What The Forecast

Review by eFreeware

Most weather apps answer the same question in the same flat tone: temperature, chance of rain, done. What The Forecast takes the opposite approach. It is a free Android app from Affiliated Apps LLC, released in 2017, that keeps the forecast data but replaces the polite language with something closer to how people actually talk when they look outside and see sleet.

The developer's own summary asks whether this is the most obnoxious weather app ever and invites you to judge for yourself. That framing tells you most of what you need to know about the tone. Underneath the attitude, though, there is a full weather app with forecasts, alerts and a long list of specialty indices, and the install numbers suggest plenty of people are happy with that combination.

This review looks at what the app does, who it makes sense for, and what you are agreeing to when you install it. The short version: it is a real forecasting tool wearing a deliberately bad-mannered costume, and whether that appeals depends entirely on your tolerance for being sworn at by your phone.

A forecast that talks back

The core of the app is a library of more than 9,600 phrases that describe current conditions. Instead of a neutral line about cloud cover, you get a remark about the weather that is meant to be funny and frequently rude. The developer built the whole identity around this, and it is the reason most people would choose this app over a plain alternative.

What keeps it from being a one-joke download is the data underneath. Reports come from AerisWeather, and the app also pulls weather alerts from NOAA. You get daily forecasts stretching ten days ahead and hourly forecasts covering the next 48 hours. That is a conventional spread of information, delivered in an unconventional voice.

The phrase library is not fixed to one mood. A profanity setting offers three levels: On, Some and Off. The developer's own note recommends switching it to On for the full effect. If you want the humor without the language, the middle and off settings exist for exactly that reason.

There is also a text-to-speech option that reads the current weather saying aloud. It is a small feature, but it fits the app's personality: the forecast becomes something you hear rather than read, which is handy when your hands are busy and your patience for a polite robot voice is low.

Beyond the joke: indices and thresholds

The app covers more than temperature and precipitation. The app includes a set of indices covering air quality, arthritis, migraine, sinus, cold and flu, bee activity, campfire conditions, golf, outdoor activity, swimming and biking. Some of these are practical, some are niche, and together they give the app a broader scope than its comedy suggests.

Thresholds for hot, cold and dew point can be adjusted, which changes how the app reacts to the numbers. If your idea of cold differs from the default, you can shift the line and the phrases will follow. That kind of customization is what turns a gimmick into something you might keep on your home screen.

Moon phase is included as well, and there is a glossary explaining the basic weather terms used in the app. The glossary is a quiet addition that helps if you have ever nodded along to a forecast without knowing what a dew point actually means.

Units can be set to US Fahrenheit or international Celsius, so the app is not locked to one region's conventions. You can also share your weather reports to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap and similar services, which is presumably how a lot of the app's phrases travel beyond the people who installed it.

How it looks, and how you set it up

The app's backgrounds and precipitation effects match the time of year and the current conditions, so the screen shifts with the weather rather than sitting static. If you would rather not have that, the settings include additional solid color and photo backgrounds you can choose instead.

Setup is mostly a matter of going into Settings and deciding how you want the app to behave. The profanity level is the one the developer singles out, but the same area is where you would pick your units and your background style.

The app is free to install and carries ads, and it also offers in-app purchases. The content rating is Mature 17+, which lines up with the language the phrases can contain when profanity is switched on. If you are installing this on a shared device or a phone a younger family member uses, that rating is the detail to weigh before you hand it over.

Recent updates refreshed the loading and weather phrases and fixed crashes and other bugs. That is a normal maintenance pass for an app that has been on the store since March 2017.

Where the humor lands best

This is not the app for someone who wants a quiet, clinical readout of the day ahead. It is built for people who find the standard forecast voice too bland and would rather have the information delivered with an opinion. If a rude phrase about the heat is the thing that makes you check the app at all, the design is doing its job.

The ten-day and 48-hour forecasts, the NOAA alerts and the specialty indices mean it can serve as a primary weather app rather than a novelty you open once. Someone who checks conditions before a run, a ride or a round of golf has a reason to keep it installed, since biking, swimming, golf and outdoor indices are all part of the package.

The profanity switch broadens the audience. A household that wants the jokes without the swearing can set it lower, and someone who wants the full effect can leave it on. That flexibility is what makes the concept work beyond a single audience.

The 4.8 average across more than 15,800 ratings suggests the approach has found its people. The Webby People's Choice award in the services and utilities category in 2018, and a place in Google Play's Best of 2017 list of top new apps, point to the same conclusion: the gimmick and the utility have coexisted well enough to earn recognition.

A rude forecast worth keeping

What The Forecast does something specific and does it thoroughly. It takes the standard weather app format, feeds it data from AerisWeather and NOAA, and wraps it in a voice that most apps would never risk. The result is a tool you can genuinely use for planning, provided you enjoy the commentary.

The trade-offs are straightforward. It is free with ads and in-app purchases, it is rated Mature 17+, and its central feature is a sense of humor that will not suit everyone. If you want your weather delivered without attitude, this app's entire premise is working against you.

For everyone else, the combination of a long phrase library, adjustable profanity, ten-day and hourly forecasts, alerts, indices and customizable backgrounds makes a stronger case than the premise alone suggests. It is worth installing if you check the weather daily and would rather laugh at it than read a spreadsheet.

What's new in version 3.97.3.584

- Updated loading and weather phrases. - Fixed some stupid crashes. - Minor improvements and bug fixes.