Flighty, a flight-tracking app, has been one of the most successful implementations of Apple’s new Live Activities feature in iOS 16 and the iPhone 14 Pro. A new update is due out this week, just in time for holiday travel. Which includes a clever new trick for updating your flight progress with real-time data even while in the air.
On the Lock Screen, Live Activity support is available for all iPhone models running iOS 16.1 or later. Live Activities are now available inside the Dynamic Island for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max users. You can also interact with the Live Activity by long-pressing on the Dynamic Island.
In the case of Flighty, a Live Activity for your upcoming flight begins three hours before departure. This means that you can easily track your flight status, including delays. And gate changes, from the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island. All of the same information is also available in the app, along with much more.
Flighty has previously worked while offline and in the air on a flight. But with estimated data rather than live data.
Flighty has a new trick up its sleeve with a new update this week. It can download real and live data using free in-flight Wi-Fi, even when your iPhone is in Airplane Mode. This means you won’t have to pay extra for premium Wi-Fi during your flight. “Connect to the free messaging-only WiFi’ on most major airlines to get live data even in Airplane Mode.”
In iOS 16.1, Live Activities are updated using the same protocol as iMessage. Flighty can use the free airline Wi-Fi to update the Live Activity. The data can then be sent to the full Flighty app via the Airbnb network.
