Quick answer: On an iPad, use the Home Assistant Companion app, because the other three are Android apps. On Android, Kiosk Satellite suits a home kiosk with built-in voice, Dashie is the free option you can install from Google Play or the Amazon Appstore, and Fully Kiosk Browser is the long-established paid choice with the deepest lockdown options. Companion on Android is the simplest setup if you don't need voice or a screensaver.
Affiliate note: Amazon links in this guide use our affiliate tags. If you buy through them, Worm Pop Labs may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
We make the wall mounts in this guide, not the apps, and we aren't affiliated with any of the four projects. The app details come from each project's documentation and store listings as of November 2026. These apps change quickly, so check the linked docs before you rely on a specific feature. The mount has no electronics, so all four apps work with it.
The four apps compared
| Kiosk Satellite | HA Companion | Dashie | Fully Kiosk Browser | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Android 7.0+ | Android 6+, iOS 16.4+ | Android 6.0+ | Android (no minimum listed in its docs) |
| iPad | No | Yes | No | No, its docs cover Android only |
| Cost | Free for personal use | Free | Free, optional paid cloud voice | Free trial with watermark, PLUS license 10.99 USD or 8.90 EUR plus tax, per device |
| Commercial installs | Not permitted | Yes | Check AGPL-3.0 terms | Yes, volume licenses from 10 devices |
| Install from | APK | Google Play, App Store | Google Play, Amazon Appstore, APK | Google Play, APK |
| Home Assistant link | Built-in ESPHome server | Official app | HACS integration | Core integration, needs PLUS |
| Wake word | Yes, on-device | Yes on Android, marked experimental | Yes, on-device | Not listed in its docs |
| Lockdown | Kiosk mode, PIN, exit gesture | Android home app, or iOS Kiosk mode with Guided Access | PIN lock | Kiosk mode, plus device owner and Samsung KNOX settings |
| Screensaver | Photos, clocks, weather | iOS only: clock, dim, blank | Photos | Yes, with PLUS |
| Wake on motion | Yes | iOS only, by camera | Yes | Yes, with PLUS |
| Amazon Fire | Fire OS 7 or 8, with adb steps | Not covered in its docs | Amazon Appstore | Works, but the vendor advises against it for production |
Kiosk Satellite
Screenshot: Kiosk Satellite. Its browser-based remote admin page.
Kiosk Satellite is built only for Home Assistant kiosks. It shows your dashboard full screen, runs a voice satellite on the tablet, and appears in Home Assistant as an ESPHome device. You get entities for the screen, brightness, volume, motion and battery without adding anything else to Home Assistant.
Good at: Voice with no extra hardware, including two wake words with separate Assist pipelines. It also has photo and clock screensavers, up to twelve live camera views, an intercom between kiosks and fleet management.
Limits: You install it from an APK, not an app store. The CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license allows personal use only, so it's out if you install kiosks for clients.
Choose it if: You want one Android tablet to be both the dashboard and the voice assistant for a room. We have a full Kiosk Satellite setup guide with every step.
Home Assistant Companion
Screenshot: Home Assistant Companion docs. Kiosk mode on iOS.
Companion is the official Home Assistant app, and it's the only one of the four that runs on an iPad. It works differently on each platform, so the two are worth treating separately.
On iPad: Go to Settings > Companion app > Kiosk mode. You can keep the screen on, hide the sidebar and status bar, set a clock, dim or blank screensaver, and wake on camera motion. Home Assistant can also send commands such as kiosk_show_screensaver and kiosk_set_brightness, but they only work while the app is open in the foreground. Kiosk mode can't stop someone leaving the app, so the docs suggest adding Apple's Guided Access.
On Android: Go to Settings > Companion app > Device home screen and turn on Use as Home app, which makes Home Assistant the tablet's launcher. It opens on its own after a restart, and the home button returns to your dashboard. Turn on Keep screen on under Other settings. A separate Home Assistant user for each tablet lets it have its own default dashboard.
Screenshot: Home Assistant Companion docs. Setting Companion as the Android home app.
Good at: Simple setup, official support, native notifications and device sensors. On Android, wake word detection is available from app version 2026.2.3, using Hey Nabu, Hey Jarvis or Hey Mycroft.
Limits: It wasn't designed only for walls. The Android launcher mode has no screensaver section in its docs, and Home Assistant still marks Android wake word detection as experimental.
Choose it if: You have an iPad, or you want the fewest moving parts on Android.
Dashie
Screenshot: Dashie's Home Assistant forum post. Its Control Center.
Dashie is a free, open source (AGPL-3.0) Android app with no account or subscription. Its local API is compatible with the Fully Kiosk integration, and it has its own HACS integration. The project lists testing on Fire HD tablets, Samsung Galaxy Tab A-series and generic Android panels.
Good at: On-device wake word, speech-to-text and text-to-speech. It also has photo screensavers, motion and face wake, RTSP camera feeds, Music Assistant playback, and charging control that switches a smart plug without a Home Assistant automation.
Limits: It's the newest of the four, with just over 1,000 Google Play downloads so far, compared with more than 500,000 for Fully Kiosk. Its developer describes it as matching Fully Kiosk's tablet management features, but that's the developer's own claim. The lockdown listed in its docs is a PIN lock. Store versions can also trail the direct download, which was 1.1.9 against 1.1.7 in the stores when we checked.
Choose it if: You want voice and a screensaver at no cost, installed from an app store, or you own a Fire tablet and don't want to use adb.
Fully Kiosk Browser
Screenshot: Fully Kiosk Browser on Google Play. Its start page and menu.
Fully Kiosk Browser is a general kiosk browser for Android, so it isn't tied to Home Assistant. It has more than 500,000 downloads on Google Play and a core Home Assistant integration that exposes sensors, screen and brightness controls, screensaver, motion detection, text-to-speech and a camera.
Good at: Lockdown and control. It offers kiosk mode, device owner settings, Samsung KNOX settings, MQTT, and REST and JavaScript APIs. It's the natural fit if a tablet is somewhere public or you're managing a group of them, and Fully Cloud adds remote device management.
Limits: Most of what you'd want is behind the PLUS license, including kiosk mode, the screensaver, motion detection, MQTT and the Remote Admin feature that the Home Assistant integration needs. The license is a one-time payment per device, and you can try every feature first with a watermark. We didn't find a built-in voice assistant in its docs. On Android 12 and newer, the vendor notes gaps in kiosk protection unless you use device provisioning or KNOX. It also advises against Fire OS for production use.
Choose it if: A locked-down tablet matters more than voice, or you need a licensed option for a commercial install.
Which app should you pick?
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| You have an iPad | HA Companion, with Kiosk mode and Guided Access |
| Android, and you want voice in the room | Kiosk Satellite |
| You want voice, but only from an app store | Dashie |
| Amazon Fire tablet, no adb | Dashie |
| Fewest moving parts, no voice | HA Companion |
| Public space or a locked-down tablet | Fully Kiosk Browser |
| Installing for paying clients | Fully Kiosk Browser (Kiosk Satellite's license doesn't allow commercial use) |
You don't have to decide for good. Run the app on a counter for a few days first, because switching later is mostly a reinstall.
Choosing a tablet
Older tablets slow down on live charts and camera cards, so keep the dashboard simple if you're buying at the low end. Our mount finder shows which mount fits each model.
| Tablet | Good for | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| iPad 11-inch (A16, 128 GB) | Runs Companion only | CA | US |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ (11-inch) | Any Android app, large kitchen panel | CA | US |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab A11 (8.7-inch) | Any Android app, hallway or bedroom | CA | US |
| Lenovo Idea Tab (11-inch) | Any Android app, large screen | CA | US |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 | Low cost, Dashie is the easiest fit | CA | US bundle |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 | Lowest cost, small panel | CA | US |
Amazon's listings differ by store, so the CA and US links may not be the same configuration. Check the Fire OS version before you commit to Kiosk Satellite, since it won't install on Fire OS 5.
Getting power to the wall
Plan for constant power, especially with a wake word on, because the app keeps listening with the screen off.
| Method | What you need | Look on the wall | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetic cable | Magnetic USB-C cable and a nearby outlet | Visible cable | Renters, tablets you often take down |
| Right-angle cable | 90-degree USB-C cable and a nearby outlet | Visible cable, sits close to the tablet | Tight spaces around the port |
| In-wall power | Recessed box behind the tablet, in-wall rated low-voltage cable | No visible cable | Permanent panels |
| Power over Ethernet | Ethernet to the box, PoE switch or injector, PoE-to-USB-C splitter | No visible cable | One cable for power and wired network |
Magnetic cables suit a mount the tablet slides on and off, because you can lift the tablet away without working a plug out of its port. A small tip stays in the port and the cable snaps onto it. Check the listing for charging speed and data support, since these vary, and keep the tip clear of metal dust. We haven't tested specific cables with our mounts, so check there's room for the tip and connector beside your tablet's port.
- Magnetic USB-C cable, 3-pack: CA | US
- Right-angle USB-C cable, 2-pack: CA | US
- PoE to USB-C splitter, 5V 3A: CA | US
- Kasa smart plug, 4-pack, for a charge window: CA | US
A 5V 3A splitter supplies 15 W, which may not keep a large tablet charging at full brightness, so check what your tablet draws. Use cable rated for in-wall use, follow your local electrical code, and use a licensed electrician for any mains wiring.
Protect the battery. A tablet held at 100% for months can swell. Use the tablet's charge limit if it has one. If not, a smart plug can keep it between about 20% and 80%. Dashie has this built in, and our Kiosk Satellite guide has a Home Assistant automation you can adapt. Check the back of the tablet every few months for swelling.
Mounting it
Our mounts sit behind the tablet, so nothing covers the screen or the front camera that motion wake relies on. The tablet slides up and off, which makes it easy to update settings or clean it without touching the wall plate.
| Mount | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| Tablet wall mount for Kiosk Satellite and iPad | You want an open center over a junction box, or 2 screws or command strips without one |
| Junction box tablet mount | Power comes out of the wall behind the tablet, on a North American or EU box |
| Low-profile slide-out mount | You want the mount hidden and the tablet easy to lift off |
| Docking wall mount for iPad | You're putting an iPad on the wall |
The mount finder has dedicated fits by model, including Samsung Galaxy Tab, Fire HD and iPad. The install instructions have photos of each step. Test your dashboard, Wi-Fi and wake word on a counter first, then choose the spot and the power method before you drill.
Common questions
Which app is best for a Home Assistant wall tablet?
It depends on the tablet. On an iPad, use Companion. On Android, Kiosk Satellite is a strong fit for home use with voice, Dashie is the free app store option, and Fully Kiosk Browser is best when lockdown matters most.
Can I use Fully Kiosk Browser, Dashie or Kiosk Satellite on an iPad?
No. All three are Android apps. On an iPad, use the Companion app's Kiosk mode and add Apple's Guided Access to keep it on your dashboard.
Do I have to pay for a kiosk app?
No. Companion and Dashie are free, and Kiosk Satellite is free for personal use. Fully Kiosk Browser needs a one-time PLUS license per device for its kiosk features and its Home Assistant integration.
Do I need a kiosk app at all?
Not always. Companion alone can be enough if you only want a full-screen dashboard that stays on. A dedicated kiosk app adds things like a screensaver, screen control from Home Assistant and tighter lockdown on Android.
Does a magnetic cable work with a wall mount?
Usually, as long as there's space beside the port for the tip and connector. Check your tablet's port position against the mount before ordering, and send us your model if you aren't sure.