Apple acquires Dark Sky app, ends Android support

Apple has included a Weather app on its devices since the first iPhone and currently gets its data from The Weather Channel. It could use this purchase to revamp its Weather app.

The companies didn’t specify the price of the deal. (REUTERS)

Apple Inc acquired popular mobile weather service Dark Sky to help bolster the Weather applications on its devices.

The service, which has existed on the web and on iPhone and Android platforms, stood out from the competition by offering more specific data and notifications such as when it is about to rain.

Dark Sky announced the deal on its website, saying "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to reach far more people, with far more impact, than we ever could alone." The companies didn't specify the price of the deal.

Apple has included a Weather app on its devices since the first iPhone and currently gets its data from The Weather Channel. It could use this purchase to revamp its Weather app.

The Dark Sky app will remain a $3.99 offering on the App Store for iPhones and iPads, but will no longer be sold for Android devices. Most of its website's functionality will stop on July 1. Its application-programming-interface tools for other apps and websites will run through the end of 2021, Dark Sky said.