Whatever you are planning to do for today you need to know the weather conditions before you leave the house. And because we all suffer from smartphone addiction, a mobile app is all you need. But what should you choose from thousands of apps that promise you the same thing? How about Carrot Weather? Maybe you will be convinced by the fact that it offers you more than weather forecasts. Now it remains to be seen if this app fits your requirements.
Image Source: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather/id961390574?mt=8
Brilliant Idea
You probably observed our joy when we present you successful apps created by independent developers. We also love the work of big companies but it is great to see that a big budget isn’t crucial for building amazing apps. Brian Muller founded his company Grailr, in 2013. Carrot Weather isn’t his only app. An entire series of apps specially created to motivate users and to increase their productivity follow the same pattern. An AI – powered robot who “wants to rule the world” displays all kinds of message to scare the users, in a funny and sarcastic way. The app was launched in 2015 and it is available only on Apple App Store for $4.99. If you wonder what you will receive after paying this price we invite you to read further because we will give you all the details about Carrot Weather.
Image Source: http://www.meetcarrot.com/weather/
How Carrot Weather Did It
We will highlight next the features that transformed Carrot Weather in the go – to app for its users, because it was created in a certain manner that brings many benefits for its customers additionally to weather predictions.
Accuracy
When you pay a certain price for an app similar to other free ones available on app store, the expectations are even higher. But what it counts at the end of the day is the data received. Carrot Weather uses the service provided by Dark Sky for showing users current, hourly and daily information. You can see the temperature from a specific day in the past and the forecasts for the next years. Users can take advantage of radar and satellite maps whenever they want to be prepared for the next storm. Let’s face it, accurate weather predictions are the reason why people download Carrot Weather in the first place, no matter how extraordinary is the rest of the app.
Image Source: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather/id961390574?mt=8
Paymium Model
We will discuss here another special case of app monetization. Did you ever occur to you that after users pay for downloading your app, you can also add in – app purchases and to ask more money for premium features? This technique can upset some customers, but if your product is valuable enough you will receive the wanted reactions. The same thing happened to Muller’s creation after he added yearly subscriptions for mobile app and also for Apple Watch app. Premium Club members have the possibility to customize every element inside the app and to select Weather Underground as the data source. As you can imagine, this model isn’t for everybody but if you discover that users agree with your point of view, feel free to adopt this strategy.
Image Source: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/grailr/
Humor
If you want to laugh when outside is raining then Carrot Weather is all you need. The messages displayed on the screen makes you wonder if you should take your umbrella or you need to find a place to hide far from Carrot who wants to scare you. There are multiple versions of its personality according to your demands. If you just want to take advantage of the app as it is, you can select Professional. In case you are looking for a polite companion then you should go with Friendly. For more cynical comments you get to choose from Snarky to Overkill. In fact, its creator drew an entire world for Carrot characters. Moreover, with the help of ARKit you can have Carrot in your own environment. When artificial intelligence meets augmented reality the effects are amazing. As you can see, this is the reason why you need to take advantage of modern technology.
Image Source: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather/id961390574?mt=8
Challenges
Actually, checking the weather every now and then is a monotonous activity. But with a little imagination, Muller managed to make users coming back for more even if they already know the state of the atmosphere. When you are in the bus and you are looking for something interesting to do, why not opening your favorite weather app? This phrase sounds weird but the uniqueness of this app comes from the fact that Carrot offers various hints which helps users to discover Secret Locations like the Moon or the Pyramids. A virtual hunt is what customers need to become addicted to the app.
Image Source: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather/id961390574?mt=8
Bonus Tip: Major Update
One of our recent blog posts describes the benefits of app updates and Carrot Weather is the perfect proof for our discussion. In Carrot Weather 4.0, released this summer, users enjoy the wonderful design and all the features presented above. These changes were covered by The Verge, iMore, MacStories, and many other publications. Everybody observed the improvements added with this update and it received a lot of upvotes on ProductHunt. After that, with the launch of iPhone X, Muller made sure that the app functions as it should. It is obvious that those modifications contributed to the 5 – star ratings received by the app. So, whenever you have the chance to add something new that will increase the interest for your app, go ahead and do that!
Image Source: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather/id961390574?mt=8
Final Thoughts
Adding playful elements and engaging users with an original creation is the secret of Carrot Weather’s success. Let’s not forget that maintaining the app and following the latest trends convinces customers to trust your brand. These are valuable lessons which can inspire you for your next app. To summarize a little the main idea discovered in this story, we will say that nothing stops an app developer to go beyond the characteristics required by a category without cluttering the app. Think about that whenever you want to impress your users.