{"id":26786,"date":"2019-10-04T17:01:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T21:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=26786"},"modified":"2019-10-05T10:20:59","modified_gmt":"2019-10-05T14:20:59","slug":"weather-line-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/04\/weather-line-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Weather Line 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Jones<\/a> (9to5Mac<\/a>):<\/p>\n

+ All-new design
\n+ All-new weather data solution
\n+ 21 new features
\n+ 17 themes (4 dark modes)
\n+ Super Forecast
\n+ Travel Assist
\n+ 10-day forecasts
\n+ HD radar
\n+ Hyperlocal rain<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Initially we had Dark Sky, The Weather Channel, and WDT, a meterorlogist PhD we consulted said those were the best.<\/p>\n

We directed users how to pick… but wait… why pick one, just give me THE BEST OF THEM ALL!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Sounds really good. I haven’t tried it yet, because it requires iOS 13<\/a>, and I plan to stay away from that for a while longer. Weather Line 1 was one of my favorite iOS apps, but I can no longer use it either its weather data was turned<\/a> off<\/a>. So, for now, I’m using Apple Weather. I’ll miss the old Weather Line icon, and I’m slightly worried about the two-level design and lower information density<\/a>, but I’m reserving judgement until I’ve used it for a while.<\/p>\n\n

Off Coast LLC<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

There is a Free plan for those who wish to continue using our core features with limited ads, plus some of the new 2.0 features.<\/p>\n

Our Pro plan is called “Supercharge” and includes a 7-day free trial, all the new features, and no Ads. It will be $1.99 per month, $0.83 per month ($9.99 billed annually), or $44.99 for a lifetime unlock.<\/p>\n

Anyone who ever bought Weather Line 1 will get their first year of Supercharge at 50% off - just $4.99 (less than 50 cents per month).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Ryan Jones<\/a>:<\/p>\n

If you HATE subscriptions, there is an expensive Lifetime Unlock that goes for the lifetime of Weather Line.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Some people are upset<\/a> because features that were formerly included in the purchase price are now accompanied by ads if you haven’t<\/a> subscribed<\/a>. I guess this is a gray area<\/a> of the App Store guidelines.<\/p>\n\n

Marco Arment<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Do the math. If you bought it for $4.99, they got 70% of that: $3.49. If you use it for 4 years, that’s 87 cents a year in revenue.<\/p>\n

The Dark Sky API costs $0.0001 per call. If data refreshes once an hour, it’s about 88 cents per year, per weather location.<\/p>\n

See the problem?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Ryan Jones<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Times 3 for The Weather Channel and radar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Mike Piontek<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

For me it went something like:<\/p>\n

• A few years of “eventually Apple will support upgrades”
\n• OK, subscriptions are clearly the only option
\n• Wow people are mad about subscriptions
\n• Wow it takes a long time to try to create something people won’t be mad about paying a sub for<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Ryan Jones<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Bingo. Exactly why we worked for 2 years with no income, while the app lost money for 4 years.<\/p>\n

To make WL2 worthy of a $10\/yr subscription.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n