Comparison

Yr vs WeatherSmart

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Yr

This weather app offers a visually engaging way to check forecasts with animated skies and detailed hourly breakdowns. It provides real-time air pollution, pollen, and UV data, along with immediate rainfall alerts. Forecasts are delivered by a reputable meteorological institute.

Highlights
  • Animated weather visualization
  • Hourly and daily forecasts
  • Now-cast rainfall alerts
  • Air pollution, pollen, and UV data
  • Weather observations
  • Long-term forecast graphs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

New Yr on iPhone and iPad is different from anything else you’ve seen in weather forecasting: Scroll through a beautiful and animated sky to see how the weather changes hourly, and get all the need-to-know details at the same time. And if there will be rainfall within the next 90 minutes we'll let you know through our now-cast. The weather visualization makes it a fun experience to check the weather – even when it’s raining! Check details day by day and hour by hour in the long-term forecast, or study the details in the graph. Under "Around you" you get an overview of air pollution, pollen spread and UV forecast, as well as the latest weather observations in your area. Forecasts are delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. ABOUT US: Yr is a weather service jointly produced by NRK and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Our primary goals are to secure life and property, while delivering useful and accurate weather forecasts to our users, preparing them for all kinds of weather. This year we are celebrating our ten-year anniversary, and with millions of users every day we are proud of being one of the most popular weather services in the world.

About

WeatherSmart

Get severe weather warnings and detailed forecasts for your current location and any other area. Customize settings like update frequency and do not disturb times. View daily highs, lows, and wind direction.

Highlights
  • Severe weather warnings
  • Current location weather
  • Forecasts for selected locations
  • Seven-day forecast
  • Temperature and wind data
  • Customizable settings
Features
Read full description

WeatherSmart, from the South African Weather Service (SAWS), provides you with severe weather warnings and other handy weather information for your immediate surroundings and other areas. WeatherSmart includes the following features and options: • Severe weather warnings • Weather conditions and forecast for your current location. • Search for and add other locations. • A seven day forecast for all your selected locations. • Minimum & maximum temperature(s). • Wind direction(s). • Weather notices, warnings and alerts. • Customise settings according to your needs: - Edit My Locations - Do Not Disturb Times - Weather Update Frequency Disclaimer: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. This application only supports iOS 8+.

Screenshots

Yr4 screens
WeatherSmart4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Yr at 61% against WeatherSmart's 9%. Yr also leads on rating (4.3 vs 1.5) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Yr holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Yr has 203 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Yr's written reviews are positive against 9% of WeatherSmart's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Yr ships an update every 10 days, WeatherSmart every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Yr versus WeatherSmart: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYrWeatherSmart
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (203 ratings) — better1.5 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews60.5% of reviews — better8.8% of reviews
Number of ratings203 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#135 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.415.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size130 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNRKAfriGIS Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Yr

All ratings203 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral9.4%
Negative12.3%
Written reviews352 reviews
Positive60.5%
Neutral13.4%
Negative26.1%

WeatherSmart

All ratings4 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive8.8%
Neutral2.9%
Negative88.2%

Bugs and requests

Yr

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on iOS 11 and newer
  • Location tracking issues
  • Widget not working as expected
  • Inability to delete or reorder saved locations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add humidity data
  • Provide offline caching of weather data
  • Implement Apple Watch support
  • Allow changing between Celsius and Fahrenheit
  • Bring back previous graph/chart layouts

WeatherSmart

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Yr

No in-app purchases

None

WeatherSmart

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Yr free?
Yr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WeatherSmart free?
WeatherSmart is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Yr or WeatherSmart?
Yr is rated higher. Yr averages 4.3 out of 5 from 203 ratings, while WeatherSmart averages 1.5 from 4 ratings.
Do Yr or WeatherSmart have ads?
Neither Yr nor WeatherSmart shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Yr or WeatherSmart?
Yr ships an update every 10 days, and WeatherSmart every 3 months. Most recently, Yr was updated on November 1, 2026 and WeatherSmart on November 2, 2026.

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