Paku for PurpleAir 4+

Seriously impressed by this app. It’s the perfect companion to my PurpleAir outdoor sensor.

With the addition today of subscription push alerts when air quality exceeds a defined level at a sensor, I’m struggling to think of any other features that I’m really missing. The quality of the app easily justifies the small subscription cost. I love the widgets on my Lock Screen too.

The only missing feature that springs to mind is a list view of sensors rather than the map view. The map view is great for panning around my area but I have family and friends spread around the country and it would be nice to see air quality/temp/humidity for a list of locations at a glance.

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! A favorites list would be a great addition, I'll look into that

I love how Paku lets me avoid the clunky PurpleAir website. The app is wonderfully simple and looks good.

However, the app is a little too simple. For example, the app never refreshes data. If I leave the app open and want to see the current air quality, I have to quit and relaunch the app. Ideally the app would refresh data automatically every 5-10 minutes. However, a manual refresh option is an absolute requirement for an app like this. Having to quit and relaunch the app just to refresh the data available is super obtuse and cumbersome.

Another issue is that PurpleAir sensors grab lots more data than only the AQI. I find PurpleAir sensors even more useful for their temperature readings than their AQI readings. The sensor saturation is so high in the San Francisco Bay Area that they make it really easy to see what all the microclimates are like around the bay. I can then use this to plan my outdoor activities. It would be fantastic if Paku allowed us to view temperature data from PurpleAir sensors.

All said, it's fantastic that Paku exists at all. I'd gladly pay $10 for this app as it exists today. Add auto-refresh and temperature data and I'd more than willingly pay $20. This app has huge value potential for my daily life. I hope to see it reach that potential one day.

Thanks for the great feedback! Since your review, the app has had all the features you've requested added. Hopefully you find it useful - I would really appreciate an updated rating if you have time!

Areas I’d like to see improvement:
- Ability to choose a sensor and stay with that sensor. I own a PA sensor and only want to see data from that sensor. I don’t want to see data from other sensors as I move locations.
- Get rid of the AQandU filter. I don’t like that filter nor trust the data it produces. If this app is going to force the use of a filter, it should be the EPA filter, not the AQandU filter.
- Provide time-based averages. Seeing the current AQI is only a small part of the picture. Gaining an understanding of how the AQI value is trending is immensely valuable and often times more valuable than the current reading.

Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ve been heads down on getting map support out, but you can also turn off the AQAndU conversion in 1.1.0. All the other asks are on the roadmap too. Enjoy!

Update: with 1.2.0 you can now choose a specific sensor for the widgets!