Foreflight vs FlyQ radar on Map page

I am a FlyQ user giving Foreflight a shot (tired of waiting for aural traffic alerts). I have to say that I was displeased with the quality of the radar composite and low tilt graphics in Foreflight. I tried using this layer with and without the “4 color” radar option, but it just looks cartoony and less detailed as it was missing some red areas during the equivalent time period (see attached picture). Is what I am seeing a watered down version of Foreflight radar because I do not have a subscription, or is this pretty much what it is?

 

The weather portion of FlyQ is superior to anything in the market hands down. I also like their 2 button tap approach, whole lot better than garmin where there are a bunch of unnecessary clicks to go somewhere. Not a foreflight user though. So can’t comment on that.

 

On first glance, looks like 2 different tilt angles or one is composite and the other isn't.

 

Yeah, according to the slider at the bottom the ForeFlight image is 43 minutes behind present time, showing 10:25.

 

One question to address before you can even answer this is if the quality of the information at the same time is different or are you attempting to make a decision based on which has the prettier picture? I'm not throwing shade on your question but I discovered that while different platforms use the same underlying data, the way they elect to display the data is different. I prefer to use XM radar but that's just me.

 

@Pilot Steve Although I regret not having shown the same point in time on both screenshots to present my question in a better fashion, I was missing plenty of red on Foreflight which makes me feel uneasy. So, to me, it’s not just a matter of a prettier picture.

Edit: to be clear, Foreflight showed red areas but were much smaller compared to FlyQ. So, looking at the same area at the same time on both apps side by side, Foreflight underestimated the size/area of more severe echoes. My trial has run out and it would cost at least a hundred dollars to figure out if I would get the radar pictures I’m used to seeing. I asked the question to see if the picture I showed is typical of Foreflight and avoid any potential buyer’s regret. I realize Foreflight has many advantages, but the radar depiction is one of a few items I factor in my decision. I have been happy with FlyQ for users with the exception of the aural alerts.

 

That is a great find! Thank you!!! That’s pretty much what I was seeing.

It seems like this is related to the way the app developers format the raw data. I was surprised how much red was masked in Foreflight by what seems to be thresholding as you suggest. If I were in the LAL area, I would have thought twice about taking off with the Foreflight data but it would have been a no go with the FlyQ presentation.

I would like to be able to sample more but my trial is over, but my impression is that Foreflight bleeds some green/yellow relative to what FlyQ would call red.

 

Ironically this article just landed in my inbox. It does a good job of explaining how different solutions present slightly different results. https://ipadpilotnews.com/2020/07/ads-b-weather-vs-siriusxm-satellite-weather-comparing-the-options/

The piece has some good side-by-side pictures as well.

The biggest plus for me using XM is I can fire up the receiver on the ground and start getting current weather rather than the old way of taking off and then getting ADS-B weather.