How to turn an old iPad into a smart clock

As mentioned by sberman, no iPad released to date has an always-on display.

Recent models of iPhone displays can operate in an ultra low-power (always-on) mode - that reduces screen brightness and screen refresh rates. iPad displays do not have this capability.

While an iPad lack an always-on display, you can partially emulate this capability. You'll need to keep the iPad connected to its Power Adapter - and disable the Auto-Lock function to keep the display active:

Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock - set to Never

You'll need to keep the iPad connected to external power as otherwise the iPad's battery will be fully depleted within hours. Older iPads with older batteries will inevitably have much lower charge capacity than newer devices with fewer charge cycles.

However, you should be mindful that the iPad will be accessible to anyone that has physical access to the device. By virtue of being always unlocked, this can expose personal or sensitive information either stored locally on the iPad, or stored/synchronised with the associated Apple Account.

As such, you might be wise to reconsider displaying your Mom's calendar or any other personal information. If you instead create a new and entirely separate Apple Account to be used with the old iPad - that is not linked to your Mom's account or associated personal data - you can still show date/time, weather and other generic Apps/Widgets without risk of compromising personal security or privacy.

There are no iPads, past or present, that support an always-on display.

While the latest M4 iPad Pro models feature advanced OLED screens with variable refresh rates that can drop to 10Hz, they do not support the 1Hz refresh rate required for Apple's Always-On display feature, which is currently available on select iPhone and Apple Watch models.

There are many apps with variations of the name "nightstand" for iOS and iPadOS which are designed to display the time and keep the screen on while they are running. Some have weather too.

have you read

https://appleinsider.com/inside/homeview/tips/how-to-make-an-old-ipad-as-close-to-a-homeview-as-possible

Thanks for the reply

The information you provided is very helpful. My mom currently has a big digital clock that displays the day, date, and time, but does nothing else. She also has a newer model iPad, but doesn't look at it every day and sometimes forgets to charge it. I am trying to find something that might help her remember appointments, as writing them on a wall calendar is great ONLY when she's 100% sure of the current date. She also checks the weather on the TV every day and thought that would be another great feature to include on the screen. Lastly, I had planned on resetting the iPad and creating a new/seperate account for it. I guess I may need to try your suggestion regarding emulating the always-on display to see how that works.

Thanks for the useful information

michaelgraham2 wrote:

Thanks for the reply

The information you provided is very helpful. My mom currently has a big digital clock that displays the day, date, and time, but does nothing else. She also has a newer model iPad, but doesn't look at it every day and sometimes forgets to charge it. I am trying to find something that might help her remember appointments, as writing them on a wall calendar is great ONLY when she's 100% sure of the current date. She also checks the weather on the TV every day and thought that would be another great feature to include on the screen. Lastly, I had planned on resetting the iPad and creating a new/seperate account for it. I guess I may need to try your suggestion regarding emulating the always-on display to see how that works.

Thanks for the useful information

You're very welcome. I'm delighted that I was able to offer some guidance with which to experiment.