Wall mounted iPad hub
I’ve managed to automate the vast majority of things in my home; for example, every light is smart (either Philips Hue or Lightwave), most power points are controllable, I’ve got a number of cameras dotted around and all music is via Sonos. I control things using a mixture of physical switches, sensors and my phone. As I already had an iPad Pro which would lay idle on a shelf with a flat battery for the majority of the time, I thought I’d put it to good use and mount it to the wall to use as a central control panel.
The kitchen seemed to be the best place for it so I set about looking for suitable mounts. As I’m a neat freak and hate the sight of cables, I’d been looking for a solution that concealed all cables giving a neat, professional look. These mounts however ran into the hundreds of pounds and would have required significant work to route the power behind the wall.
After an Amazon search for various mounts, I finally came across the Elago mount. It’s two pieces of silicone that attach to the wall and allow the iPad to be slipped in between. As it’s just two separate pieces, this will work with most sizes and the kit even comes with a drilling guide.
Installation was really easy and with the iPad being mounted close to an existing power point with built in USB socket, I was able to use a short lighting cable to supply constant power. Not quite the seamless installation I was looking for, but for less than £20, I really can’t complain. As this is just two pieces of silicone, I was dubious about how securely it would hold the iPad in place, but I’m pleased to say that it holds it really well, plus it’s easy to remove if needed.
In terms of control, I wanted easy access to the Home and Sonos apps. This was easily achieved by using the two apps in split screen and adding a black wallpaper to Home.
In addition I’m also using HomeCam to view my cameras (three Logitech Circle 2’s and a D Link Omna).
I’ve disabled the pin lock to make it quicker to use, but kept the auto lock to 15 minutes to avoid damaging the screen.
If you’re looking to wall mount an iPad, I’d highly recommend the Elago mount.
