GoKawiilI won’t lie to you: I hated the first digital wall calendar I tried.
I tried the Hearth Display last year and was left unimpressed, but to my surprise, digital wall calendars as a whole have only picked up in popularity and options. Digital wall calendars take your online calendar—think your Google Calendar, the Calendar app on your iPhone, or your corporate Microsoft calendar account—and put it on a digital screen that you can mount on the wall or prop up on a stand on a countertop or table.
These devices usually also double as digital yet physical chore charts, meal planners, and sometimes even a digital photo frame. I usually have smart displays all over my home, especially in my kitchen and living area, but they've all been replaced for the past two weeks with digital wall calendars that I've set up in tabletop mode. And you know what? I don't miss talking to those annoying AI-powered assistants.
Instead, as someone who already lives and breathes by her Google Calendar to manage her family's life, I've found myself in love with being able to pull up that calendar in the middle of the kitchen sans my phone. The extra features are ones that both my husband and I are using more and more, especially the meal-planning function. But for the best wall calendar, that meal-planning feature—and other handy features—will require a monthly fee. Here's everything you need to know about digital wall calendars and whether they're a fit for you.
What’s a Digital Wall Calendar?
Photograph: Nena Farrell
You might have heard these devices called by various names. Maybe “digital wall calendar” or “smart calendar device.” Maybe you've just heard the name Skylight Calendar, which is the popular model right now. No matter the name, these devices all do the same thing: replace a paper calendar with a digitized one that connects to the calendar tools you're already using, like Google Calendar or Apple Calendar. It makes it easier for the entire family to see the schedule and allows for family members to update or add to it without needing a phone or a separate account of their own. It also erases issues like unreadable handwriting or forgetting to write down an event in a second place, and color-coding makes it easy to see who's on the hook for what events and activities.
While these are often called wall calendars, you can usually choose to also place them on a tabletop. Some sizes come only with wall-mounting hardware, but I've been able to prop them up on multiple tables without a stand during my testing. I did find I preferred the models with a tabletop stand included, but if you want it right on the wall, that's an easy option.
What Else Can a Digital Wall Calendar Do?
Photograph: Nena Farrell
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