Which device should I buy for Calendar Clock?

Whereas we try to be different from other companies by saying that you do not need to buy a new device, this does assume that you already have a tablet. This article helps those who do not yet have a suitable device or are looking for a new one.

As Calendar Clock is a very simple application, it does not require the newest devices. We therefore recommend purchasing a second-hand device (which is also more sustainable).

In general, we recommend Android tablets, as they are often cheaper than the alternatives. If you prefer to have a bigger screen and have a TV available, we recommend buying an Android TV stick.

For each type of device, we listed some requirements to look out for. This list of course also includes iPads, for those that prefer iOS.

Android tablet

For Android, we release two different versions of the app each update. One version for Android 5.0 and 5.1 and one for Android 6.0 and higher. The reason why we release two version is that Android 5.0 and 5.1 do not support video calling, however we still want to offer an app for users of these versions, and therefore we release a custom version of the app without video calling for those users.

The reason why we do not support older devices, is simply that our programming language “Flutter” does not support older devices. Also, for video calling we use features which are simply not available on Android 5.0 and 5.1. Whereas we do our best to support old Android versions for as long as possible, we recommend purchasing an Android tablet which supports at least Android 8.0. Given that Android 8.0 released in 2017, it should not be a problem finding such a device for little money.

iPad

The minimum iOS version which Calendar Clock supports is iOS 12, which was released in 2018. However, as Apple supports their devices for very long, in practise this means that Calendar Clock supports all iPads since November 2013!

Whereas for the basic features of the app, an iOS 12 iPad may suffice, we noticed that for video calling a more modern iPad is required. Therefore, if you were to purchase a second-hand iPad for Calendar Clock, we recommend any iPad released in 2019 or later. This would also be a more safe bet, as we expect that in the coming years, iOS 12 may no longer be supported by our programming language.

Android TV

If your TV is not “smart” or if it does not support installing Android apps, you can use an Android TV stick.

When it comes to Android TV’s, we recommend purchasing the newest Chromecast with support for Android TV. This device is simply the cheapest device available, supports external video and audio devices, and is also useful if not used for Calendar Clock.

Alternatively, any other second hand Android TV sticks will do as well. However, if you plan to use the video calling feature of Calendar Clock, we recommend purchasing a new stick, or at least one that is at most 3 years old. The reason for this is that Android TV sticks tend to be very slow when tasked with features such as video calling.

Apple TV

Unfortunately, Calendar Clock does not support Apple TV. Currently there are no plans to support it in the near future.