Apple replaces the Dark Sky API with WeatherKit, which will let developers create apps for Android and Apple's operating systems using its weather data
keeping all critical controls at the bottom hugely improves everyday usability. https://twitter.com/... Guilherme Rambo / @_inside : Apple's WeatherKit is available as both a native system API and a restful web API #WWDC22 Ryan Jones / @rjonesy : Is WeatherKit free? Dark Sky's data is dogshit outside of the USA and for any forecasts >48 hours away. @donnywals : Heck yea, WeatherKit sounds pretty cool! #wwdc22 Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith : WeatherKit is only provided as a Swift API, with no class prefixes (😖) Christina Warren / @film_girl : WeatherKit is basically the Dark Sky API but system wide. That's awesome. Ben Wood / @benwood : Apple is determined to ensure iMessage remains competitive with WhatsApp and other messaging apps. The addition of “edit” and “undo send” underline this and will be welcome additions. #WWDC22 https://twitter.com/... David Smith / @_davidsmith : So cool to see @NovallSwift introducing WeatherKit. The API is exactly what I'd hoped for when Apple bought Dark Sky years ago. It makes dealing with weather data SOOO much simpler and better. @aaronbrethorst : I cannot wait to add support for Live Text API, WeatherKit, and some MapKit features to OneBusAway for iOS. iOS 16's looking like a great release. @appleforever18 : My favorite part of the SOTU was @NovallSwift talking about WeatherKit. SUPER inspiring and at the same time SO informative! It was a great Day 1! #WWDC22 @damedoteth : cool to see Dark Sky evolving into WeatherKit Ryan Jones / @rjonesy : WeatherKit is NOT completely free, but is super generous. 1. Dark Sky gave 30k free/month. This is 500k free. 2. Typical fee is $1 per 10k calls. This is $0.50 per 10k. https://twitter.com/... David Smith / @_davidsmith : OMG, it's all the unicorn wishlists all in one day! WEATHERKIT! Daniel Jalkut / @danielpunkass : If WeatherKit is what everybody expects it will be, it's a sincere gift to developers. Fingers crossed for no disappointments. #WWDC22
Context & Ripple Effects
This closes a loop opened two years ago, when Apple acquired Dark Sky, pulled its Android app, and set the API to shut down at the end of 2021 — leaving developers who had built on Dark Sky's hyperlocal forecasts stranded. WeatherKit is the replacement, and the surprise is its shape: per Guilherme Rambo it ships as both a native Swift API and a RESTful web API, which is what makes Android development possible again.
The timing lands alongside Apple's own weather push — the company has been building out its first-party Weather app since severe-weather tracking arrived in iOS 14, and iPad finally gets a Weather app with iPadOS 16 announced the same day. Developer reaction in the coverage is split between enthusiasm and pointed questions: Ryan Jones asks whether WeatherKit is free, while noting Dark Sky's data was weak outside the US and beyond 48-hour forecasts — a quality bar WeatherKit now inherits.
First-order effects
- Developers whose apps broke when the Dark Sky API shut down get a direct replacement, and those building for Android regain access to Apple's weather data through the web API — reversing the platform lock imposed at acquisition.
- Apple's own platforms absorb another former third-party capability: the WeatherKit data now underpins first-party Weather apps across iPhone and, newly, iPad.
Second-order effects
- Third-party weather-data providers lose differentiation on Apple-centric apps, since Apple can bundle forecast data into its developer tooling — pushing rivals to compete on coverage outside the US and long-range accuracy, exactly where Ryan Jones flags Dark Sky's weakness.
- If WeatherKit is priced rather than free, as Ryan Jones's question implies is unresolved, it becomes another metered Apple developer service — and developers must weigh it against standalone weather APIs they already pay for.
Third-order effects
- The pattern — acquire a beloved consumer app, retire it, re-release its core as a platform API — points toward Apple converting more acquired technology into subscription-grade developer services that span operating systems, eroding the assumption that Apple APIs stop at Apple hardware.
- As Apple's developer-facing services multiply, terms like availability and pricing become competitive levers against Google and independent API vendors, making developer-platform economics a recurring battleground rather than a side business.
The trend: Consumer-app acquisitions are being recycled into cross-platform developer services, with Apple using WeatherKit to extend its data licensing beyond its own operating systems.