Google phases out classic Android Weather app in shift to Search-based experience

Android

• Google to remove full-screen weather interface on Android
• Non-Pixel users now see weather in a Search results page
• Pixel phones retain their dedicated Pixel Weather app

Did our AI summary help?

Google is quietly phasing out the familiar full-screen weather interface that many Android users have relied on for years. As first reported by 9to5Google, the shortcut that once launched the dedicated Google Weather experience now redirects users to a Search-based weather results page.

For many, that sun-and-cloud icon on the home screen functioned as Android’s default weather app. It felt standalone, fast and purpose-built. In reality, it was a full-screen feature embedded within the Google app rather than a separate downloadable application.

The original interface was clean and instantly recognisable. It opened into a distraction-free, full-screen layout featuring Google’s iconic “Froggy” background. Users could see current conditions, swipe through a 10-day forecast and quickly switch between saved cities without encountering ads or unrelated search results.

It was arguably the quickest way to check the weather on a non-Pixel Android device without installing a third-party app.

That experience is now being replaced.

Tapping the same shortcut opens a Google Search results page instead of the standalone-style interface. While the redesigned page retains key information — including hourly forecasts, a 10-day outlook, air quality data and detailed weather metrics — it behaves like a typical search results page. Scroll further and you encounter additional links, related queries and other Search elements.

An AI-generated summary has also been added at the top of the weather card, reflecting Google’s broader push to weave AI explanations into everyday information queries.

Pixel users mostly unaffected

Owners of Google Pixel devices are largely insulated from the change. Pixel phones ship with a dedicated Pixel Weather app, which continues to offer a more app-like, contained experience.

The shift therefore primarily affects non-Pixel Android users who depended on the Google Weather shortcut as their default forecast tool.

Search as the new hub

This move fits into a larger pattern. Google increasingly positions Search as the central interface for information across Android. Rather than maintaining separate, lightweight mini-apps for tasks such as weather, the company appears to be consolidating experiences within Search.

A Search-based page allows Google to integrate AI summaries, related results and potentially monetisable elements more seamlessly than a contained, full-screen widget ever could.

The new interface offers more information and modern design touches, but it sacrifices the focused simplicity that made the old Froggy screen so efficient.