iPad Lock Screen Calendar

June 7, 2022 11:55 AM

I want to have an iPad on my kitchen counter, where our daily family google calendar is on the lock screen. Is that possible?
posted by wurly to Technology (8 answers total)

So Apple just announced yesterday that this will be an option on iPhones with iOS 16 coming this fall, but it doesn’t look like the same functionality is going to be part of the new iPad OS. I’m wondering if that will change by the time they’re released though, since it seems like kind of an oversight not to bring that functionality to iPad.
posted by MadamM at 12:14 PM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The way I've seen similar things (conference room displays, etc.) work is not to display it on the lock screen, but to not allow the iPad to sleep, so the calendar app is always displaying. You can also use Guided Access to prevent the app from being switched, if needed.
posted by primethyme at 1:05 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

(And there are many things that iPhone has and iPad doesn't, so I don't think it's an oversight or something that will be fixed by fall, as much as something they either didn't get to this year or don't think is important on iPad. Do not hold your breath.)
posted by primethyme at 1:06 PM on June 7, 2022

This is not a feature of the current iPad, and it's unclear how soon it will be available. I can think of two janky workarounds:

The first would be to turn off auto-lock on the iPad, and just leave the screen on with your calendar open (perhaps plugged in to power so it won't die on you).

The second would be to take a screenshot of your calendar and set it as your lock screen wallpaper. You could even try to get fancy and set up a Shortcut that would open the calendar app, take a screenshot, and then set it as your wallpaper automatically. I think fully automating this would be thwarted when the iPad is locked, since it can't open apps without your passcode, but you could put an icon on your Home Screen that does this and just run it yourself each day.
posted by Ryon at 1:08 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

If the only reason the iPad would be on the counter is to keep a Google calendar visible and active, does it actually need to be an iPad or would a cheap second-hand Android tablet do just as well?
posted by flabdablet at 1:54 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

I've done this with a raspberry pi, spare monitor and a program called dakboard.
posted by tiamat at 4:03 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

Unless it's going to be used for other things, I'd consider doing this with some kind of e-ink display, like this project that does this on a Raspberry Pi.
posted by fedward at 4:04 PM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Check out "Guided Access" (under settings -> accessibility). This should let you do what you need.
posted by cosmac at 4:53 PM on June 7, 2022