Breathable Air Quality Widget 4+

Great for anyone who wants to monitor AQ in a single location

This is an ideal use of a widget: putting vital air quality information that’s available but not easily accessible and putting it just a swipe away.

However, it doesn’t help people who need to follow air quality in multiple locations. I need to monitor AQ in three locations (vulnerable family members), and it defeats the purpose of having a widget to have to go into the app to change the location every time I want to check a different location.

Would love to see an update with the option of multiple locations.

John McEnroe: "You can't be serious?!"

The onboarding (obtaining the API) is the worst user experience I've encountered in my 40 years of using a computer. I managed it but I don't have the heart to recommend it to anyone but my software-developer son. It's obvious that the onboarding was designed without adequate attention to the iPhone, though that's the obvious device where it will be used. The iPhone screen (I'm using the largest iPhone made) can't display the information on the initial screem without a correct guess to how to manipulate it. You input the API and nothing happens when you hit return. Ah,, there's a tiny "validate" button in the corner. Btw, I initially used iCloud "hide my email," I got nothing and had to input my regular email. The second API from the gov site was a similar terrible experience. One star for the onboarding and five for the app function. Thanks for doing this but please have someone go through this with a smart phone to reference.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your feedback, and sorry you found the set up process unpleasant. Obviously, we don’t own AirNow or IQAir and therefore cannot optimize their mobile experiences, we can only control Breathable itself. I understand that the process of getting an API key is not as straightforward as most people would like, but it is the only way an app like this can exist and remain free for all users.

I’d kindly suggest that rating the app one star for other companies’ websites is a bit odd when you write in your review that the app you left one star on is actually a five star app. Just worth considering that reviews like this have impact. Thank you for using the app!

Excellent app, bumpy start

I initially had issues getting the widget to show, but finally got it working with some help from the developer (excellent support). I'm loving this app. It is really well designed, easy to use and updates in the background.

Developer Response ,

Sorry you’re having trouble! I assure you we don’t keep the widgets from the list for any reason. The available widget lists on iOS and macOS can be a little... finicky. If you don't see Breathable in the list, try this:

- Restart your device
- Run the Breathable app once, visit the Widget UI tab and change one or two settings
- Check the system list of available widgets again

We're working on a brute-force fix for this in the app, but this appears to be an iOS-wide problem at the moment that can happen with any app.