The Verge has discovered that Apple’s Weather app is not displaying 69 degrees temperature, it rather rounds up the measurement to 70º or rounds it down to 68º. However, the iPhones on iOS 15 beta show the 69º temperature reading accurately but the issue is appearing on iPhone running iOS 14.6 or earlier versions. Dark Sky owned by Apple is not showing this issue.
The company’s weather app shows current temperature, hourly and next 24-hours readings, and gives a ten-day forecast for locations around the world. In addition, it shows sunrise and sunset timings, forecast of precipitation, air quality, humidity, information on extreme weather events like winter storms, tornados, flash floods, and more.
A possible explanation for the Apple Weather app’s 69º controversy
As per the report, the issue is limited to the Weather app on iOS 14.6 and earlier updates only, and the apps’ widget and source data display 69º temperature readings.
It’s not clear if this is a bug or an intentional attempt from Apple to cut down on 69-related humor. The rounding is only visible in the weather app itself: clicking through to Apple’s source data from Weather.com will show the proper temperature, as do Apple’s home screen widgets. But the iOS weather app will refuse to show 69 degrees anywhere in the forecast, whether it’s for the current temperature, the hourly forecast for the day, or the extended forecast.
Having said that, in the United States, the temperature is mostly recorded and read in Fahrenheit. Thus, several people on Twitter have pointed out that the issue might be appearing because of temperature conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit.
Apple may be sourcing data for its iOS Weather app in Celsius and then converting it to Fahrenheit. For example, 20 degrees Celsius converts to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, while 21 degrees Celsius converts to 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit — which rounds up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The app appears to have similar issues with temperatures like 65 degrees (where 18 degrees Celsius converts to 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit, while 19 degrees Celsius is 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
In the iOS 15 update coming this Fall, Apple has redesigned the Weather app with new animated backgrounds for precipitation and air quality, the layouts change as per the prevailing weather conditions like wind, rain forecast, and others. The app will also show wind speeds, UV index, and barometric pressure details.
I do not understand why there is so much hype and buzz about it. It seems like a marketing stunt to veer people off third-party apps like Weather Underground or Weather by Tomorrow. I’m sure the self-righteous will certainly be a target segment.