I Tried the New Pixel Weather App, and It’s a Breath of Fresh Air

Unlike iPhones, Google’s Pixel phones usually leak out days before release. The leaks see hands-on images, renders, and wallpapers for the upcoming phones surface online. But just a couple of days ago, the tech town was abuzz with the fact that the upcoming Pixel 9 series will house a brand-new Weather app.

Android Authority’s Kamila Wojciechowska broke the news and shared the very first screenshots. For the most part, it looked like a redesign. But, I wanted to try it out myself to see what’s new or different. Now, with not even a week left for the Pixel 9 launch, the APK of the new Pixel Weather app has surfaced online. So, I sideloaded the app on my OnePlus 11R to check for rainfall in a new Weather app, and here’s how it went.

Less Clutter, More Straightforward

For years, Google’s Weather app has been sprinkled with unnecessary clutter everywhere. With the new app, right off the bat, I noticed how it’s all very simplified. It doesn’t jump into feeding you way too many details. Instead, it gets rid of distractions to let you focus on what’s important.

The new Weather app instantly greets you with a way bigger font on the temperature reading, taking up the entire space at the top. The degree symbol is gotten rid of, which may feel slightly odd at first. But, it grew on me almost instantly, and I liked that they kept all the essential details like the highs, lows, and weather status a glimpse away.

Pixel Weather app doesn’t jump into feeding you way too many details. Instead, it gets rid of distractions to let you focus on what’s important.

With the older UI, you’d have to look left once, and then right to take in all the information. That’s gone with the new app; a refreshing change. The new Weather app has a gradient background as well, which changes as per the weather conditions. Meanwhile, the older app took on solid colors, with some subtle animations to top it off, which are not part of the redesign.

While the Hourly forecast, 10-day forecast, and Current conditions panels remain, the sections themselves have been enlarged and given the Material You treatment. I like how the 10-day forecast is a horizontal list now, instead of the older vertical, which took some unnecessary scrolling time.

In addition, the Current conditions text has been removed, and only its different weather cards are shown, fit inside circular and more squircle dials this time around. With the new app, you can also long-press on these weather cards and move them around to adjust them as per your preference, which is a nice addition.

Hourly details are missing here, but to be very honest, I won’t be missing it. I rarely ever took a good look at it anyway. This focus on minimalism extends inside the 10-day forecast info panel as well.

While the overall look is still widget-y, the information that matters has seen some magnification, which I like. For example, the panels at the top have been stretched out into a more oval shape, with a font increment of the temperature details underneath.

However, I noticed that you can’t refresh this 10-day forecast section particularly like you could on the older app. That’s a bit of a bummer, as you will have to head back to the main page and refresh it. So, you are not missing out on any important details with the new Pixel 9 Weather app, but….

Where’s Our Friendly Neighborhood Froggy?

Waltzing its way into the Weather app back in 2016, the Weather Frog, aka Froggy is now missing from the redesign. That entire panel which showcased Froggy’s adorable actions in relation to the weather and had some cool animations going is nowhere to be seen.

I have become a tad too used to seeing Froggy around and him being under the weather in the new version bothers me a bit. What gives me some hope is Wojciechowska clearly referring to it as the “non-final” version of the app. However, given how the new UI looks, there’s no space left for the frog man to call home.

I have become a tad too used to seeing Froggy around and him being under the weather in the new version bothers me a bit.

But, even if Google decided to completely get rid of him in the final version, I understand why. If you’re opening your weather app, it’s to simply see if the weather is out to kill you or embrace you with a warm hug. Unnecessary animations are simply not needed.

Then again, Froggy did breathe some life into the blandness of it all. So, I’m honestly very on the fence about this decision.

Pixel Weather App: Function at the Cost of Form

While the older Weather app had those aesthetics going for it, thanks to Mr. Froggy, it made saving locations and accessing them tedious. The new app worked on this problem, big time. You can now head back from your location and simply tap on the plus icon on the Weather homescreen to add a new location and it instantly gets saved.

You can easily access the saved location from here, which is much better than the conventional search mechanism. The new Pixel 9 Weather app has such subtle intuitive changes throughout, and they just make it a better weather app than its predecessor if not anything else.

If by any chance, Google decides to add Froggy to the mix, it will all be perfect. Definitely, one of the best weather apps out there. So, that’s what I think about the new Pixel Weather app. What do you think about it? Drop your thoughts in the comments down below!