Check Your Air Quality Monitor on a Watch With PurpleAir Technology

What if you could check air quality on your wrist?

That sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi film, but it’s now a reality.

Checking your air quality on your Apple Watch is entirely possible thanks to a developer in the PurpleAir Community. Recently, we learned about one community member who has been using PurpleAir data to create an app for his Apple Watch—and we’re thrilled to highlight his project today.

We’re always looking at what is happening in our PurpleAir Community to see what kinds of projects members are working on and sharing. Together, we’re cultivating a community of scientists and empowering them with the data they need to tackle air pollution all over the world.

Now, let’s see how you can monitor the air quality on your watch.

How to Use PurpleAir Data on a Watch

Paul Demers, a developer and PurpleAir community member, recently posted to our community projects forum to share his latest personal project. After buying an air quality monitor, he wanted to see if he could check the air quality on his watch. Currently, however, we don’t have any apps for PurpleAir available.

So, what did he decide to do?

Well, he decided to solve the problem by making his own app. And the result is pretty cool. By using the PurpleAir data, he created a simple app that shows the air quality around you in real time, just like we do on our PurpleAir Map.

Here’s what it looks like:

Image from App Store

You can download the free app yourself on the app store if you search My PurpleAir. Once you’ve installed it, you can easily see the particulate matter levels around you as well as the history. That way, you can make better decisions on how to keep yourself safe from air pollution.

For example, you can reduce your exposure to particulate matter when exercising by choosing the best time of day as one community member said. You can also see when activities like cooking directly impact your air quality as it happens.

Just note that if you do use the app, it only works in the same area as the air monitor. This is because both the watch and the air quality monitor need to be on the same network to exchange information. Still, it’s a great possibility for when you’re at home.

Thanks for sharing your project, Paul!

Get Involved with PurpleAir Yourself

At PurpleAir, there are tons of community projects going on around the world. We’re thrilled to see these collaborative efforts in the PurpleAir Community, and we look forward to seeing plenty more in the future.

Are you working on a community project with PurpleAir’s air quality monitors?

We would love to hear about it. Share a post in the Community Project forum, then we can highlight your work. Together, we can make air quality accessible for everyone.