Checking local weather on anAndroid phoneis more complex than we like. There’s still no dedicated app, which means you’re limited to getting weather results through the Google app on your device. Last year, the company decided to release astandalone Weather app for Wear OS. We’re now learning that Google is working on a separate Weather app for Android phones and tablets, finally bringing parity between its mobile and wearable platforms.
Some digging within version 7.5 of the Google Clock app by9to5Googleuncovered hints of a new Weather app for Android, supposed to function independently of the Google app. Based on the app’s launch on Wear OS last year, one could think it would only be a matter of time before Android smartphones and tablets got the same treatment, though it’s been a long wait since October 2022.
It’s hard to tell when the feature will roll out to the masses, but since there’s a reference to a package named “com.google.android.apps.weather” within the Google Clock app’s code already, 9to5 posits that it could arrive sometime after theGoogle Pixel TabletandPixel Foldare launched in less than a month from now. On top of functioning as a standalone app to check weather forecasts, local weather results would be integrated within the Clock app for a better user experience. There’s a good chance that some of these details could also pop up on the Clock’s home screen widget.
This implementation could offer weather results for each city you have on the Clock app, in addition to displaying metrics like high/low temperature and general conditions in the region. Toward this end, 9to5Google says the Clock app has new elements to notify users, including Clear day, Blizzard, Very hot, Tropical storm or hurricane, Flurries, Low visibility, and Nighttime isolated scattered thunderstorms, to name a few. Meanwhile, interacting with the weather results on the Clock app could redirect users to the new standalone Weather app.
It’s no secret that Google Weather hasn’t historically received much attention on Android, although it got theMaterial You treatment earlier this month, finally catching up with some of its fellow Google-branded apps,such as Google News, which was also late to the party. As for the upcoming Weather app, one would hope that its new status as a standalone app would unlock timely updates and UI refreshes on par with some of the other core Google apps. Version 7.5 of Google Clock is live on the Google Play Store, and you can also pick it up fromAPKMirror.
