Weather app uses notifications to display info on home screen

One area that Apple needs to address is the iOS home screen, which uses icons and badges to display information instead of the more informative widgets used by its competitor, Android. While many apps resign themselves to this limitation, a weather app by International Travel Weather Calculator pushes what is possible with a clever use of the iOS notification system.

We are all familar with the red iOS badge that displays the number of missed calls or unread emails on your home screen. The Fahrenheit – Weather and Temperature on your Home Screen app takes advantage of this notification system to display the temperature on your home screen. It's a clever use of Apple's built-in system that does not run afoul of the App Store guidelines.

The rest of the weather application is feature-rich and includes location-based weather forecasts, support for multiple cities, astronomical data, like sunrise and sunset times, and extra weather information, like rainfall amounts, humidity and wind direction. An in-app upgrade lets you add rain radar, satellite maps and wind charts to the application. The Fahrenheit – Weather and Temperature on your Home Screen app is available for US$0.99 from the App Store. Check it out and let us know what you think.