How To: Turn Your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 into a Personal Ambient Weather Station with These Apps & Widgets

The majority of Android devices have built-in sensors underneath the hood that measure motion, position, and several environmental parameters that provide data needed to monitor your movements and adjust accordingly.

When the Samsung Galaxy S4 came out, they included for the first time a thermometer and hygrometer, which could measure ambient temperature and humidity readings, one of the only devices to do so—until now.

Samsung also included these sensors into the Galaxy Note 3, and if you want to utilize them, check out these apps and widgets on Google Play that'll make sure you're always in tune with the weather around you.

Holo Ambient Temperature

Holo Ambient Temperature uses the ambient temperature and humidity sensors on your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to measure data such as the current ambient temperature, current ambient humidity, dew point, absolute humidity, and altitude based on pressure.

As well as showing this information in a very minimal but sleek UI, you'll see a real-time temperature graph that can be used as a visual guide to the flux of weather.

You'll have one option of an elegant 2x1 widget, capable of only showing one set information at a time—either temperature or humidity.

If you want both sets of data on one single widget, you'll have to upgrade to the pro version.

Ambient Temperature & Humidity

A bit more basic than Holo Ambient Temperature, Ambient Temperature & Humidity only monitors (obviously) the ambient temperature and humidity. For a more accurate measurement, the app will give you a few brief tips, like setting the phone down on a stable surface, avoid sunlight and wind, and don't set it near heating or cooling sources.

Unlike the widget in Holo, this 2x1 widget comes with both the temperature and humidity, without having to purchase a pro-version.

Ambient Master for Galaxy S4

While the title may be a bit misleading, Ambient Master for Galaxy S4 works perfectly with the Galaxy Note 3—checking the temperature of the environment, relative humidity, and pressure of where you currently are.

Adding on to the other two already mentioned, Ambient Master for Galaxy S4's widget comes with statistics for your current temperature, pressure, and humidity. As well as being able to configure the update settings, you can also choose between a blue, green, and red color for the widget.

Weather Station

If you're looking for a more in-depth app, Weather Station is a viable option for utilizing the sensors on your device. We've already covered Weather Station for the Galaxy S4, and it works the same on the Galaxy Note 3, providing not only readings for your current weather, but also creating graphs for each set of data.

Compared to the rest of the apps I'm covering, Weather Station has customizable widgets—ranging in sizes of 1x1 to 4x1. When you place a widget on your home screen, you can adjust which statistics you want to be shown—temperature, pressure, humidity, dew point, and elevation are just a few of the options.

Personal Weather Station

Previously known as WeatherSignal, Personal Weather Station is an app which uses your smartphone's sensors to crowdsource local weather forecasts. I had previously used Personal Weather Station on the Galaxy Note 2, but it works much better on the Note 3 because of the additional sensors.

Personal Weather Station also has a litter of widgets, albeit in a smaller size. Unlike Weather Station this app carries five widgets, all in sizes of 1x1—all with different stats.

Overall Thoughts

Personally, I prefer the widget for Ambient Temperature & Humidity, as it gives me both the current temperature and humidity in a small and compact widget. If you care about looks, I would go with Holo Ambient Temperature because of its sleek-looking widget, although you can't get multiple statistic widgets unless you pay.

If you're looking for more statistics and don't really care about widgets, I would recommend the rest, which all can work as a mobile weather station of sorts for all of those needs.