Google might be killing the weather app for all Android users
Google might be ready to axe its Android Weather app.
Google has barely touched its Android Weather app in years, and now it looks like the tech giant is finally pulling the plug. Instead, users are being quietly redirected to a revamped weather experience buried inside Google Search.
Unless you own a Pixel phone (which comes with a proper built-in Pixel Weather app), the Weather 'app' on your Android device is essentially just a fancy Google Search shortcut.
The familiar weather frog shows you the current temperature, today's high and low, current conditions, and what it actually feels like outside. Scroll down and you'll see the hourly forecast carousel and a 10-day outlook you can tap for more information.
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Below that, the 'Current conditions' section breaks down the Wind, Humidity, UV Index, Pressure, and when the sun rises and sets. There's also an hourly breakdown with charts tracking Precipitation, Wind, and Humidity levels.
But something's been happening since October that suggests this setup is on its way out. The last time Google updated the interface was in 2023, and Pixel phones got their own exclusive replacement the following year.
Since around mid-October, some users have noticed their Weather shortcut no longer opens the usual interface. Instead, it just takes them to regular Google Search results.
For one user, the Google app displayed a message reading: “The weather page has moved. Your home screen shortcut now leads to Google Search.”
Now, when users check the weather, they still see a card with a frog mascot backdrop showing the current temperature and conditions, according to 9to5Google. But now the hourly forecast is built right into that main card, sitting just above the frog. Below that, a scrollable 10-day forecast lets you tap any day to refresh the hourly breakdown above it.
Details on Precipitation, Wind, Humidity, and Air Quality are now displayed in an expandable list. Opening up the first three gives you hourly forecasts, while Air Quality shows a bar graph instead.
This follows a similar pattern from Google's smartwatch strategy. The Google Weather app for Wear OS isn't available to new users anymore. People who already have it installed can keep using it, but Google now wants smartwatch owners to stick with whatever weather app came pre-loaded on their device.
The new design is already rolling out to all Android and iOS users. For most people, tapping 'View all details' at the bottom still opens the old Weather app interface. But if your device has received the backend update Google's pushing out, that button has vanished completely, 9to5Google reported.