ForeFlight has rejoined the Apple Watch app arena with a new version of the app that runs on the device. The latest version of the ForeFlight Watch app is primarily focused on weather and airport information, unlike the earlier version, which had much more functionality.
In 2015, ForeFlight introduced the first version of its Watch app, and it could display ADS-B In weather in flight via a Stratus receiver connected to an iPhone. It also offered local and Zulu time, nearby flight conditions, flight instruments with navigation information, haptic notifications such as issuance of a route clearance, and timers. ForeFlight eventually stopped supporting its Watch app around late 2017 when Apple updated the Watch to OS 4.
The latest ForeFlight Apple Watch app is available for all subscription levels and automatically loads on the watch after the latest version of ForeFlight (15.7) is updated on the user’s iPhone. The Watch must be current with watchOS 9.4.
Although less ambitious than the old Watch app, the new ForeFlight for the Apple Watch has some useful features, including the ability to add local weather and wind as a complication on the watch face. Tapping the complication pulls up the corresponding information and a list of favorite, recent, and nearby airports. When viewing local weather, hourly and 10-day forecasts are available. Clicking on the airport accesses its weather and a menu offering frequencies, weather, runways, and notams. In the weather section for that airport, users can view Metar, TAF, MOS, and daily/hourly weather and winds aloft.
Without an internet connection, the ForeFlight Watch app blanks the information fields after an hour. While connected but closed, the app’s complications update every 15 minutes. If the app is open and connected, the app fetches new data automatically and updates every five minutes or if the Watch detects that the user has moved more than 2 nm.