“The look, feel and data [for Apple’s iOS Weather app] has been provided to Apple by Yahoo for many years, part of a deal that sends a lot of traffic back to the Internet portal and spurs a multitude of downloads of its own handsome weather app. So attractive, in fact, that the refurbishment of it was much touted by CEO Marissa Mayer and was well received by reviewers and users. The kudos were much deserved,” Kara Swisher reports for Re/code. “But in the fall, Yahoo’s weather relationship with Apple will be blown off the device, a development that is a big miss for Mayer, who has aggressively pushed the company’s mobile efforts as a key part of Yahoo’s turnaround.”
“The situation Yahoo finds itself in is due to a very crafty deal engineered by former Yahoo board member and Weather Channel CEO David Kenny, who has essentially shoved Yahoo off the key smartphone to be replaced by a new offering that he has been developing since he took over the weather news and information service last year,” Swisher reports. “The irony? Yahoo’s weather app and services have long been powered by the Weather Channel, part of a longtime partnership it has had with the Silicon Valley Internet giant.”
“In simple terms, Yahoo had slapped a pretty chrome cover on it and Weather Channel provided the more substantive back end and critical weather data. To convince Apple to make the shift and cut Yahoo out of the middle, the Weather Channel added a lot more technology and information to the offering that it does not provide to Yahoo,” Swisher reports. “What some inside the company are worried about next is the fate of the stock app it also provides to Apple’s mobile device, which some think could be next to go in favor of other providers such as Bloomberg, CNBC or Reuters.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
iPhone 6 likely to sport barometer, air pressure sensors to measure altitude, weather – June 18, 2014
Apple TV adds Disney Channel, Weather Channel, Vevo – August 27, 2013
I still don’t get why the iPad doesn’t get weather too? Just weird. That said, Yahoo weather has been pretty accurate for the most part – could care less who they use, as long as it’s accurate…
yes the lack of a native weather app on the ipad is quite bizarre so there must be a really good reason why it has never been included.
Yahoo’s weather app is beautiful.
The Weather Channel’s current app is mediocre. The website even more difficult to use.
The Yahoo weather app is my “go t0” app when I want a quick update and I’m sure that will continue to be the case in iOS 8.
Bullshit. The Weather Channel app is the gold standard. Everything else pales in comparison.
The Yahoo weather app is way better than the crap app made by the weather channel. you are delusional if you think the weather channel app is any good.
MDN Rugby match!
I agree, but to be clear, we’re talking about Yahoo Weather! not the default Apple Weather app powered by Yahoo. I replaced that with the Yahoo Weather! app a long time ago as my default.
Can we fight about everything or can’t we!!!! Man we should have a get together someday.
I can fight you on this – and everything!-)
(Btw, thanks for the amusing comments over the years)
No way. We defiantly shouldn’t have a get together.
“defiantly”? Freudian slip or Spoonerism? 😆
Where should we meet?
Doesn’t really matter as it seems Comcast, Bain Capital and Blackstone own The Weather Company, parent of The Weather Channel, Weather Underground and Intellicast, amongst ofters.
Don’t use the native weather app, never have, I use WeatherPro; being Europe based, in Holland, and with a big London office, their forecasts are highly accurate, and are used by the Press Association.
Much better forecasts than the Met Office, and the satellite view and precip radar are superb for seeing the weather as it’s happening.
I’ve found the yahoo data through iPhone to be next to useless… I ask siri, then go to the weather channel app and they say 2 completely different things (weather channel being way more reliable). This is in NYC. I find it hard to believe they’re getting the data from the same place. The layout and presentation is just fine, it’s the data that’s not reliable. I’m not sad to see the switch, but it does suck for yahoo…
Hey MDN, you could have at least included Marissa’s photo with this story. It never gets old.
Yeah, when I saw the headline, I thought for sure we were going to get the big red ball photo.
It’s old, and irrelevant,
Certainly, to you.
Well if she’s not sitting and bouncing on your balls then fohgitaboudit. 🙂
Yahoo’s own weather app is beautiful. Very clean and straightforward.
It’s one of the best looking app out there.
And isn’t the current weather app(native iOS app) also based on yahoo weather’s app design other than yahoo being the content provider?
What is Yahoo now anyway, since I never go there?
I kind of care how my apps look and work, but for weather, I want data. Lots of it. Tons of it. I want to drown in data. I don’t really care if the icon for the day has a little cloud or a medium sized cloud. A little icon and a high/low temp just isn’t enough. I’ve been on Weather Bug lately, but Weather Channel is good too. There are some good farm report and aviation apps out there that are THICK with data, but the best of those can actually have a little too much data. Built-in iPhone (yahoo) weather data = crap. Interested to see how deep we’ll be able to get with TWC built-in.
For years I’ve toyed with notions of what it would take to make a great weather app, for my standards. I’d like viscerally clear conditions, near-term forecast, next precipitation, etc. But I also am interested in retrospective info, for instance, yesterday’s temperature trend line, etc.
Some things are easier to interpret as trend lines or color maps, which I’ve not seen used much.
As long as it’s not Tim Cook sitting on a big red ball it’s fine by me.
The 20 minute delay on Apple’s(really Yahoo’s) stock app is excrutiatingly painful. Is this because of the middleman?
A lot can change in 20 minutes.
The delay (15 to 20 minutes, depending) is due to specific exchanges’ rules.
A rule, yes, but for their profit only, not safety, etc.
“Basically, the delay on the basic quote service creates a market for a real-time quote service that some parties will pay a premium for.”
— http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/301267.html
Probably used to protect brokers, too. Some services pay the fees to provide real-time quotes. For a long-term investor, it makes little difference. Day-traders, however…
The Weather Channel needs this really bad. Their cable network is swiftly becoming irrelevant. They need to transition to becoming an online and service provider business, or withing a few years, they won’t have a business.
——RM
MDN, Fail!!! You know whenever you put Marissa Mayer’s name in a headline, you have to have the pic of her on that red beach ball!
normally, I just step outside to check the weather.
…back, yeah it’s hot today.
Can you tell the local weather in other cities from outside your house?
well, since I am not in other cities outside my house, I don’t really give a rat’s ass.
That explains a lot…
I don’t use the stocks app but I wonder if that will go too?
That is all fine, we’ll, and good, but until TWC provides me with the ability to go ad free, I won’t be using their app. Yahoo is much better. I love the irony here, isn’t what happened similar to what happened when one of Apple’s board members pulled a little stunt that diminished the need for Apple smartphones?
Meh. I prefer the more localized current info of WeatherBug anyway.
What would be nice is a weather app that aggregates weather info from various apps, weighting the data based on accuracy over the previous year or something.
it is not the first time to dump third party app. google map first. now yahoo weather app. what’s next? it will be stock app for sure. actually what apple wants is to remove all these kind of third apps out of original iOS. but unfortunately apple map has been huge disaster. it works only US, Canada, few European countries unlikely google map. you can’t see any further detail in apple map if you try to search something in China, or Japan. it simple won’t work because lack of data information, and collection. honestly, there is only one company which can do is Google. no other companies can follow google’s technology today. so apple made huge mistake. how many people actually use apple map everyday worldwide? even I use only google map or locally specialized third app. it will be interesting to see how apple will make new stock app. or just take another company’s app just like new weather app.