Comparison

Blue vs Shadow Weather

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

Head to head
About

Blue

This app offers a unique visual representation of your 2-day weather forecast. It uses a color gradient to display hourly weather conditions, making it easy to understand temperature, humidity, and sunrise/sunset patterns at a glance. Plan your day effectively with this intuitive and fast interface.

Highlights
  • 2-day weather forecast visualization
  • Hourly weather represented by color gradient
  • Quickly recognize weather patterns
  • Temperature, humidity, and sunrise/sunset metrics
  • Fahrenheit or Celsius support
  • Automatic language and unit settings
Features
Read full description

Blue visualizes your 2-day weather forecast in a fast and colorful interface. Swipe up to see hourly weather represented by color in a unique visual gradient, helping you quickly recognize weather patterns and plan your day accordingly. Hourly colors are calculated based several metrics including the temperature, humidity, and sunrise/sunset times for your current location. Seeing blue? You'll want to grab a warm coat. Seeing purple? Stay inside with a cup of hot cocoa! Purple - extremely cold. Blue - cold winter day. Green - feeling cool. Yellow - room temperature. Orange - feeling warm. Red - hot summer day. Pink - extremely hot. Temperatures are shown in either Fahrenheit or Celsius (controlled by your iOS region settings). FAQ Q: How do I change my location? A: Use your feet. Blue is a minimal app designed to show weather for your current physical location. Q: How do I change to Fahrenheit or Celsius? A: Blue automatically shows the appropriate unit for your selected country/region. To change your region go to iOS Settings > General > Language & Region > Region. All regions use Celsius except United States, Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, and Palau which use Fahrenheit. Q: How do I change my language preference? A: Blue will automatically use your preferred language where possible. To change your language, go to iOS Settings > General > Language & Region > iPhone Language. See a gallery of weather from around the world (and submit your screenshot): http://partlyblue.tumblr.com

About

Shadow Weather

Get accurate weather forecasts, severe weather alerts, and interactive radar with storm tracking. Stay informed about minute-by-minute rain, air quality, and upcoming event forecasts synced with your calendar.

Highlights
  • Daily, hourly, and minutely forecasts
  • Severe weather alerts
  • Interactive radar with storm tracking
  • Real-time lightning tracker
  • Minute-by-minute rain forecasting
  • Air quality information
  • Calendar sync for event forecasts
Features
Read full description

Download Shadow Weather to get the most complete and accurate forecast available. Smart weather conditions and notifications will let you know of severe alerts and when the storm will start so you can be ahead of the weather. Once the storm hits you have powerful interactive radar tools with severe storm cell tracking and a real time lightning strike tracker. Minute by minute rain forecasting keeps you on top of the rain. Shadow Weather syncs with your phone's calendar so you can know the forecast for upcoming events easily. Keep track of your health with air quality information. You can easily see the past and current radar using the fastest most powerful and customizable interactive radar. Here are some of the features: daily forecast, hourly forecast, minutely forecasts, weather alerts, air quality, interactive radar, storm tracker, and more! Terms of Use: http://shadowweather.com/terms-and-privacy

Screenshots

Blue4 screens
Shadow Weather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Shadow Weather at 4.8 against Blue's 3.8. Shadow Weather also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 59%). Blue's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and device support 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. Shadow Weather sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Blue asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shadow Weather holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 176 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Blue's written reviews are positive against 77% of Shadow Weather's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blue ships an update every 4 months, Shadow Weather every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Blue versus Shadow Weather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlueShadow Weather
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (68 ratings)4.8 (176 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.8% of reviews76.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68176 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOak Studios, LLCShadow Weather LLC

Customer experience

Blue

All ratings68 ratings
Positive64.7%
Neutral13.2%
Negative22.1%
Written reviews102 reviews
Positive58.8%
Neutral18.6%
Negative22.5%

Shadow Weather

All ratings159 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.3%

User reviews

Blue

From 68 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Beautiful and clean design
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🚀 Fast and quick to get a feel for the weather
  • 💡 Ingenious use of colors for temperature
  • ✅ Does the basics well

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Too simplistic for some users
  • 📉 Lacks detailed information
  • ⚠️ Inaccurate weather reports sometimes
  • 📍 Limited to current location for some
  • ⚙️ Lack of customization options

Shadow Weather

From 176 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app functionality
  • ✨ Beautifully designed UI
  • 🎯 Accurate weather data
  • ⚡ Lightning tracker amazing
  • 🔧 Customizable features

Room to improve

  • 😞 Premium subscription issues
  • ❌ Support unresponsive
  • 🐌 Radar map slow to load
  • 🚫 Nagging review prompts
  • 📉 Bad precipitation data

Bugs and requests

Blue

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • 🐛 Crashing repeatedly after launching
  • 🐛 App crashes when GPS is turned off
  • 🐛 Stays at loading screen
  • 🐛 Invalid location notice
  • 🐛 App hangs when opening
Show 3 more
  • 🐛 Jumps from today to Saturday when swiping for extended forecast
  • 🐛 App crashes and shows 'invalid location'
  • 🐛 Location detection inaccurate

Requested features

31 requests
  • Option to change from centigrade to Fahrenheit
  • Ability to change location to see weather elsewhere
  • Two week forecast
  • Humidity reading
  • Widget for quick access
Show 26 more
  • Animated notification center widget
  • Guide to color meanings
  • 3D Touch menu
  • Settings support for unit changes
  • Sunrise and sunset times
  • Custom URL for third-party launchers
  • Apple Watch compatibility
  • Use last known location/data when GPS is off
  • Add multiple locations
  • Ability to input location manually
  • Dark mode option
  • Refresh button or auto-refresh
  • Badge icon with current condition
  • Wind reading
  • Extended forecast beyond 36 hours
  • Manual location input
  • Celsius option
  • More detailed information
  • Touch and hold for more info
  • Check weather in different states/destinations
  • Extend forecast to 3 days
  • Swipe side to side for different locations
  • Double tap for extended day forecast
  • More vibrant colors
  • Redesign icon
  • Humidity based on color instruction

Shadow Weather

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Premium subscription not recognized
  • Radar map doesn't load or freezes
  • Shows 0% chance of precipitation
  • Doesn't show future wind chill

Requested features

5 requests
  • Widgets for iOS
  • Quicker updates
  • More text in forecast
  • Apple Watch support
  • Better notifications

In-app purchases

None

Blue

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Shadow Weather

Subscriptions4
  • Shadow Weather Premium Monthly14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Shadow Weather Premium14 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Premium14 Days trial$10.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Shadow Weather Premium Yearly14 Days trial$12.991 Year

Questions

Is Blue free?
Blue is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shadow Weather free?
Shadow Weather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Blue or Shadow Weather?
Shadow Weather is rated higher. Blue averages 3.8 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while Shadow Weather averages 4.8 from 176 ratings.
Do Blue or Shadow Weather have ads?
Shadow Weather shows ads; Blue does not.
Which is updated more often, Blue or Shadow Weather?
Blue ships an update every 4 months, and Shadow Weather every 8 months. Most recently, Blue was updated on November 1, 2026 and Shadow Weather on November 7, 2026.

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