Weather XL PRO

Review by eFreeware

Weather XL PRO has been on the Play Store since 2014, and what stands out most is how much of its value sits outside the app itself: configurable widgets, a live wallpaper and a Wear OS companion that carries the same forecast to a watch. The developer, Exovoid Sàrl, has built a free weather app that tries to cover the whole surface of an Android device rather than just the screen you open to check the temperature.

That breadth is the reason it has passed ten million installs and holds a 4.3 average from more than 500,000 ratings. It is not the only weather app competing on accuracy claims, but few put as much emphasis on letting you shape how the forecast is displayed. If you like the idea of a home screen that tells you what the day looks like before you tap anything, this is the sort of app worth reading about.

It suits people who check the forecast often and want it in more than one place: a widget on the home screen, a line in the status bar, a tile on a watch. It also suits anyone who wants air quality and pollen figures alongside the usual temperature and rain numbers. Below I go through what the app does, what it asks of you, and where the trade-offs sit.

Forecast detail that goes beyond the daily high

The core of the app is a forecast that stretches ten days ahead, with hour-by-hour updates for the nearer term. Alongside temperature and precipitation, the developer lists rain, snow, wind and storm information, plus humidity, dew point, UV index and air pressure refreshed daily. That is a fuller picture than a simple high-and-low readout, and it is the kind of detail that matters if you are deciding whether to water a garden, schedule an outdoor job or pack for a trip.

There is also a set of historical high and low values, which gives each day's forecast some context. Seeing that a forecast high is unusual for the time of year is more useful than the number alone, and it is a feature I would expect to appeal to anyone who follows weather patterns rather than just reacting to them.

The presentation leans on animation. Satellite and radar maps are animated, and the app is built around what the developer describes as detailed visual effects. Forecasts are only as good as the data behind them, but a weather app is also something you look at several times a day, and a clear, animated radar view can make a difference when you are trying to judge whether a band of rain is heading your way or breaking up.

The most recent update focused on daily perceived temperature forecasts, which is the "feels like" figure rather than the raw reading. That is a small change in theory, but it is often the number people actually plan around, since wind and humidity can make a mild day feel cold or a warm one feel oppressive.

Widgets, live wallpaper and the watch

The widget system is where this app puts much of its effort. The developer says widgets are highly configurable, and the options listed include size, layout and appearance, which pieces of weather information appear, and even text size and colors. The point is to get a quick forecast without opening anything, and to have it match the rest of your home screen rather than sitting there in a fixed design you cannot change.

A live wallpaper option animates the weather on your screen, though the developer notes it works only on compatible devices. Real-time weather updates are shown through it. That is a decorative feature more than a practical one, but it fits the app's overall approach of putting weather in as many places as the phone allows.

On the watch side, the app includes a tile and complications for Wear OS. You can check conditions for your current location or for any city in the world, though cities have to be synced from the main app first. Hourly and daily forecasts are available, and tapping the screen cycles through hour-by-hour details: temperature, chance of rain, wind speed, cloud cover, humidity, pressure and UV index. Weather alerts appear there too, along with a settings screen.

The status bar and notification area carry the temperature as well, so a glance at the top of the screen is often enough. Between the widget, the notification and the watch, the app is designed so that you rarely need to open it just to see a number.

Alerts, air quality and pollen data

Severe weather warnings come from official national weather services around the world. That sourcing matters, because alerts are only useful if they reflect what the authorities are actually issuing rather than a private estimate. The app also notes that alert availability varies by country, so coverage depends on where you are.

Air quality readings come from official monitoring stations and cover the main pollutants, including ozone at ground level, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Pollen information is included as well. For anyone who checks air quality before a run or keeps windows closed on high-pollen days, having those figures in the same place as the forecast saves opening a second app.

As with the alerts, air quality availability depends on the region and the stations reporting there. The developer publishes coverage pages for both alerts and air quality, which is a sensible way to set expectations before you rely on either feature.

What the app needs from you

On location, the developer takes an unusually explicit position. Location data is processed on the device rather than sent to a server, and the precise location is converted into the nearest weather station ID. Weather requests tied to a station are not stored, so a request cannot be linked back to a user. No personal information is collected.

You do not have to share your location at all. A search screen lets you set a location manually, and the app will show the forecast for that place each time you open it without trying to find you. That is a useful option if you follow weather somewhere you do not live, or if you would rather not grant location access.

Using the app means agreeing to the privacy policy and to terms covering third parties such as advertising partners. The app is free and supported by ads, and it offers in-app purchases. It is rated for everyone, works on phones and tablets, and the watch features require a Wear OS device with cities synced from the phone.

Where it fits into a daily routine

The clearest case for Weather XL PRO is someone who wants the forecast visible without hunting for it. A widget sized and colored to match a home screen, a temperature in the status bar, and a tile on a watch cover three different moments: getting ready in the morning, glancing at the phone during the day, and checking a wrist before heading outside. Few weather apps put that much emphasis on the surfaces around the main screen.

It also suits people who care about the less obvious numbers. Dew point, UV index, pressure, historical highs and lows, air quality and pollen are all here, and they are the sort of figures that matter to gardeners, runners, cyclists, people with respiratory conditions and anyone planning work outdoors. The animated radar and satellite maps serve a similar audience: people who want to see weather moving, not just read a summary.

The trade-offs are straightforward. The app is free with ads and in-app purchases, it needs the main app to sync cities before the watch features are useful, and the live wallpaper depends on device compatibility. Severe weather alerts and air quality coverage are tied to official services in your region, so how much you get out of those features depends on where you live.

A free forecast app built around your home screen

Weather XL PRO is a mature, widely installed weather app whose strength is configurability rather than a single headline feature. Ten-day and hourly forecasts, detailed widget options, animated radar, alerts from official services, air quality and pollen data, and a Wear OS companion add up to a lot for a free app. Ads and in-app purchases are part of that deal, and the watch experience depends on syncing cities from the phone first.

I would suggest it to people who want weather on the home screen, in the status bar and on a watch, and who value detail like dew point, UV index and historical values. If you follow air quality or pollen as closely as temperature, the same app covers that ground. Anyone who prefers a single, minimal forecast screen may find there is more here than they need, but for a free app the range is hard to argue with.

What's new

Improved forecasts for daily perceived temperature