CypherOS, a custom ROM project for the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), or better known as ‘pure Android’, provides ROMs that implement the same design as that of AOSP"s, while including features generally not found on the AOSP. The founder of CypherOS, Chris Crump, teased an upcoming feature via a Google+ post on the 2nd of March. The feature, known as “Ambient Weather”, is a way to display simple weather information on phones that support an always-on display, on the lock screen or both.
The “Ambient Weather” feature is built on the heels of the company’s previously introduced “Ambient Play” feature, which was their take on the “Now Playing” feature found on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones. Ambient Play was inspired by the work done by Carbon ROM, another custom ROM maker that ported the ‘Now Playing’ feature to AOSP ROMs.
Ambient Play works on devices with Ambient Displays (also known as always-on displays), as well as on the lock-screen, providing music recognition by tying in with a music service known as “Encore” that has music recognition built into it. Crump says that the Ambient Weather feature is the company’s “recreation and take on the infamous lockscreen weather feature”. He adds that he was initially planning to cherry-pick the lock-screen weather feature but ended up digging deeper and making use of the Ambient Indication feature.
Ambient Weather works by providing the user with a simple display of the weather in the area. The feature uses Omni’s weather service (Omni Jaws) and pulls the weather information from Yahoo. Crump includes that the feature works alongside Ambient Play. Therefore, the weather information will not be displayed when music information is currently being displayed, and vice-versa. He also adds that sooner or later, he will be adding the option to double-click on the lock-screen notification to open the information displayed on Google.
This is a neat feature that lets users view simple weather information right from the lock-screen or on their always-on displays, with scope for further customization by custom ROM makers.