Last September, I purchased the Skylight 15″ calendar and wrote a raving review about it. So, when I was given the opportunity to trial the new Skylight 27″ calendar, I jumped at the chance.
As a fully converted Skylight Calendar user, I was curious to find out if the larger, wall mounted calendar improves the general user experience or whether the 15″ was more than enough to manage my family of three.
I’ve had the new Calendar Max on wall in our kitchen for a month now, so here’s my thoughts on whether the Skylight Calendar Max is really worth the (BIG) price tag.
Is the Skylight Calendar Max Worth It?
What is the Skylight Calendar Max?
The Skylight Calendar Max is a larger, more advanced version of the original Skylight Calendar, designed to act as a central hub for busy family life. With its huge 27-inch touchscreen, it’s really easy to read at a glance from anywhere in the room, perfect for kitchens or shared spaces and it syncs easily with Google, Apple and Outlook calendars to keep everyone on the same page.
Beyond simple scheduling tools, it also includes features like interactive chore charts, meal planning tools and the AI-powered Sidekick, which helps organise routines and manage day-to-day tasks. In fact, I’d say it’s the calendar’s AI powers (also available on the 15″) that make the Skylight Calendar so incredibly useful).
Combined with a photo display mode when idle, it’s a genius product for busy families looking to get more organised and informed on the comings and goings of life.
Skylight Calendar Discount Code: Use TWINMAX for £55 off the Skylight Calendar Max
Is the Skylight Calendar Max Worth It?
How is the Skylight Calendar Max different to the 15 inch Skylight Calendar?
1. Size and visibility
The Skylight Calendar Max offers twice the screen size of the 15″ and is designed to be a central hub in your home. Unlike the smaller calendar, which can be put more discretely in spots around the house, the Calendar Max is designed to be noticed.
2. Wall Mounted v Flexible Placement
The Skylight Calendar Max is designed to be wall mounted, whilst the smaller 15″ can sit on a surface or be wall mounted. This means you need to have a wall in your home available for the Max Calendar (it doesn’t have a stand to be able to go on a table or worktop).
3. Price
One of the biggest differences between the two Skylight Calendars is the price. The Skylight Calendar 15″ is £290 – which, although expensive, is perhaps achievable for families. The Skylight Calendar Max, however, comes in at a whopping £550 and is far more of an investment for families.
4. Family size
The Skylight Calendar Max is designed for larger families where there will be multi-users using it daily to tick off chores, to-do lists and check in on their diaries. The Skylight Calendar 15″ however can be used by single/couple based households or those with smaller families.
Having said that, we are a family of three and I still feel the Skylight Calendar Max is more effective than the 15″ (more on that later).
How easy is it to set up the Skylight Calendar Max and put it on the wall?
I was a bit worried about how much faff it would be getting the Skylight Calendar Max on the wall but it was actually really straightforward. The calendar comes with the mounting equipment, including the wall brackets, and we had them drilled in, in a matter of minutes.
I was also worried the screen would look huge on the wall (and a bit tacky) but it actually looks fairly modestly sized and looks like a really great addition to our kitchen. Being able to use it as a photo frame when idle also makes it look extra nice in the kitchen, adding a nice homely feel.
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Skylight Calendar Max v Skylight Calendar 15 inch
Do both models have the same features and software?
Yes, both the Skylight 15″ calendar and the 27″ calendar have exactly the same features and software. This includes the Sidekick AI feature that can be found within the Skylight app, although this comes at an additional yearly fee.
The only difference between the two calendars is the sizing and the fact the Skylight Calendar Max has to be mounted on the wall.
Skylight Calendar Discount Code: Use TWINMAX for £55 off the Skylight Calendar Max
Is the Skylight Calendar Max Worth it?
Pros and Cons to the Skylight Calendar Max
As with any product, I think there’s pros and cons to the Skylight Calendar Max. Below I’ve listed why the product could be a great addition to your family and also why the smaller 15″ might be more suitable for you.
Pros of the Skylight Calendar Max
1. More accessible and viewable on the wall
The first pro of the Skylight Calendar Max, compared to the 15″, is that it’s much more visible. I found that for the 15″ Skylight Calendar, you do have to lean over on the worktop to view it and if the calendar is busy, it can feel a bit overwhelming.
With the 27 inch, however, you can view the calendar from a quick glance anywhere in the kitchen. It is a lot more viewable, which also encourages you to check-in with it more and make full use of its features.
2. Aesthetically pleasing on the wall
As mentioned above, I was a little bit worried what the Skylight Calendar Max would look like on the wall. I wasn’t sure if it would huge and a bit of an eye-sore but it actually looks the exact opposite. On the wall, it looks really sophisticated but not overwhelming; especially with the carousel of images in idle mode.
3. Works as a photo frame
Like the 15″, the Skylight Calendar Max also works as a photo frame when in idle mode. Again, although this was nice in the smaller size, I think that the images look extra nice in a larger HD frame.
Obviously, you want to choose aesthetically pleasing images to show rather than any old snap shot but I really love mine. It’s also fun sending photos to the frame while we’re still away on holiday, so when we come back they’re already up on the wall. My 5-year old daughter particularly loves this feature and spends a lot of time picking and choosing which photos to send to the calendar.
4. Much more than just a calendar
The Skylight Calendar Max is so much more than a calendar and what it can offer is actually pretty mind blowing. Some of its features actually feel like wizardry – particularly the features in the Sidekick app.
A few of my favourite features within Sidekick are:
- Ability to take a photo of a recipe or send a URL of a recipe to the app and Sidekick will add all the ingredients to your shopping list.
- You can take a photo of your fridge and Sidekick will analyse what’s in there and suggest a recipe or meal.
- Plan meals: you can tell Sidekick what kind of meals you’d like and it will plan all the meals for you, for the week (madness!)
Is the Skylight Calendar Max Worth It?
Cons of the Skylight Calendar Max
It is very expensive
There’s no getting round the fact that the Skylight Calendar Max carries with it a hefty price tag – one that not all families will be able to justify. At £550, it is an expensive piece of technology and one you need to know you’re going to fully commit to once it’s on your wall. There is the risk that it just becomes a very pricey photo frame, unless you take the time to make full use of all of its features.
You have to pay extra for more features
Some people have shared their annoyance and having to still pay a yearly fee for extra features (such as Sidekick), particularly when the price is so high anyway. The fee in the UK is an extra £60 a month, which if worked out is £5 a month. I have to say, I’d pay even more for the Sidekick feature because I would be totally lost without its meal planning features now. I can see, however, how this can be seen as a con when you’re paying so much upfront already.
App dependency
The Skylight calendar (whatever version you buy) depends on the app in order to operate. For some, this isn’t a big deal but others find the fact it isn’t standalone an extra layer of admin or faff.
Can be a bit glitchy
As with the 15″ Skylight Calendar, I can find the Skylight software in general to be a little glitchy. It can sometimes take a few tries to get calendars to connect and pull through dates and things can be a bit slow in showing within the Calendar. It’s nothing major but definitely a little clunkier than perhaps should be the case with such an expensive piece of kit.
You need the wall space
Finally, the Calendar Max demands wall space that it can be mounted in. Obviously, not only do you need the wall space, you also need a wall that makes sense to mount it on that’s easily accessible for everyone. This makes it trickier to install in some homes than the smaller 15″, which can be put on any counter or surface, as well as mounted.
Skylight Calendar Discount Code: Use TWINMAX for £55 off the Skylight Calendar Max
Which Skylight Calendar is best for smaller families?
The Skylight Calendar Max markets itself as a great calendar for large, busy households. Particularly when there’s lots of people ticking off to-do lists, chores or kids doing their reward charts. While I do agree with this, I think the Skylight Calendar Max is suitable for any family size. On the wall, it definitely makes the calendar more accessible for any family size, and even though there’s only three of us in our family, having it right in our eye gaze has made us use it more than the 15″.
Having said that, I think if you’re a couple or a small family committed to using the calendar, the 15″ is a great addition to the home. I think the key is to put it somewhere easy to access and easily viewable to encourage as much interaction as possible.