There’s now a little icon showing the weather in the top-left quadrant of the Maps app, and in certain locations, you’ll even get an air quality index (AQI) number. This feature is only just rolling out, so you might not have it yet, but it should be in everyone’s hands shortly.
Considering Google is the brains behind Android, it is a bit annoying that we’re only getting this feature in 2024. Why, you ask? This exact feature has been available on Google Maps for iOS for about four whole years now. It makes it a bit head-scratching as to why it only just arrived, but we’re thankful regardless.
Google Launched A Standalone Weather App for Pixels Last Year
Speaking of the weather, Google hasn’t had a standalone weather app for a long time. You can check the weather using the Google app or the At a Glance widget on your smartphone, but those options aren’t standalone.
In December 2023, for the Feature Drop for that month, Google revealed a standalone Weather application for Pixel smartphones as old as the Pixel 5a.
Of course, if the only thing this app could do was show you the weather when you open it, it’d be hard to justify its creation. The cool part is how it integrates with the Clock app. Now, you can see the current weather when you open Clock, and if you’ve added World Clock features, you can see the weather in the added locations. You can even see the predicted weather for the time when your alarms are meant to go off!
How Can Widely Integrated Weather Features Help Daily Life?
While the Pixel’s weather features aren’t available on other Android smartphones, the hope is that they will be one day. But even if they do get more widely released, how can they help you out in your daily life? Let’s talk about that:
- Knowing the weather just by looking at the world clock can be helpful when interacting with friends, family, and business partners in other regions.
- Seeing what the weather will be like at the point your alarm is meant to wake you up can let you know the kind of weather to prepare for, or how to set your thermostat.
- Having the weather directly in Maps can let you prepare accurately when preparing to take a short trip to another city or state. Don’t forget your umbrella if it is going to be pouring outside!
Pixel phones are still the only ones that get the full suite of weather-related features, but if they come to your Android smartphone, do you think you’ll use them daily? Let us know!
