Keeping the family organized is no joke. The bulk of my mess right now consists of two adults, 9-year-old twins and 6-year-old juggling six dance classes each, soccer, football, Scouts and whatever else lands on our plate that week, so the appeal of a digital wall planner like the Cozyla Calendar+ 2 is real.
There have been a few of these family planners to be released recently and none of them come cheap, but Cozyla looks to stand out from the pack by offering access to multiple apps and requiring no ongoing subscription to unlock premium features.
Cozyla Calendar+2 review: Price and availability
The Cozyla Calendar+ 2 is available in a range of sizes, resolutions and a portable battery stand at Cozyla. Prices range from $349.99 for the 15.6” version to $1,299.99 for the 32” 4K version with a foldable stand.
In the UK, the Cozyla Calendar+ 2 is available to buy in the 32″ size for £649.99 on Amazon.
Cozyla Calendar+2 review: design and build quality
I tested the 32″ 1080p version of the Cozyla+ 2 Calendar with rolling battery stand. It’s a very well designed and well built product. The calendar itself has a solid frame with a 0.7″ bezel around the edges and since it’s white it can work well in any setting.
The display is matte and doesn’t feel as refined as others such as the Skylight, which, with its glass front, exudes an elegant finish. Comparing the two reminds me of comparing the first iPads (Skylight) to Android tablets (Cozyla) which is not to say it’s poorly made, it just suffers from the comparison.
The rolling stand feels very stable, although the wheels are small so it rolls much better on hard floors than low pile carpet. Magnetic frame add-ons are available on the 24” version in charcoal or glitter gold but cost an additional $129.99.
(Photo credit: Tim Gee)
Cozyla Calendar+2 review: performance
At its core, Cozyla is a family calendar and it works well, giving you a quick overview of the calendars you’ve set up, with day, week or month views and coded events depending on which calendar it’s on.
Where I ran into some problems was with synchronization, there were a few events that weren’t automatically drawn and displayed. It seemed isolated from the third-party invitations, but it made me a little nervous that things were missing and the only way I could solve it was to open the dedicated Cozyla app, which syncs everything quickly.
While this was an easy fix, especially if you’re switching to using it as your primary calendar app, it added a step to my day and reduced my assurance that everything was listed, which is the main point of the product. I reached out to Cozyla about this and they said the team is working hard on improving the sync experience to make it more reliable.
The functionality of tasks works well, allowing you to add things as part of the routine (like dressing, brushing teeth etc) or household tasks and organize them every morning or night and give them specific profiles. You can also assign stars to any type of activity and set rewards that will require a set number of stars.
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Trying this on my family, it seemed to spark a new interest in making their beds but it also sparked arguments about who gets to feed the cat first or deliver the mail to claim those stars.
I would go to a child psychologist about whether this could have a positive long-term effect -especially if it is accompanied by rewards which we haven’t tried – but balancing routine activities is a good way to encourage cooperation. The calendar offers a satisfying animation when tasks are marked, especially when you complete a full day’s list and is treated to digital confetti and balloons.
The meal planning features are also impressive with a wide variety of pre-loaded recipes included and the ability to import your own. If you choose specific recipes, you can add all the ingredients to a grocery list that you can share.
What makes the Cozyla stand out from competitors like the Skylight is that it’s a large Android tablet so you can download apps from the Google Play Store. This means it can also work as a streaming tool by downloading apps like Netflix or Disney+, play mobile games and do anything else you can do on a tablet.
This gives it an incredible amount of flexibility, especially when combined with a battery stand. If you want to put it in the kitchen to play a video recipe as you cook you can, and the stand version comes with a camera that you can attach so you can use it for video calls which is better than using a cell phone when you have the whole family on the phone.
(Photo credit: Tim Gee)
Cozyla Calendar+ 2 update: app
The phone app and the calendar itself are both well made, mercifully simple and easy to use. Although it is easy to adjust activities and food options from your phone it does not try to do much and is fully focused on its task.
Calendar uses a version of the Android operating system so you can download additional apps, but it’s still very focused on its core functions so there’s no need to dig to get back to the calendar itself.
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Cozyla Calendar+2 update: battery life
If you choose the rolling stand, this adds a 7500mA battery so you can use it when it’s not plugged in. Battery life is amazing, I was able to get just under 4 hours of video playback (without the battery saving features enabled) before it died so there’s nothing stopping you from using it as a portable screen to watch a movie.
(Photo credit: Tim Gee)
Cozyla Calendar+2 review: verdict
Cozyla Calendar+ 2 is a versatile family app that helps you plan everyone’s life but is also Android-friendly allowing it to switch to a browser or streaming device. The Go version’s battery stand makes it even more flexible, able to move around your home.
While it’s very impressive and the extra features that competitors like Skylight include are tempting, I found syncing my calendar by opening the app on my phone to be a big problem, especially if other people use it to check your calendar without knowing if it’s just synced.
Cozyla Calendar+2 review: alternatives to consider
The other big names in digital wall calendars are Skylight and Hearth, both of which are available cheaper than Cozyla but include a subscription to unlock advanced features like meal planning already included in Cozyla, making it the same price as paying for an annual membership.
I’ve found the Skylight Smart Calendar to be very reliable for syncing calendars, and it generally feels like a premium and refined product. But you give up the ability to download apps for other functions and add an ongoing subscription fee if you want to continue using images as a screen saver.
