Will Apple Weather Forecast Storms in Beijing?
November 6, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
The stock markets in the US have been surfing on the wave skimmers owned by the “magnificent seven.” The phrase refers to the FAANG crowd plus that AI fave NVidia and everyone’s favorite auto from Tesla. Has something gone subtly amiss at Apple, the darling of the hip graphics and “I love Linux” crowd?
“My weather app said it would be warm and sunny. What happened to smart software?” says the disenchanted young person. Rain is a good thing, not a bummer. Thanks, MidJourney. This image reminds me of those weird illustrations of waifs with big eyes. Inspiration is where one finds it.
I don’t know. I would point to one faint signal contained in the online write up “Why Apple’s Weather App Is So Bad.” The article makes it clear that weather forecasting is tricky. Software is not yet up to the of delivering accurate information about rain. Rain, I suppose, is one of those natural phenomena opaque to smart people, smart software, and smart acquisitions.
The statement in the write up which caught my attention was:
Over this time, this relentless weekend-only rain has also affirmed that Apple’s weather app is pretty much useless. Personally, I’ve learned that the app cannot distinguish between “light rain” and “rain,” that the percentages it spits out feel bogus, and to never trust it when it tells you what time the rain will stop. I’m not alone. My friends and coworkers also have various stories about how the app has let them down, or how sometimes it just won’t work. Some even talk about Dark Sky, a weather-forecasting app that Apple bought in 2020, with a mournful, wistful sadness, like a lost love. Apple says Dark Sky’s most beloved features have been integrated into its app, but Dark Sky fans aren’t convinced. Things were different then, they say. Things were better.
Did you spot the knife twist? Here it is, ripped from the heart of the paragraph:
sometimes it just won’t work
No big deal. A weather app. But Apple appeared to have ripped a page from the Google’s Management Handbook. Jon Stewart departed from Apple. The reasons are mysterious, a bit like the Dark Sky falling in Cupertino. I also noticed that Apple has a certain connection to China, particularly with regard to that most magical and almost unchanged candy bar phone. Granted it revolutionized Apple’s financial position, but does the contractor who assist me required a device to thaw the hearts of Apple lovers on a ski slope. (No raid predicted, I assume.)
Net net: Rain, Mr. Stewart, and the supply chain to China. Are these signals worth monitoring? Probably not. When I need a weather forecast, this dinobaby just looks out a window, not at a mobile phone.
Stephen E Arnold, November 6, 2023
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