Weather-monitoring firm hangs dark cloud over customers’ heads by forcing new app
Weather-monitoring firm hangs dark cloud over customers’ heads by forcing new app
气象监测公司强制推行新应用，令用户深感不满
Weather-monitoring company AcuRite is forcing device owners to use a new companion app on May 30, frustrating some long-time customers. AcuRite, which sells devices such as weather stations, indoor thermometers, and rain gauges, began emailing customers last month that they’d soon have to control their devices with the AcuRite Now iOS and Android app. 气象监测公司 AcuRite 宣布将于 5 月 30 日强制设备用户改用一款新的配套应用程序，此举令一些长期用户感到沮丧。AcuRite 主要销售气象站、室内温度计和雨量计等设备，该公司上个月开始通过电子邮件通知客户，他们很快将必须使用 AcuRite Now（iOS 和 Android 版）来控制其设备。
AcuRite first launched the app in June 2025 to control a new weather station, the AcuRite Optimus. However, owners of AcuRite devices had still been able to use the My AcuRite app, which launched in 2016. Soon, however, My AcuRite will no longer be available, making AcuRite Now the only official app for controlling AcuRite devices. AcuRite 最初于 2025 年 6 月发布了该应用，用于控制其新款气象站 AcuRite Optimus。然而，AcuRite 设备的用户此前仍可继续使用 2016 年推出的 My AcuRite 应用。但很快，My AcuRite 将停止服务，届时 AcuRite Now 将成为控制 AcuRite 设备的唯一官方应用。
The website for the My AcuRite app currently reads: As part of our continued investment in delivering smarter, more connected solutions, the My AcuRite app will be winding down. To ensure uninterrupted access to your weather data and to unlock even more capabilities, all users should transition to AcuRite NOW before May 30th, 2026. My AcuRite 应用的网站目前显示：“作为我们持续投资于提供更智能、更互联解决方案的一部分，My AcuRite 应用即将停用。为确保您能不间断地访问气象数据并解锁更多功能，所有用户应在 2026 年 5 月 30 日之前迁移至 AcuRite NOW。”
Per the website, AcuRite Now “works with thousands of products” in Tuya’s SmartLife IoT ecosystem, including third-party fans, thermostats, light bulbs, plugs, cameras, and motorized blinds. 根据网站介绍，AcuRite Now “兼容涂鸦（Tuya）SmartLife 物联网生态系统中的数千种产品”，包括第三方风扇、恒温器、灯泡、插头、摄像头和电动百叶窗。
“Looks like a bad joke” “看起来像个糟糕的玩笑”
Some AcuRite customers are upset about losing access to My AcuRite because they think AcuRite Now is an inferior app. Those customers have complained online about being unable to use AcuRite Now to rename multiple temperature sensors, difficulties uploading data to weather sites, and the app only reporting temperatures in whole numbers. 一些 AcuRite 用户对失去 My AcuRite 的访问权限感到不满，因为他们认为 AcuRite Now 是一款劣质应用。这些用户在网上抱怨称，无法使用 AcuRite Now 重命名多个温度传感器，向气象网站上传数据存在困难，且该应用仅能以整数形式显示温度。
An AcuRite support page says that AcuRite is “hoping” to add the ability to organize on-screen sensors and rename multiple sensors to AcuRite Now, as well as a desktop version of the app, “soon.” AcuRite 的支持页面称，公司“希望”能“尽快”在 AcuRite Now 中增加整理屏幕传感器、重命名多个传感器的功能，并推出桌面版应用。
One popular feature of My AcuRite was the ability to share data from AcuRite devices with Weather Underground, a real-time weather service. AcuRite Now also supports this feature, but users have to pay a subscription fee that starts at $2 per month. The subscription, dubbed AcuRite Now+, also includes more data storage (365 days of history instead of 30). My AcuRite 的一项热门功能是能够将设备数据共享给实时气象服务 Weather Underground。AcuRite Now 虽然也支持此功能，但用户必须支付每月 2 美元起的订阅费。该订阅服务名为 AcuRite Now+，还包含更多数据存储空间（历史记录从 30 天延长至 365 天）。
Other complaints center on AcuRite Now’s layout. For example, a Reddit user named epicfailphx said last month that the app “looks like a bad joke.” “The old app was clean and just did a good job, while I don’t know what this new app is trying to do,” they said. Another Reddit user, ssemos, complained that the new app shows less data on-screen than My AcuRite does and doesn’t use most of the display. 其他投诉集中在 AcuRite Now 的布局上。例如，Reddit 用户 epicfailphx 上个月表示，该应用“看起来像个糟糕的玩笑”。他们说：“旧应用界面简洁且功能出色，而我不知道这个新应用到底想干什么。”另一位 Reddit 用户 ssemos 则抱怨称，新应用在屏幕上显示的数据比 My AcuRite 少，且没有充分利用显示空间。
AcuRite’s risk AcuRite 面临的风险
Since AcuRite said it’s shuttering My AcuRite, AcuRite Now has received numerous one- and two-star reviews on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, resulting in ratings of 1.4 stars (based on 183 reviews) and 1.3 stars (based on 131 reviews), as of this writing. It’s worth noting, though, that My AcuRite had 2 stars (based on 429 reviews) on the App Store as of February and 1.9 stars (based on 1,330 reviews) on the Play Store as of January, per the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. 自 AcuRite 宣布关闭 My AcuRite 以来，AcuRite Now 在苹果 App Store 和谷歌 Play Store 上收到了大量一星和二星评价。截至本文撰写时，其评分分别为 1.4 星（基于 183 条评价）和 1.3 星（基于 131 条评价）。不过值得注意的是，根据互联网档案馆（Wayback Machine）的数据，截至 2 月，My AcuRite 在 App Store 上的评分为 2 星（基于 429 条评价），截至 1 月在 Play Store 上的评分为 1.9 星（基于 1,330 条评价）。
Ars Technica reached out to AcuRite, its parent company Primex Family of Companies, and AcuRite Now’s developer for comment but didn’t hear back before publication. Ars Technica 已联系 AcuRite、其母公司 Primex Family of Companies 以及 AcuRite Now 的开发商寻求置评，但在截稿前未收到回复。
It’s possible that AcuRite’s shuttering of My AcuRite aims to simplify the company’s technology stack by allowing it to focus on updating and maintaining one app rather than two, which could also save money. AcuRite Now’s support of SmartLife products could also be beneficial and drive app usage. The new app could also be more accommodating of new and upcoming features and allow AcuRite to charge a subscription fee for premium capabilities, helping diversify revenue. AcuRite 关闭 My AcuRite 的目的可能是为了简化技术栈，使其能够专注于维护一款应用而非两款，从而节省成本。AcuRite Now 对 SmartLife 产品的支持也可能带来益处并提升应用使用率。新应用或许能更好地适配未来功能，并允许 AcuRite 对高级功能收取订阅费，从而实现收入多元化。
Still, forcing loyal customers with complex hardware to switch to a new app on a couple of weeks’ notice is a gamble. AcuRite risks polarizing customers who don’t like the new app, especially since it is missing some features that the old app has. Charging a subscription fee for a feature that was previously free could also push customers to explore rival products. Updated software can bring new life to gadgets, but as we’ve seen before, forcing long-time users to use new software perceived as inferior can have disastrous effects. 尽管如此，仅提前几周通知就强制拥有复杂硬件的忠实用户切换到新应用是一场赌博。AcuRite 面临着让不满新应用的用户产生抵触情绪的风险，尤其是新应用还缺失了旧版本的一些功能。对原本免费的功能收取订阅费，也可能促使客户转向竞争对手的产品。软件更新可以为设备注入活力，但正如我们过去所见，强制长期用户使用被认为更糟糕的新软件，可能会带来灾难性的后果。