Latest news with #PixelWeather
Android Authority
08-06-2025
- Climate
- Android Authority
I found an Android weather app that looks like Google made it — only better
Andy Walker / Android Authority People were understandably upset when Google revamped its weather app and removed its lovable weather frog. Rain or shine, froggie was always ready to greet visitors looking for the day's conditions. However, with the launch of the Pixel 9 and the introduction of Pixel Weather, the frog moved to the old weather interface accessed through Google Search. While that's a suitable home, having to perform a search just to see the frog has become tiresome for many, including me. Thankfully, there's a third-party app that can help. What weather app do you use? 0 votes Whatever is on my phone to begin with. NaN % I use a third-party app (mention your choice in the comments). NaN % I don't use a weather app. NaN % Weather Master is an app I've grown to love over the past few weeks, and not just for its pro-frog stance. If I could redesign Pixel Weather, it would likely look like this. The app offers a perfect balance of clean aesthetics, playfulness, and useful information, creating a successful weather app experience. Unlike Pixel Weather, it makes efficient use of space without sacrificing these values. The use of Product Sans and Google's design language throughout the app makes it feel like an official Android app, but it gets many things right that Google's official app doesn't. A better Pixel Weather app than Pixel Weather? Andy Walker / Android Authority For starters, froggie is right there, headlining in an animation that describes the current weather conditions, along with a large readout of the current temperature and highs/lows. Below that, there's a Quick Summary section offering a more detailed text outlook, wind speed, wind gusts, and cloud cover details. This reminds me of Pixel Weather's AI summary, but it's much easier to grasp. For instance, today's outlook for my region reads: In the morning, you'll experience gentle drizzle, with a soft, light rain taking over as the day progresses. Great! I know that it's probably going to rain all day. Now I can plan my schedule, outfits, and dinner. It's concise, clear, and brief enough to read in a second or less, making a quick visit to the home screen all you need to view the day ahead. Below this is a small info strip detailing the week's temperature trend and, more interestingly, clothing and activity suggestions for the morning, evening, and night. Usually, these recommendations are pretty similar day to day, but it's a feature I'd rather have than not. Further down on the home screen, you'll find more Pixel Weather-inspired items and a widget section displaying individual metrics like humidity, pressure, and visibility. I'd prefer dedicated cards for each value to see the present and future progression. Tapping certain widgets, like wind, expands to show average speeds over a broader period. While that's sufficient, as I live in a windy region, it could offer more useful info, like gust strength. Weather Master is an app I've grown to love over the past few weeks, and not just for its pro-frog stance. In the Settings, Weather Master gives users a decent degree of control. Remember when I mentioned it's frog-friendly? You'll see 'frog-related descriptions' in the Quick Summary section by enabling the Froggy summary. It's as adorable as you think, but I prefer the clarity of the standard summary. Users can also disable the entire summary section, pushing other valuable information higher up on the home page. Weather Master is free, but the developer provides a surprisingly broad array of weather models and sources. You can keep the default Best match option if you're happy with the forecast, but I appreciate the level of customization available. It's good, but not quite great Andy Walker / Android Authority Weather Master isn't the complete package yet, and other weather apps outperform it in some areas. I would like to see deeper information for other metrics. As I mentioned, tapping on the wind tile expands it, but I get nothing about gusts. Pressure is another missed opportunity, with the app merely displaying the current value, not whether it's rising or falling. This detail is key to understanding how conditions may change in the coming hours. The app also has a radar feature, but it's not nearly as useful as it could be. For one, it doesn't seem to overlay any data in my region, and where it does offer rain intensity details in 10-minute increments, it has a habit of flashing between visual updates. This makes following a system's gradual progression difficult. Smoother transitions between data sets would be a huge upgrade. Despite these shortcomings and aside from giving Google's homeless frog a new place to settle, Weather Master is among the most approachable weather apps I've ever used. As someone who usually likes data-laden graphs, I still use this app as my first choice. It has a few issues and several bugs that haven't yet been addressed, but there are no deal-breakers here. Since the Pixel 9's arrival, I've been unsure whether Pixel Weather is truly a Google best-effort product. But after using Weather Master, I think the tech giant has been outdone once again by a minnow.
Phone Arena
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Phone Arena
Google tweaks the Pixel Weather app and makes it look better
Google really did a great job with the Pixel Weather app making it much more useful than the old Weather app that starred Froggy. Instead of a cute animation, the app is now loaded with data including an hourly forecast, a 10-day forecast, Wind speed, Precipitation, Visibility, the UV index, Humidity, Air Quality, and more. You can have the app show the weather for your current location or add more locations if you want to monitor the weather where your kids are living, or want to know the conditions where other family members or friends live. If you're planning a vacation or embarking on a business trip, you might want to know what to expect weather-wise when you arrive at your destination. The Pixel Weather app also features a Weather map which uses radar to show expected precipitation in your area over the next six-hours. With the map, you can pinch out to zoom in if you want to see a more local look at the radar in your area. If you'd rather see what the radar shows for several states near you, pinch in on the screen to zoom out. The severity of the precipitation expected in a particular area is represented by the different colors used by the radar that cover that area of the map. The old design of the Weather map on the Pixel Weather app in on the left with the new floating card look on the right. | Image credit-9to5Google Google has improved the design of the Weather map by changing the bottom sheet showing the time, the circular play/pause button for the radar, and the radar's timeline controls. With the change, the bottom is now a floating card which shows some of the map underneath the card at the left, right, and bottom of the floating card. This replaces the previous look that covered the map with the bottom sheet. You can see this in the screenshots we've embedded in this article. Most of you might consider this to be a minor change that is not a big deal but it does improve the look of the app. It also makes the Pixel Weather app more consistent across different Pixel models since the Pixel Tablet and the Pixel Fold, both large-screen devices, already use the floating card design for the Pixel Weather app. The new version of the Weather map comes with version 1.0.20250408.758982743 of the Pixel Weather app which was disseminated over the last few days. It's another example of Google tinkering with an app and making a minor change that improves the look of the app. You can install the Pixel Weather app from the Play Store by tapping on this link.
Mint
15-05-2025
- Mint
Android 16 Beta 4.1 vs Beta 4: Key fixes and performance enhancements you should know
Google has rolled out Android 16 Beta 4.1 to developers and testers, offering a series of bug fixes and system improvements aimed at enhancing overall device performance. The update, which is now available for select Pixel devices, builds on the second major platform stability release. This means all app-facing behaviours and developer APIs are final and will appear in the public release of Android 16 without further changes. One of the most notable fixes in this update addresses inconsistent haptic feedback that users experienced during common actions such as opening the app drawer, typing on the keyboard, or using the back gesture. This issue had led to a diminished tactile response and impacted the fluidity of user interaction, which has now been resolved. The update also corrects a bug that disrupted 4K video recording when using the 4x telephoto zoom. According to reports, the camera app would unexpectedly stop recording a few seconds into a 4K 30fps session. With this fix, users can expect improved stability when capturing high-resolution footage. Another issue that has been addressed involves the Pixel Weather app, where the radar map would occasionally disappear. Additionally, a visual glitch causing a black navigation bar to appear during screen transitions has been fixed, leading to a more consistent interface experience. The update also resolves a crash bug in the Google app, which occurred when users attempted to load certain websites. Importantly, the update tackles a significant battery drain issue that had been widely reported. This problem, categorised as 'high' impact, caused devices to lose battery power rapidly. With Beta 4.1, Google claims the battery performance on affected Pixel models should now improve noticeably. Android 16 Beta 4.1 is available for a wide range of Pixel devices, including the Pixel 9 series, Pixel 9a, Pixel 8 series, Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 series, the Pixel Fold, and the Pixel Tablet. Devices enrolled in Google's beta programme should automatically receive the update over-the-air, although rollout is happening in phases and may take a few days to reach all users. Those wishing to check manually can do so by navigating toSettings > System > Software update > System update > Check for updates. With the release of Beta 4.1, Android 16 moves closer to its final release, offering developers and early adopters a clearer picture of what to expect in the stable version.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Android 16 Beta 4 is ready for your Pixel
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Android 16 Beta 4 is here for all supported Pixels, packed with fixes and tweaks. Beta 4 brings the April 2025 security patch, squashing bugs and critical CVEs. Key fixes include battery drain, wonky haptics, and radar issues in Pixel Weather. Factory images are available for manual installs, and OTA updates are rolling out (BP22.250325.007). Google has rolled out Android 16 Beta 4 to all supported Pixels, and it's the last beta before the big launch next month, loaded with fixes, polish, and broader device support. The latest update drop didn't really spill much about what's new under the hood. And since we're this close to the stable release—likely lining up with Google I/O in May—it's safe to say we're not expecting any big surprises. This build is probably just about tightening screws, squashing bugs, and making sure everything runs smooth for launch day. Beta 4 packs the April 2025 security patch, locking down two stealthy bugs and a bunch of other critical CVEs. Google has also dropped the factory images for those who like the manual route, and the OTA rollout is already underway (look for build BP22.250325.007). Android 16 Beta 4's official notes reveal fixes for some pretty key bugs, such as weird battery drain, glitchy haptics, and radar not working in the Pixel Weather app. It also squashes system stability issues and random launcher crashes some folks were dealing with. Additionally, a few Pixel users have taken to Reddit to report that the "Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock" option has gone missing after installing the latest Android 16 beta (via Android Police). If you've got a Pixel, from the 6 series all the way up to the new 9 lineup (including Fold, Tablet, and A models), you're good to go with the Android 16 Beta 4 update. A big highlight in this release is the first-ever beta build for the freshly launched Pixel 9a, which is now part of the Android Beta Program's device lineup. Google is sticking to its Q2 2025 launch plan and letting beta testers know they'll get automatic OTA update notifications once it's ready to roll. Following in the footsteps of OnePlus and Xiaomi, Google is opening up the Android 16 beta to even more brands. Now, iQoo, Lenovo, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Vivo, and Honor devices are also getting in on the pre-release action. To check if Android 16 Beta 4 is ready for your Pixel, head to Settings > System > Software updates, then tap "System update." From there, hit "Check for updates" to see if it's available.
