The Weather Channel on Thursday released a new version of its free app for iPhone and iPod touch devices -- its first major redesign since 2009 -- aimed at providing a simpler interface and enhanced personalization features.
The new iPhone app echoes the new design of Weather.com, which Weather Channel relaunched earlier this month with a more streamlined look and enhanced personalization features.
Lexus is the exclusive launch partner of the new Weather Channel iPhone app, and the automaker is running a campaign across multiple TWCC platforms, including co-branded media on The Weather Channel network and Weather.com.
New features of the Weather Channel app include weather-triggered backgrounds -- indicating conditions at a glance -- and a user interface designed to be easier to use, with a non-sliding navigation bar and quicker access to search and settings functions.
Version 5.0 of the app also provides automatic updates of localized weather, based on a user's current location; the ability to personalize the background image with personal photos; more prominent severe-weather alerts; and new social-media tools, including a simplified photo-sharing function to share weather photos with iWitness, Twitter, Facebook and email.
"Our new app is more relevant -- whether it's showing a beautiful image that displays your local weather or allowing you to save your own personalized home screen image, it's more about the weather and content that matters to each consumer," said Cameron Clayton, executive vice president of digital product at The Weather Channel companies. "We've made changes based on consumer feedback to engage users through a deeper and more emotional weather experience."
A video demo of the new Weather Channel iPhone app is available at http://youtu.be/ERTmnogLMUU. The company debuted its first iPhone app in November 2008.
The Weather Channel counts 32 million monthly mobile users and 60 million monthly Web consumers. The Weather Channel Companies is owned by NBCUniversal and private-equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.
