My new favorite way to manage my family calendar is getting bigger

Smart photo frame company Skylight is launching a new version of its Skylight Calendar, a smart family calendar. The Skylight Cal Max works similarly to the existing model but has a sleeker, updated design and a larger 27-inch screen. According to the company, it's available for preorder today starting at $599 and will ship in June.

The Cal Max nearly doubles the size of the existing 15-inch Skylight Calendar, dedicated to showing multiple calendars in a familiar layout and syncing with online services to keep everything up to date. The upgraded 27-inch touchscreen display with higher resolution (2560 x 1440 QHD compared to 1920 x 1080 HD) offers more space and better quality to easily see everyone's schedule at a glance.

A new etched anti-glare screen and interchangeable frames are designed to help the device better fit in with your home decor. Options will include a classic white or black frame and a shadow box frame in aluminum and charcoal. The frames can be swapped out if you want to change things up and will go on sale when the device arrives in June. The shadow box option costs $629, $30 extra.

I've been testing the current 15-inch version of the Skylight Calendar — which has similar features, just a smaller, boxier design and no anti-glare screen — and so far I've found it to be the best solution. By having one place, every member of the household can see and manage all schedules.

Over the years, I've tried many solutions to this problem, including giant dry-erase wall calendars, digital calendars built into my fridge, smart speakers that read out my kids' day's schedule, and setting notifications on their smartphones. . events. But for various reasons (too much maintenance, lack of support for one calendar service or another, being too easy to ignore), none of these have worked reliably.

However, ever since I put a Skylight calendar on our breakfast counter in front of the family as they eat dinner each morning, we've had much more success keeping our schedule organized. While smart displays like the Echo Show can show your calendar, the trick with Skylight that works for us is that it just shows the calendar – all the time.''

It's not a multipurpose smart display like the Echo Show or Nest Hub, which means no one can watch Teen Titans Go! Instead of reviewing the events of your day. This is a dedicated tool for your calendar. There are some other related features – task charts, meal planning and task lists – but the calendar is the main event. You can also have a photo screensaver if you want, although it requires an annual subscription of $39 after the first year.

Beyond visibility, another feature I like about Skylight Calendar is that you can edit and add events directly on the device's touchscreen. You can also scroll by day and week and see everyone's calendars together. The interface is similar to the Google Calendar web interface and similarly allows color coding for different calendars.

Skylight works with most major services – I've successfully imported Google, Apple, and Outlook calendars into it (Yahoo and Cozi are also supported) – or you can create your own calendars using its service and import them into Skylight. Can import. Can import. Can also be managed on smartphone app.

While the 15-inch, $300 model I'm testing can show five to seven days and about an eight-hour time slot, I can see the larger version being helpful for larger families or those who still want that time. Want time. There are many activities taking place at the school level.

The sleek look also appeals to me; I wouldn't want to mount the model I'm testing on a wall. It's too heavy, and the screen can be distracting (even with auto-brightness enabled). 27 inches would be too big for my kitchen counter. You can only mount it on a wall anyway, but installed vertically you'll be able to see all day at once, and the anti-glare screen makes a better photo frame when not in use.

At $599, the Cal Max is expensive, and since the 10-inch version comes in at $159.99 and the 15-inch with similar functionality comes in at $299.99, you're paying a lot just for the bigger screen and nicer looks. However, Skylight says the upgraded hardware will enable new software features coming later this year. This worries me a little. Based on my time spent with the original device, its simplicity is its best feature – too much functionality, and it can lose that excellent focus.

The Skylight Cal Max is now available for preorder for $599 or $629 for the shadow box frame option. It will start shipping to customers in June.