Brella
Baby, it’s cold outside…
Free (IAPs) From Matt Barker & Austin Astorga, brellaweatherapp.wordpress.com Made for iPhone Needs iOS 10 or later
There are plenty of weather apps available on the App Store, including Apple’s own free Weather app, of course. However, Brella takes a more personal approach than most of its rivals, which as a result makes it a little more fun to use.
Rather than simply downloading and displaying weather data, Brella creates a personal profile for your weather forecasts. It starts by allowing you to specify a number of temperature bands — so a ‘cold’ band could tell you to put on a warm jacket at around 47 degrees, while ‘just right’ may start at about 65. You can also tell Brella what type of clothes you like to wear in different weather conditions — T–shirt and jeans when it’s ‘just right’ or a jacket on colder days — and the clothes recommendations become a natural part of the weather forecast Brella provides you with.
The latest version of Brella also supports Siri shortcuts (and Amazon Alexa too), so you speak aloud to hear the weather report without having to open the app itself. Brella is free to download, but if you want regular weather updates throughout the day then you can activate its notifications feature for a one–off fee of $1.99. The app’s sense of humor might not suit everyone, but it’s a fun alternative to the dull stats found in many weather apps, and worth trying out if you’re a bit paranoid about sudden weather changes.
the bottom line. Brella’s personalization options make it a fun and cheeky alternative to the conventional weather apps out there.