New iOS 15 native weather app has secret white dot features

According to The New York Post, Apple's native weather app has a feature that you might not be familiar with. Take a look at the 10-day forecast on the app and you might notice a white dot on the day's predicted temperature range. Do you know what it signifies? Well then, you've come to the right place. That dot signifies where on the forecast temperature range, the current reading lands.

For example, if today's forecast shows a high of 36 degrees and you see the white dot right near the end of the range, you know that the temperature at that moment is close to the high of the day. It's a nifty way for users to determine whether they should expect warmer or colder temperatures for the remainder of the day. The same dot can be seen on the scale for the UV index and the sunset times.

When you see the white dot on the UV scale, it is showing you the UV index at that exact moment. So you can either use the actual number on the screen or take a quick look at the white dot to determine whether you should be wearing sunscreen at this exact moment on this particular day. When it comes to sunset time, the white dot has two functions. It indicates the sun's position compared to the horizon and also gives you an estimated time for the sunset.

In iOS 15, the native weather app added the 10-day forecast view and the bar that makes it easy to see what the weather picture will be like in your area for the next week and a half including temperature trends and the conditions. The iOS 15 update also added graphical information and small modules for the air quality, temperature, UV index, sunset and sunrise, wind, precipitation, humidity, visibility, and pressure.

And with the update, you can see full-screen weather maps showing the temperature, precipitation, and air quality in the region. To view these maps. open the iOS weather app and scroll down to the small temperature map. Tap on it and tap on the stack of paper icon to see three full-screen options of the temperature, precipitation, and air quality.

Animated backgrounds will mirror the current weather conditions in your city and are available to iPhone units with an A12 Bionic chip and newer. That means you'll see the animated background by tapping the native weather app on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR, or newer. And users can also sign up to receive notifications if it is going to rain, snow, or hail within the next hour.

In late March of 2020, Apple purchased weather app Dark Sky. The latter considers itself to be a hyperlocal weather app that has a reputation for delivering extremely local weather forecasts made by following multiple sources including some forecasts that are crowdsourced. Its reputation allowed Dark Sky to generate over one million Android users. After July 1st, 2020, Dark Sky dropped support for Android users which means all of those subscribers will need to find a new accurate weather app.

Those who had subscribed to the Android version of the app will receive a refund based on the July 1st, 2020 expiration of their service. In the App Store, Apple offers the free Currently app which is powered by Dark Sky. Be careful in the Google Play Store where an app called Dark Sky Weather Forecast is available. But as we advise, it is good to check the comments section before you install an app from an unknown developer.

The very first comment for this app says that this is not the Dark Sky app that you thought it might be and it doesn't show "real feel" temperatures. Another review carries a huge red flag: "Didn't really work. Won't load, often won't allow searches for other locations, shows profoundly inaccurate temperatures. Deleting it...sigh."