Barometer Plus - Altimeter

The app concept is great. Slightly outdated design but has some really good ideas to make this one of the best ones in the App Store for simple barometric monitoring like history, a main face dial that shows acceptable ranges and typical weather at that pressure, custom notifications etc. What could be improved: History chart doesn’t match up with the live view. It’s regularly a whole point off (29.x instead of 28.x) in the chart. For better ux, using a curve instead of linear lines would be nicer to see. For notifications, sometimes you click on one and it opens the app but there is no way to see what that notification was or specifically when it happened so you’re not sure if it was an old one or not. Having the notifications from the app stored with timestamps would be great. Lastly, Sea level adjustment via gps is nice but would be better to track live altitude adjustments while traveling using the internal tools of iPhone instead of map data to make the adjustment live. Perhaps it does this but I just notice if I have it up and travel it thinks my pressure has changed when it’s just a different altitude.

Developing an app is expensive. And developers like to make money. It’s the system we are in: ads pay for stuff. I get it. This app, though, grabs the entire screen, and all audio, so frequently and so aggressively that the app isn’t useable; can’t run it long enough without full screen and audio take over. There are lots of ways to use ads without alienating users. Let’s hope this excellent developer gives monetization a re-think.

As a sufferer of frequent migraines, I was desperate for a good app after the one I’d been using went kaput. I tried several apps and finally settled on Barometer Plus after reading the User Guide and personalizing the settings to meet my needs. Right now it logs the barometric pressure hourly—to avoid draining the battery AND keep a record I can review—plus it’s set to notify me when the pressure changes rapidly. If you want/need an app with lots of customization options, I’d definitely recommend spending the $2.99 for the Platinum Edition so you can really tailor the app to suit your needs… just be sure to read the User Guide!