SOLAR for iPhone: The Design-Driven Weather App

Weather reports have always been served in a conventional and expected format, be it in a newspaper, online, or straight from the newsroom. Mobile development Hollr is set to change all that, with the studio’s newest app called SOLAR. This iPhone app displays the current and impending weather patterns in a unique and haptically-rendered colorscape. No charts, no graphs, only color. You’ll be able to scroll up to check the forecast, pull down to reveal conditions for the next three days, or you can pinch the screen to check out the weather for multiple locations you’ve saved at once. All of the viewing options can be seen with informative text, or without in a clean and elegant presentation. SOLAR is now available through the Apple App Store.

After spending a bit of time demoing the app pre-launch, we found SOLAR to be impressive for not only its sleek user interface, but also its snappy response time and streamlined functionality. While individuals who are used to a traditional layout and the tenants of more rudimentary layouts may find the SOLAR app interface somewhat “too artistic” and perhaps confusing, SOLAR is a great fit for the design-driven and tech-savvy niche that is looking for a little something different. Be it the refined sans serif typeface that augments a minimalistic UI or the chromatic palette that cull memories of Pantone scouring, SOLAR’s foray into the weather app niche is effectively executed towards an aesthetic-minded iOS user who has grown tired of mundane, under-pixelated, or otherwise unimpressive and unmemorable apps. From its stripped down and colorful Springboard icon to its convenient, gesture-heavy functionality, we look forward to seeing how SOLAR performs once it hits the App Store.