Is a weather app with unique design worth doing in 2020?

My opinion here is that if you're charging for something that is already widely available for free its a "luxury" item. The person paying for this app isn't your typical buyer, there's a reason they'd want to spend money on this app that has amazing visuals. The question is if that's the only thing they're buying it for and if that's enough to keep them using the app.

The answer is the same for me when it comes to this question. Go to the grocery store and look at how many different brands of water there is. I think you know where I'm going with this :)

To really validate this, you'd probably need some mockups. Without those, the answer is "It's plausible but hard, and depends entirely on the execution 🤷‍♂️"

It's clear that there is a market for weather apps. So the good news is that you don't need to validate that part 😅

Can you execute though? That's the question. You'd need to kick the ass of the existing weather apps out there.

As a person who would never consider paying for a weather app, I'm curious:

• do you have insights as to why people pay for these apps? What are they looking for?
• can you do whatever-it-is better than existing weather apps?
• does "unique graphics per city" satisfy the users' needs?

I've been mostly bothered by the "technical approach" of most weather apps. I don't know what the difference is between 14 degrees or 18 degrees.. tell me stuff like: cold and rainy in the morning, pleasant sunny autumn temperatures in the afternoon, rest of the week cold and rainy again.

The most important is would you pay for it?

I won't but maybe there are some potential users out there for it. Unique graphics is not something that I will find useful, as I just want simple info about the weather. Think about which features would make people change google search for the weather to your app.

Don't waste your time! It might look pretty, but it gets boring quickly!

Since you're looking for feedback and thoughts, I'll share that I haven't used a weather app since Google Assistant launched a few years ago. The interaction is simple, trustworthy, and I don't have to worry about downloading anything. If I'm not in a place to talk, I just type "weather" in my Google search bar on my phone and it brings up the forecast.

I paid for Dark Sky, and while I love the idea of the app, I just don't find myself using it ever, and cancelled my subscription.

Thanks guys for your comments.
So I've done some research and it seems that unique designs are mostly what's different about weather apps. Only if the weather app is specific for something like rain parrot.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/rain-parrot/id911872373
That tells you when it will rain by the min. Otherwise, they all display the same data. Just different designs.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/today-weather-forecast/id1214962662
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/carrot-weather/id961390574
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/forecast-bar-weather-radar/id1057030968

In fact I see a pattern where the higher the quality of the graphics and the higher the price, the higher the reviews and (maybe) more earnings? (not sure about this one-- cus the download/review ratio is unknown to me) Anywhere I can find estimated earning for apps?

I love how everyone is focused on the utility we deliver to the user. That's correct. I also feel sometimes people pay just because they are intrigued. Or they think it's 'cool'. Indeed you need to provide proper functionality, but there is the 'cool' factor too.

I also want to say that I've been talking to myself about this and the narrative I tell myself is that it's going to fail. But I have to do it anyway, cus that is the only way to learn. I don't expect to make thousands of $. I'd be happy if I make something that I think is unique and can make me extra bucks!

You need to sell a lot of downloads to make any money at $1.99

For me what really matters is if the app presents weather in a way that makes it easier for me to see what's happening. I love DarkSky's app because the UX is so good. I probably wouldn't pay for an app just for the graphics. If you can find a niche that would probably help (e.g. travelers, sailors, etc)