John Gruber once wrote, “In hindsight, I think the use cases for the original iPad are simplicity and delight.” Haze for iPhone nails that mission for weather:

“Is it going to be warmer tomorrow? Don’t read it. See it. The beautifully animated background shows you the trend. Use Haze frequently to unlock colorful themes and customize the look.”

The UI rewards exploration with lots of polished details, and the use of theme unlocking is an interesting way to encourage active use.

The one downside I’ve detected thus far is that the reliance on taps & gestures rather than on traditional buttons & labels leaves some functionality obscure. I feel dumb for not having discovered one of the most basic operations (tapping the central readout circle) on my own. (I hadn’t seen the video before downloading the app.) Even so, the app’s easy to navigate & a joy to use.

Oh, and if you like this sort of thing, check out Summly for news. It crashes too much & the summaries aren’t always great, but it’s lovely enough to explore that I stick with it.