Everything is digital now, even memories, and not everyone is delighted with that. Although you can look at photos on your phone, computer and TV, you can still save some space in your life for more tangible memories, and a digital photo frame is a great option.
It is a good middle ground between traditional photo screens and collections of purely digital images stored on your phone or computer. An electronic photo frame means that you can display hundreds of your favorites without the mess that comes with sharing a large collection of printed photos. It can also be a great way to share photos with a grandfather or with someone who doesn’t see them on social media.
When you have people you love in your life, you want to show them with photos. When placed in decorative frames, you can easily show the most important people in your life to guests in your home or customers and co-workers in the office. Not only can you show your family and friends with photos, but you can also remember some of life’s best moments just by looking at a photo.
The best cheap digital photo frames
It is possible to find digital photo frames at very low prices. We advise you to invest at least $85 to ensure a minimum of image quality and thus highlight your photos.
Nix Advance: the best cheap
Advantages
- Affordable price
- Easy to configure
- Choice of transitions
- Good image quality
Disadvantages
- External storage only
Digital photo frames have been on the market for a few years now and quickly became popular. They have been democratizing for some time, but it is always better to be willing to invest a few dozen euros, even when one is ready to skip the more advanced features.
Good image quality, smooth transitions from one photo to another are essential to ensure that your frame does not end up in a box to take the dust.
Among the various entry-level models, we have set our sights on the Nix Advance.
This frame is available in 8, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 17.3 inches and offers both 720p HD photos and video playback with a motion sensor that automatically turns on the frame when you enter a room and turn it off when you leave it (you have to adjust the delay).
We appreciate the simplicity of configuration of this model: you do not risk tearing your hair, plug your SD card or USB key and go! Digital photo frames being an ideal gift for older family members, this is a real plus.
From a menu available in French (this is not the case for all, so I emphasize this) you can select photos and videos to display, change their orientation, and choose from various transition options. The supplied remote control is handy for less mobile people or when the frame is placed high!
The Nix Advance does not have advanced features like the more expensive models, but it is very popular with consumers. I quickly understood why: the good resolution of the screen allows a beautiful brightness for very clear images, the viewing angles are open and allow to see the photos correctly from the other end of the room.
In conclusion, a very good entry-level device that offers both great ease of use and good image quality.
Tech addicts blame the lack of more advanced features, but to display his family photos with ease at an affordable price, it’s perfectly ideal.
The best mid-range digital photo frames
We have seen that it is quite possible to access quality frames at reasonably reasonable prices. But what about more sophisticated models offering for example a WiFi or Bluetooth connection, or even a more neat aesthetic? A short overview.
Nixplay Seed: the best mid-range
Advantages
- Affordable price
- Internal memory and cloud storage
- Good image quality
- Android and iOS mobile apps
- Wi-Fi connected
Disadvantages
- More complex configuration
- Charging time Wi-Fi a little long
After concentrating on rather classic digital frames and limited functionality, we take a big step forward with the Nixplay Seed, Wi-Fi connected framework and having an iPhone and Android mobile application.
Why connect his digital frame to Wi-Fi, ask me? Simply because it eliminates the need for physical media type USB to transfer photos to the device and store and connect to the remote frame at the same time.
The Nixplay Seed, featuring a 1280 × 800 px LCD IPS screen and available in 10 and 13 inches, has 8 GB of internal memory and 10 GB of cloud memory. The power cord serves quite ingeniously support and everything is a rather sober aesthetic, but nevertheless neat.
The essential features are there: motion detector, timer, auto-rotation, calendar mode. More sophisticated model requires, we are not on the same ease of use.
First of all, only a short paper notice is provided in French: afterwards, it is in your interest to master the language of Shakespeare.
Let’s say it straight away: if you plan to offer this type of device to grandma, keep in mind that you will probably have to provide after-sales … The framework allows you to send photos by email, to access its photos Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Flickr and Google Photos, or even use the web or mobile application to create playlists and add photos remotely.
The mobile app can also be used as a remote control to control the display of your photos on the frame, set playback mode, sleep and transition type.
Once again a very good image quality (we are now used to it, and that’s good!), And we appreciate all the more here the panoramic mode which, unlike the previous models, allows to display the pictures without black stripes and with a nice blurred effect on the edges.
The ability to add and manage photos remotely is a big advantage, a fun way to communicate photos to friends or family members less fond of social networks. We still regret the time of loading photos via Wi-Fi, which can be a bit long.
Nix Lux: a quality product, but can do better
Advantages
- Good image quality
- USB stick provided
- Auto-rotate
Disadvantages
- No panoramic mode
- Limited features
The Nix Lux is proposed for fifty euros more than the Nix Advance that we discussed earlier. This model offers a slightly more aesthetic finish with the choice between a wood or metal look, a resolution of 1024 × 768 and an IPS LCD screen.
The frame allows to read photos in JPEG format and MPEG4 and AVI videos, always from a USB key or SD card. Little more: the frame comes with its USB key, no need to make all the drawers of the house to find one available!
As for the ease of use, we are once again in the photo frame without complications. A user interface available in French makes it easy to set the device.
Once the configuration is done and the photos added, the supplied remote control can manage it without getting up from the chair.
Among the features of this slightly more upscale frame are the auto-rotation that allows you to view your photos horizontally or vertically, a calendar mode and a Hu-motion motion sensor that lights the frame when you enter a room and turn it off when you exit.
This model offers once again a beautiful image quality and very open viewing angles, with different adjustment possibilities for bright and crisp colors. We appreciate the auto-rotation that allows to see his photos in landscape or portrait mode, but regrets a little bit that there is no panoramic mode, otherwise some images are displayed surrounded by black stripes.
Still a quality product of the Nix range, but struggling to distinguish itself from the Nix Advance by its lack of more advanced features. We do not have the same price-performance ratio as other models in the Nix range.
The best digital high-end photo frames
You’ll understand: who says high-end digital photo frame says connectivity. Let’s discover here the cream of the crop, the Nixplay Iris.
Nixplay Iris: the best upscale
Advantages
- Aesthetics and choice of colors
- Smart screen
- Internal memory and cloud storage
- Wi-Fi connected
- Good image quality
Disadvantages
- Sending videos only through iOS
What to expect from the high-end digital Nixplay Iris frame? Once again, this is a connected Wi-Fi frame to which images can be sent via email or via the web or mobile application.
Attention, sending videos (up to 15 seconds) is currently available only from the iOS application.
Iris offers three metallic finishes and a high-quality screen that darkens or brighten according to the level of ambient light and a sound sensor that displays the latest photos when a user is at proximity.
The mobile app connects the frame to five different users, making it a great group gift for parents and grandparents. With the purchase of a Nixplay Iris, we offer you a Nixplay Cloud account with 10GB of free online storage!
Plus, with the Nixplay Seed, you can access your Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Flickr and Google Photos photos and create playlists with the mobile app.
The Nixplay Iris has all the flexibility that a digital photo frame can offer. Video options are limited, it cannot hang on the wall and does not have a USB port or SD card.
In all this, we must not forget the main purpose of a digital frame: highlight the photos, which is extremely good Iris regardless of the lighting used or the angle of view. The Wi-Fi connection makes it easy to share pictures of loved ones without having to deal with storage devices.
And although most frames are plain black plastic, this one brings a little fancy with its color selection.
How to choose your digital photo frame?
Although very popular a decade ago, since the democratization of tablets and smartphones digital photo frames have a little less the wind in their sails.
However, they still have their place in professional contexts such as offices or shops, where they make it possible to highlight marketed products, or for slightly older people, who appreciate their relative ease of use. .
Are you thinking of buying a digital photo frame for yourself or as a gift for a family member? Here are some things to consider.
Utilization facility
When you search for a photo frame for someone who is not very “tech” (an elderly parent for example), ease of use and configuration becomes paramount. Indeed, according to some, the decline in popularity of these devices over the years is directly related to their increasing complexity.
The configuration and use of a photo frame must be relatively simple, even in more elaborate models.
Although more and more complex models are coming onto the market, the primary goal of a photo frame is to display images. A good frame should make it easy to add new photos.
Some frames allow you to play images directly from a USB flash drive or SD card, while others require you to download images from your computer.
Many of the recent frames come with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology, allowing you to add images directly from your phone. If you buy one of these devices for a person who does not master the technology, choose a model that works with a USB stick or SD card.
Size and resolution
You naturally want the clearest and clearest images possible. It is best to search for a frame with a high resolution, as this will provide the best photo display.
Most smartphones and simple digital cameras can take pictures with a resolution that is perfect for 5×7 frames.
LCD or OLED
A digital photo frame with a liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display will give light to photos. The two technologies differ in some respects.
LCD frames
They have been on the market for a little longer and are therefore slightly less expensive than OLEDs, which provide better energy efficiency, brighter colors and improved contrast. Modernized LCD frames with Thin Film Transistor (TFT) technology, however, compete with OLED in terms of weight, thickness and image quality.
OLED frames
They are also generally lighter and thinner, perfect if you plan to place them discreetly on a wall.
HD frames exist in both LCD and OLED, but do not expect Full HD, let alone 4K!
Memory
One of the first things to look at is how the frame stores images. Older or cheaper frames tend to rely on physical storage, with ports for USB sticks or SD cards.
Make sure the frame has its own internal storage for transferring photos, otherwise you have to leave the USB stick or SD card connected permanently.
Newer frames are often compatible with Wi-Fi, giving them direct access to images stored in the cloud.
Some even allow you to connect your Facebook, Instagram, Flickr or Google Photos profile, or even read images from your account. When you share your photos on your social networks or add them to cloud services, you can add them to your photo frame at the same time.
Functionalities
Some of the more expensive settings offer additional features, allowing you to view videos, a calendar or music, or even listen to the radio, surf the internet or watch streaming TV.
The motion sensor
A good frame should have an activity sensor, which allows (usually using a microphone) to detect if someone is in the room and save energy.
Do not forget that pets can trigger the sensor and activate the frame!
Otherwise, you can set a sleep timer and program your frame to turn on or off automatically at certain times of the day, when you go to bed or go to the office, for example. Quality frameworks usually offer both options.
“Smart” frameworks
This is a new category of products inspired by Amazon’s Echo Show, in other words, fixed screens including a virtual assistant. The Echo Show works with Alexa, but there are now smart screens optimized for the Google Assistant.
Smart screens not only allow you to view slideshows, but also watch YouTube, listen to music, schedule directions, or simply request information from Amazon or Google.
