App developers can access weather data thanks to the new API WeatherKit in Apple’s new operating system. In some cases this is free of charge.
Apple offers developers a new way to get weather data. With the new operating system versions this fall (iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, tvOS 16 and watchOS 9) the programming interface WeatherKit will be introduced, which makes this possible. The data can also be accessed for websites and other platforms via a REST API. Apple has now announced how much the retrieval will cost.
The good news is that 500,000 views per month is free for registered developers. According to an article in the developer portal, anyone who has a membership in the Apple Developer Program, which is necessary to publish apps in the App Store, gets this number of API calls included. Above this value, the views can be subscribed to at different prices.
Tiered packages for developers
If you plan more than one million calls per month, you pay just under 50 US dollars. 2 million calls cost around 100 US dollars, 5 million hit 250 US dollars and up to 10 million calls per month almost 500 US dollars. The highest tariff with up to 20 million calls costs just under 1000 US dollars per month. According to Apple, the call levels can be changed at any time.
Apple sees its own weather service as a contribution to more data protection. When launched at the WWDC developer conference, it was emphasized that the location data used to retrieve local weather would not be used or sold for any other purpose.
Access via Swift and REST API
Weather data can be retrieved very easily using the Swift programming language and the new WeatherKit API. In addition to the current weather, hourly and daily forecasts, there is also the option of calling up weather data for past times. The data packages are broken down into many details, including sunrise and sunset information, moon phases, barometric pressure and more. For websites and also apps outside of the Apple platform, the REST API is available for retrieval via the web.
Apple’s new weather service dates back to its Dark Sky purchase. The app with associated weather service for developers was acquired by Apple two years ago, 2020. The Android version and the Dark Sky API were soon discontinued or phased out.
