Monday, December 23, 2024

Google’s rumored Pixel 9 weather app seen in hands-on with one glaring omission

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Summary

  • Google is rumored to be releasing a new Pixel-exclusive weather app alongside the Pixel 9 series on August 13.
  • The redesigned app, as seen in leaked screenshots, focuses on minimalism and glanceable weather info, and is expected to eventually become available on older Pixel devices.
  • Google’s beloved weather frog mascot is missing in the leaked screenshots. While the design isn’t necessarily finalized, longtime Pixel users may be disappointed that the frog isn’t there.



It wasn’t even a full year ago when Google’s weather app got its first major redesign since its inception, but it appears the company is poised to debut another weather revamp next week. This time, the all-new weather app would be exclusive to Google’s Pixel series, according to reports, and it would make its debut alongside the Pixel 9 series on August 13.

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Kamila Wojciechowska, one of the most reliable sources for Google leaks, has revealed screenshots of the rumored new Weather app for Pixel devices in a report for Android Authority. According to the report, this redesigned app will debut on the Pixel 9 series before becoming available on older Pixel devices in the months ahead.


New UI (left) versus old UI (right). Source: Android Authority.

Google’s focus for the design of this Pixel-exclusive app appears to be minimalism and glanceable weather info, though the data it displays appears to be largely the same as what’s currently seen in the Weather applet that can be accessed on any Android device through the Google app or one of its widgets.

New UI (left) versus old UI (right). Source: Android Authority.



Where’s the frog, Google? WHERE’S THE FROG?

If you’re a longtime Google Weather app user, the first thing you’ll likely notice is that the cute little weather frog is nowhere to be found in the redesigned app. This appears to be a casualty of Google’s push for digestible weather info, but the beloved mascot will certainly be missed if it doesn’t make the final cut.

While the new design is lacking a mascot, it leans heavily on Google’s Material You shapes to give it a playful look. These are most prominent on the current conditions page, where Google housed data like wind speed and relative humidity in whimsical shapes. But we also see vertical pill shapes for the daily forecasts and horizontal pills in the location selector.


New UI (left) versus old UI (right). Source: Android Authority.

New UI (left) versus old UI (right). Source: Android Authority.

The design seen in these screenshots may not be finalized, but Wojciechowska captured the images after installing a leaked copy of the app, so it’s far enough along in development to be functional. And with the next Made by Google hardware event only days away, there isn’t much time left for revisions — still, we’ll hold out hope that the weather frog makes a last-minute return before August 13 rolls around.


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