The essentials
- What it is
- A weather app for people who live in the Apple ecosystem — accurate forecasts, radar, and deeply customizable alerts, delivered on the screens users already look at instead of inside yet another app.
- Platforms
- macOS (menu bar app), iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
- Developer
- Higher Bar LLC — a two-person team that has developed Forecast Bar continuously for more than 10 years.
- Data sources
- The Weather Company (primary), Apple Weather, and the US National Weather Service (NWS/NOAA). Users choose their source.
- Ratings
- 4.5 stars from about 2,800 US ratings on the iOS App Store; 94% from 729 ratings on Setapp.
- Business model
- Free 24-hour access to everything, then an optional subscription with a 7-day trial. Mac and iOS plans are separate; Apple TV is included with Forecast Bar Gold on iOS. Current pricing is shown in the App Store.
- Availability
- iOS App Store, Mac App Store, and Setapp. The Apple TV app is on the tvOS App Store.
- Contact
- Derek, Higher Bar LLC — support@higherbarapps.com
What's notable on each platform
Mac
- Up to 5 independent menu bar items, 7+ display styles
- 48-hour timeline and 15-day outlook one click away
- Tear-away panels and a standalone radar window
- Dock mode for a menu-bar-free setup
- Custom alerts in Notification Center
- AI weather stories written for the user's day
iPhone, iPad & Watch
- 12+ widgets: Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy, interactive
- Live Activities with Dynamic Island precipitation tracking
- 100+ Apple Watch complication configurations
- Radar with lightning and aurora layers
- Tide charts, pollen detail, and AQI
- Aurora, eclipse, sunset, earthquake, and tide alerts
Apple TV
- Top Shelf forecasts for up to 3 locations — weather before the app opens
- 14-day forecast with expanded hourly timeline
- Animated radar with future frames and lightning
- Severe weather alerts with a zoomable alert map
- Included with Forecast Bar Gold on iOS — no separate purchase
Why write about a weather app in 2026?
1. Forecast Bar returns to Apple TV, rebuilt from the ground up
Forecast Bar was one of the early weather apps on Apple TV — Cult of Mac covered its ability to show weather without opening the app. The tvOS experience has now been completely rebuilt: Top Shelf forecasts for up to three locations, a 14-day forecast, full-screen animated radar with future frames and lightning, and severe weather alerts with a zoomable map. Apple still ships no Weather app of its own on Apple TV.
2. One weather system on every Apple screen
The more interesting story isn't another weather app on a TV. It's one native weather system designed for every place an Apple user already looks: the Mac menu bar, iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, more than 100 Apple Watch complication configurations, iPad, and now the largest screen at home. We're happy to walk through the technical side — WidgetKit refresh limits, radar frame caching, Top Shelf data sharing, and multi-monitor window placement.
3. A decade-old app, still built by two people
Forecast Bar has been in continuous development for more than ten years by the same two-person team — through the Dark Sky shutdown, the WeatherKit transition, and every Apple platform change since. It holds 4.5 stars from about 2,800 US App Store ratings and 94% from 729 ratings on Setapp, and its reviews repeatedly single out responsive, human support.
Ratings and quotes you may use
- 4.5 stars from approximately 2,800 US ratings on the iOS App Store
- 94% rating from 729 ratings on Setapp
- Built and maintained by a two-person team for more than a decade
“Best Weather App Yet!” — 5★ US App Store review, March 2023
Earlier press coverage
- Macworld — “Forecast Bar review: Put an iPhone weather app in your Mac's menu bar”
- Cult of Mac — Apple TV app lets you see the weather without opening it
- Apple App Store — featured as a “Best New App” (2016 era; legacy)
Media assets
Assets below are available on request while the downloadable pack is being prepared — email support@higherbarapps.com and we'll send them same-day.
Screenshots per platform
Clean captures for Mac (menu bar, popover, radar window), iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV (Top Shelf, forecast, radar). Available on request / to be uploaded.
20-second demo
A short video: Top Shelf → open app → 14-day forecast → animated radar. Genuine UI and remote interaction only. Available on request / to be uploaded.
About Forecast Bar
Forecast Bar is the weather app for people who live in the Apple ecosystem and want the forecast they care about wherever they already look. It puts persistent, configurable weather in the Mac menu bar, on the iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, across more than 100 Apple Watch complication configurations, on iPad, and on Apple TV with Top Shelf forecasts. Users choose their data source — The Weather Company, Apple Weather, or NWS/NOAA — and define their own alerts, from rain and severe weather to sunsets, aurora, tides, and earthquakes. Forecast Bar is built by Higher Bar LLC, a two-person team that has developed the app continuously for more than a decade.
Media contact
Derek, Higher Bar LLC
support@higherbarapps.com
We can provide App Store or TestFlight access, additional screenshots, and a technical walkthrough on request.
More from Forecast Bar
Mac menu bar weather
Up to five configurable menu bar items, with a 48-hour timeline and 15-day outlook one click away.
Weather radar for Mac
A standalone radar window with future radar, live lightning, satellite, and NWS warnings on the map.
iPhone weather widgets
12+ Home and Lock Screen widgets, StandBy, and Live Activities that track rain minute by minute.
Apple Watch complications
100+ complication configurations — hourly charts, tide gauges, AQI, pressure, and more.
Alerts that matter
Severe weather at the moment of issue, rain nowcasts, and custom alerts on 14 data points.
Forecast Bar on Setapp
Forecast Bar Pro is included with a Setapp membership, rated 94% from 729 ratings.