Feature request: live wind/weather data
Not planned
Is there any way to get live wind or weather data on my Karoo 2? I just switched from an Garmin Edge 830 where I was using the windfield Garmin app. Would be really great to have this or something similar as a field.
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Hey Ari. Thanks for reaching to us with your request on the weather and wind data. Currently, we do not have the option to display the wind and weather data on the unit.
However, when you have completed the ride and upload it to Strava, you can see the weather, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and Wind Direction on the Strava page for the corresponding ride.
@Gerard: As Karoo 1 and Karoo 2 works on an Android-based platform, you can certainly side-load third-party Apps from limited sources but we haven't made it official and do not recommend it yet. We are scoping out this project to enable Karoo 1 and Karoo 2 for side-loading third party Apps.
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Thanks for the response, Abhishek! Are there any plans to add this feature?
More broadly, is there a roadmap anywhere of planned features? I'm really enjoying the better screen, navigation, etc. of the Karoo 2, but the many missing features relative to Garmin are definitely frustrating and would be great to have a sense which issues are being prioritized. -
In the interests of a balanced argument, I would prefer to continue using my iPhone for this purpose.
There are a much wider choice of apps available for weather and they are invariably better to use. Not everybody has a SIM card in their Karoo so you would be appeasing a very limited group of users, IMO.
If folks want to sideload stuff, that's up to them and not something Hammerhead should be promoting/investing in, IMO. I asked about sideloading what3words the other week but then quickly realised my iPhone provides a much better experience for this type of thing.
Just focus on building the best cycle computer; I don't need my bike computer to tell me if it's windy, raining, snowing, or foggy, thanks.
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Well, if it doesn't have a SIM card in it, it's not going to be super accurate weather as it will only be reporting the weather that was cached last time you were connected to wi-fi (which could be several hours/days ago, depending on how long your rides are). I don't believe it's possible to tether the Karoo 2 to your phone, never tried it (but I may be wrong). In which case using phone data may be an option.
Either way, my iPhone still provides a superior user experience for this type of thing.
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As Mark mentioned, you should not need a sim card for this. My Garmin Edge 830 does it through my phone, which is typically in my jersey pocket. The windfield app I mentioned (https://windfield.app/) can do live updates every 5 minutes, and can show you the live wind speed where you are along with the wind direction relative to your heading so you can easily check if you have a tailwind/headwind/crosswind etc.
I'm pretty sure the Karoo 2 should be able to do this since it can get notifications etc. from my phone with the companion app. -
This could easily be solved by having the following two options:
For SIM Users:
- Have a field available that displays wind direction arrow (not SW, NE, etc since it's hard to understand while on the road). This can be achieved by making a simple API call every 30 minutes or so while in-ride.- having a side-loaded app, but that's a bit clunky
For non-SIM Users:
- this would have to be the same API call but from the phone and data delivered to the unit by the Karoo Companion app.Third option would involve setting the wind direction value while on the home WiFi and then going out. This, clearly, would be non-updateable while on the road
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I have only done a few rides so far with my Karoo 2 but would like to raise my hand requesting this feature as well. So far the thing I miss the most is the Windfield data I used to have on Garmin. I had live weather on Garmin as well but used that less frequently. Windfield always had a spot on my main data page and I looked at it constantly, often people at group rides would ask me what the wind speed/direction were. I guess I don't get to be 'that guy' anymore. :(
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Looking to try and buy the Karoo 2. So far been using Garmin Edge 1030 and the windfield app which is very useful. I personally find live weather short-term forecast and live wind info super useful and would love to see this on the Karoo 2. Will be a big requirement box ticked for me.
I guess the biggest problem Hammerhead need to solve before this is to provide internet access during a ride to Karoo 2 without the need for a 2G/3G/4G SIM. I assume using the phone as a WiFi hotspot would be the first/easy step. I still think is a bad design decision from Hammerhead to increase device BoM cost by adding a 2G/3G/4G cellular modem inside. I struggle to see who goes out riding without their phone in case of an Emergency at least,
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hey all, it's scott from windfield.app. i have reached out to hammerhead but they seem to be a long way from being able to support my app. in the meantime, version 8 of windfield is now out on garmin devices. weather forecasts AND live wind, both in the activity screen on your garmin. cheers!
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