SkyCandy vs HailCore
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SkyCandy
Predicts the visual quality of sunrises and sunsets using local weather data. Offers tools for photographers to plan shoots, including sun direction and daylight phase timings. Provides tips, a community gallery, and countdown timers.
- Sunrise/Sunset Forecast
- Sun Direction Tool
- Daylight Phases & Times
- Multiple Location Forecasts (Premium)
- Today Widget
- Alerts & Notifications (Premium)
- Photography Tips & Tricks
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Your sunset adventure starts here. Use SkyCandy to know if the sky will be vivid and colorful at sunrise or sunset, and skip the boring, gray sky. SkyCandy is great for photographers, or anyone at all that enjoys a beautiful sunset! There are no annoying ads and it's completely free, but you can unlock some extra tools and features for a very low-cost subscription fee to help support us and keep the app running. A full list of features can be found below: ► Sunrise + Sunset Forecast Using your local weather data, we can determine if the next sunrise or sunset at your location will be vivid and colorful, or drab and dreary. With the premium subscription, you can also see forecasts for up to 5 days, for any location. ► Sun Direction Tool Drop a pin anywhere on the map to know exactly which direction the Sun will be at any time, any date, and any location. Great for photographers that are scouting a photo shoot location and want to know what direction the Sun will be in when they are taking photos. ► Daylight Phases and Times Get the exact times for Sunrise, Sunset, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, and more! ► Multiple Locations* With the premium subscription, you can save near infinite amounts of custom locations for the forecast, and get a five day forecast! (free users are limited to 1 location and daily forecast) ► Today Widget* Enable a today widget that shows your quality score, time of sunset, and live countdown timer until sunset. ► Alerts & Notifications* Configure automatic alerts and notifications for when the sunrise and sunset is going to be high quality at your location. ► More than 50 tips, tricks, and facts SkyCandy comes with more than 50 tips, tricks, and facts that will help you take your Sunset photography to the next level. ► Community Gallery See real sunset photos posted by other users of SkyCandy. ► Sun Countdown Timers Know exactly how much time is left until your next sunrise or sunset occurs, great for photographers who want to know when they will run out of light. ► Ad-Free Experience We don't believe in putting annoying advertisements in SkyCandy. Instead, we rely on the optional subscription from our users to help support it and keep it running. ► In-app Support Having issues using the app, or can't seem to find something? Just check out the in-app FAQ and knowledge base, or contact us in-app for tech support. ► And Many More Tools! Many more useful weather, Sunrise, and Sunset tools are also included. Some of the tools and features listed above require a premium subscription. Premium subscription is $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually ($5+ savings for annual) and can be purchased in-app. Each subscription helps us to continue development and make the app better. The premium subscription includes a free 7 day trial, and is billed on a monthly or annual basis unless you cancel the subscription. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of your current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. If you do not wish to continue your subscription after the free 7 day trial period, it is your responsibility to cancel your subscription before the billing cycle begins. Subscriptions may be managed by you in your iTunes account and auto-renewal may be turned off by going into your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://www.photographersarsenal.com/mobile-app-terms-of-use/ Got an idea to make the app even better, or is the app missing a tool that you would like to see implemented? Just contact us using the in-app support and we can add it! APIs used: Sunburst by SunsetWx * Indicates that premium subscription is required for this feature.
HailCore
Receive proactive alerts for approaching hail-producing storms. This app continuously monitors radar data, notifying you before severe weather impacts your location. It also provides detailed forecasts, current conditions, and hurricane tracking.
- Hail-producing radar core detection
- Push notifications for approaching storms
- Live radar map with hail size estimates
- Wind gust alerts from ground stations
- Hurricane and tropical cyclone tracker
- 7-day forecast and current conditions
- Dual-polarization radar analysis
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HailCore is built specifically to detect hail-producing radar cores and alert you before they reach your location. Most weather apps make you watch the radar yourself. HailCore watches it for you — scanning live NEXRAD data continuously and sending a push notification the moment a high-reflectivity core crosses your alert radius. WHAT HAILCORE DOES - Monitors live NEXRAD radar for hail-producing cores, using dual-polarization (CC/ZDR) classification layered on reflectivity — not reflectivity alone - Sends push alerts when a hail-producing cell enters your defined radius - Displays detected cells on a live map with dBZ values and estimated hail size - Separate wind gust alerts from real ASOS/AWOS ground-station reports — not radar-derived — with their own threshold and radius - Hurricane and tropical cyclone tracker: forecast cone, track, and storm points sourced from NOAA - Shows your nearest NEXRAD radar station and last update time - Integrates with your Tempest Weather Station for local ground truth data - Current conditions at your location: temperature, wind, humidity, dewpoint, pressure, and visibility - Full 7-day forecast, hourly breakdown, and sun/moon data WHY dBZ MATTERS Reflectivity (dBZ) is the most reliable radar indicator of hail — but reflectivity alone can't always tell hail apart from heavy rain. HailCore layers dual-polarization classification (correlation coefficient and differential reflectivity) on top of a 58 dBZ default to help make that distinction. Choose Conservative for fewer, higher-confidence alerts, Balanced for the default behavior, Aggressive to flag every reflectivity core above the severe-hail threshold, or Auto to let HailCore pick the right sensitivity per storm based on that day's NOAA SPC hail outlook at your location. BUILT FOR PEOPLE WITH SOMETHING TO PROTECT Whether it's your vehicle, your roof, your lawn, or your equipment — HailCore gives you the lead time to take cover, pull into a garage, or get off the road before hail arrives. HAILCORE PREMIUM - Hail Risk forecast powered by NOAA SPC Convective Outlooks (Day 1-2) - SPC Convective Outlook map overlay — national Day 1-3 categorical risk zones - Storm movement vectors showing cell direction and speed - Radar timelapse - Cloud density overlay for broader storm-system context - Lightning strike overlay using real GOES satellite lightning data - Full national radar view — the whole-CONUS mosaic, not just your local station - Multi-location monitoring Available as $2.99/month, $24.99/year, or a limited-time $49.99 lifetime purchase. HailCore uses NOAA NEXRAD data — the same radar network used by professional meteorologists — delivered in near real-time directly to your device. Terms of Use (EULA): https://hailcore.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: HailCore at 100% against SkyCandy's 16%. HailCore also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SkyCandy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and HailCore sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
HailCore holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of SkyCandy's written reviews are positive against 100% of HailCore's.
SkyCandy ships an update monthly, HailCore every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SkyCandy | HailCore |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 15.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dunbar Technology, LLC | PHILIP KIRSCHNER KAPPE |
Customer experience
SkyCandy
HailCore
Bugs and requests
SkyCandy
Reported bugs
3 issues- App stuck on loading screen
- Incompatible with latest iOS updates
- Inconsistent performance across devices
Requested features
2 requests- Ability to view forecasts for multiple locations
- Improved prediction accuracy
HailCore
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SkyCandy
- Monthly Premium Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Yearly Premium Subscription7 Days trial$23.991 Year
HailCore
- HailCore Premium$2.991 Month
- HailCore Premium$24.991 Year
- HailCore Premium Lifetime$49.99









