own text size. Ask which numbers they read first and whether the summary says what they want to know. The seniors page has more advice for choosing together.

What this means for Bold Weather

Bold Weather is designed around this checklist. Explore the features, read the comparisons, or learn about the TestFlight beta.