For busy families, the humble paper calendar hanging on the fridge is often the last line of defence against total chaos. But in an era where every family member has a digital schedule on their phone, those paper squares are becoming increasingly obsolete. Enter the Everblog 21.5-inch Digital Calendar, a massive touchscreen “command centre” designed to bridge the gap between your digital life and your physical home.
At OxGadgets, we’ve tested everything from smart doorbells to high-end tablets, but the Everblog is something different—it’s a dedicated hub that wants to be the “second brain” for your household. Here is our deep dive into how it holds up in a real-world family environment.
Introduction: The Death of the Paper Calendar
The Everblog isn’t just a screen; it’s a 21.5-inch statement piece for your kitchen or entryway. Its primary goal is to alleviate the “mental load” usually carried by one person or the parents by making every appointment, chore, and meal plan visible to everyone at once.
Unlike many of its competitors, such as the Skylight or Hearth, Everblog’s biggest selling point is its subscription-free model. You buy the hardware, and you get all the features—no monthly fee to see your own photos or use the chore chart.
Features: More Than Just Dates
The hardware feels premium, resembling a giant, 1080p iPad. But it’s the software where the Everblog tries to earn its keep:
- The Fridge Manager: Perhaps the most unique feature, it allows you to track your grocery inventory and expiration dates. You can even check what’s in your fridge via the mobile app while standing in the supermarket aisle.
- Chore & Reward System: A gamified checklist where kids earn “stars” for completing tasks. Once they hit a goal, they can “unlock” rewards set by parents.
- Entertainment Hub: With built-in quad speakers and a responsive touchscreen, it doubles as a kitchen TV. You can stream Spotify for background music or pull up a YouTube cooking tutorial while prepping dinner. Other apps such as Netflix are also available.
- Smart Sensors: It includes real-time indoor temperature and humidity sensors, adding a bit of “weather station” utility to your wall.
Setup: Getting the Hub Online
Unboxing the Everblog is an event in itself due to its size. It comes with a mounting template (so you don’t turn your wall into Swiss cheese) and supports both horizontal and vertical orientations.
The initial software setup involves connecting to Wi-Fi and downloading the Everblog app. While the physical installation is a breeze, do plan around half an hour to an hour for the thing, and plan where you would like to place this.
Once setup and connected, however, the device stays updated via over-the-air (OTA) updates, which the company provides for free.
Compatibility: Syncing the Chaos
A digital calendar is only as good as its ability to talk to your existing apps. The Everblog supports:
- Google Calendar & Outlook: These sync almost flawlessly, with colour-coded profiles for different family members.
- Apple Calendar (iCloud)
- The “Offline” Quirk: One thing to note is that if the screen goes into a deep sleep mode to save power, it can occasionally appear “offline” on the mobile app, meaning you might need to leave the screen on a low-brightness “always-on” setting if you want 24/7 remote access to your lists.
Fun for the Family
This is where the Everblog shines over a standard tablet. The Photo Frame mode turns the giant screen into a rotating gallery of family memories when not in use.
For families with younger children (ages 6–14), the chore system is a genuine game-changer. There’s a distinct satisfaction for a child in physically tapping a “completed” button on a giant screen and watching a star animation pop up. For the adults, the “colour-coded breathing lights” on the front of the device offer a subtle, non-intrusive way to signal that a notification or reminder is waiting.
On top of all this, the ability to turn this into another TV really helps, be that for watching Netflix, streaming a cooking video on YouTube, or just popping some music on via Spotify.
Buying Options
The Everblog 21.5-inch Digital Calendar is primarily available through the official Everblog website.
- Price: While the RRP is often listed at $699, it is currently on sale at $349.
- What’s in the Box: The 21.5-inch touchscreen, power adapter, hanging strap, and mounting hardware.
- Peace of Mind: It comes with a 2-year warranty and a 180-day return policy, which is remarkably generous for a tech product and suggests the company is confident you’ll find it useful.
The OxGadgets Verdict
If you’re tired of the “but nobody told me!” excuses, this 21.5-inch digital shout-out might be exactly what your kitchen needs. Hey, it might even work in an office environment!
If I really had to be picky, the big screen size, something that makes this so useful, is also perhaps the main challenge to having this device in the UK. It is simply the fact that our homes are smaller than the average US house, and hence we have less free wall space for this. So while I definitely recommend this, I will be keen to see if they announce smaller versions in the 13 to 17 inch sizes.