MOST of us have hundreds of great shots of our families, friends, holidays and other special moments stored on our phones, but sadly hardly anyone else gets to see them.
A digital photo frame is a great way to free your photos from the confines of your phone so you can enjoy them in your home instead.
Some frames have built-in memory to upload your images to but with others you just plug in an SD card or a USB stick.
Newer, fancier models even offer WiFi connectivity which takes things to a whole new level. They connect to the cloud to access photos straight from your phone or some can even be connected to your social media accounts.
They also enable you to share photos with friends and family who are on your network of connected frames – fancy.
Digital photo frames have improved drastically over the years
We tested: Nixplay W10F Smart 10.1ich Photo Frame
- Nixplay W10F Smart 10.1 inch photo frame, £155.80 from Amazon – buy here
If like us you never quite fulfil the intention of printing and displaying photos in your home, the Nixplay photo frame could be the solution.
You don't even need to narrow down your choice of photos – you can now show them all.
We tested out the W10F frame (10.1 inch with Wi-Fi) and were suitably impressed.
Its simple, stylish design means it doesn’t look out of place next to other photo frames and would suit any modern home decor. It comes in a few different colours and designs, too.
The screen itself has a very clear display with no glare and pictures can come onto the screen with a range of PowerPoint type movements. We switched between these regularly and loved that there was a different photo on display each time we looked at the frame.
With the easy-to-use Nixplay app, you can set your photos to stay from anywhere between 5 seconds to a few minutes. We preferred a relatively quick turnover of photos, as we found it entertaining to watch new photos appear on the screen.
Our favourite feature was the frame’s motion sensor that allows the screen to go into standby and recommence photo display when it detects motion. We also had it set to sleep at certain times of the day, such as when we weren't home or were watching a movie.
Handy other features include the option to add a clock display, show captions on your photos and a remote control enabling you to click through the photos more quickly or to switch the album being shown.
The frame has built-in speakers for videos with sound, and the volume can also be adjusted with the remote control. This is a function we didn't use, although we struggled to see the appeal of it, as it probably wouldn't be something we would normally look for in a photo frame.
The frame’s integrated storage is vast allowing a few hundred pictures to be saved on the frame at a time. Uploading photos is very simple (although we found it took a few minutes over Wi-Fi) and you have the option to store them in different albums once uploaded.
Albums can also be imported directly from Google which can save time if your pictures are already well organised but if not, photos can be easily selected from the gallery on your smartphone.
With the frame being quite expensive, we probably won't be replacing every frame in the house with one of these. However, one of the key features which we believe set this frame apart, and may also make it an ideal gift, is the ability to share photos with friends and family via their frame.
Rather than simply looking at photos on smartphones, you can invite friends and family via a link in the app, and they can create a Nixplay account and upload pictures to be displayed on your (or their) frame to be enjoyed on a larger screen.
Overall, we would definitely recommend the Nixplay frame, and a few of our family members will be finding these under their trees this Christmas.
2. We Tested: Aura Carver Smart Digital Photo Frame
- Aura Carver smart digital picture frame, £129 from Amazon – buy here
We tested out the Aura Carver frame, a WiFi-connected digital photo frame that allows you to quickly share photos straight from your phone using the Aura app.
The frame comes in three colours – white chalk, charcoal, and limited edition mat (a dark slate colour), and has a large display size of 10.1 inches, which is Full HD 1920 x 1200.
There's no doubt the digital frame looks impressive when you get it out of the box. Its sleek design has a high-quality finish which would complement most interiors.
We also found it incredibly easy to set up – just plug it in, download the app, connect the frame to Wi-Fi, add some photos and you're good to go. It took us about 15 minutes from getting it out of the box to having it elegantly displaying some of our favourite pre-pandemic holiday snaps.
The frame is designed to be used landscape and will automatically pair up portrait images side-by-side, though you can always pair these up yourself using the app if you'd rather.
It has free unlimited photo storage, meaning you can invite your family and friends to share their photos without ever worrying about running out of space. This also means if you gift one to a family member who lives far away and connect them to your Aura network, you'll instantly be able to share all your favourite photos with them. A feature that we love.
There are loads of other great features and functions too, such as a Gift Set-up feature so you can pre-load photos before gifting the frame to someone, and a Quality Filter that automatically removes blurry photos and duplicates.
The Aura Carver also shares your photos at the perfect brightness for the room you’re in and will switch off automatically when the room goes dark too.
You can choose the speed of the slideshow, decide whether to display your photos randomly or in chronological order, and also can control your frame from a touch bar at the head of the device, as well as the app.
All in all, we loved the Carver frame. We found it intuitive to use, found it fit seamlessly into the surroundings of our home and we thoroughly enjoyed watching new photos appear on the screen as they sparked great memories and conversation.
3. Kodak Plug-and-play Digital Photo Frame
- Plug-and-play 10-inch digital picture frame, £79.99 from Amazon – buy here
Hats off to Kodak for producing a digital photo frame that looks almost identical to a wooden picture frame – it even includes a hook for wall-mounting.
With no apps or software to download, it’s super-quick to set up – simply plug in an SD card or USB memory stick containing all the photos, videos and music you want to feature and the frame will shuffle through them all in an automated slideshow display.
Set the timer to control when the frame comes on or off or simply use the supplied remote control to switch it off when you want to.
4. Echo Show 8
- Echo Show 8, 2nd Gen, 2021, £119.99 from Amazon – buy here
If you're after a multi-functional digital photo frame, the Echo Show 8 could be the way to go.
You can use Amazon Photos to turn the screen into a digital frame, as well as make high-quality video calls, watch TV programmes and films, stream music and much more.
It has an 8" HD touchscreen display, has adaptive colour to enhance every photo, and comes in two colours; glacier white and charcoal.
5. Google Nest Hub
- Google Nest Hub, 2nd Gen, £69.99 from John Lewis – buy here
Very similar to the Echo Show above, the Nest Hub is Google's version of an all-singing all-dancing digital frame.
Display your favourite photos using Google Photos, and use it to stream your favourite tv shows, music and make hands-free calls.
It has a 7" LCD touch display and can also be controlled by voice – simply ask Google to "display your Google Photos".
6. Facebook Portal
- Facebook Portal 10” with Alexa, £99 from Curry’s PC World – buy here
If you’re looking for a way to feel connected to family members who live abroad, Facebook’s WiFi-enabled Portal acts both as a digital photo frame and an instantly accessible video calling device.
The frame will allow you to quickly make video calls using Facebook or WhatsApp and you can even connect it to Alexa for easy hands-free video calling.
Another fun feature is Story Time – the Portal uses the magic of AR to transform you into a child’s favourite character as you read a story to them, with added music and animation.
When not being used for calls, the device will display all your favourite images from Facebook and Instagram, or from a USB or SD card.
7. Samsung 2020 QLED TV
- The Frame 2020 QLED art mode smart TV, £999 from Very – buy here
So it’s not actually a digital frame, but with a special mount that means it sits flush to the wall and Art Mode functionality that displays either your own digital photos or artwork from Samsung’s expanding library, this TV looks more like a piece of art than a telly.
When it’s not being an artwork it’s also a brilliant TV, with amazing picture quality thanks to 3840 × 2160 Ultra HD resolution and a range of catch-up TV apps including Disney+, Apple TV, Now TV and BT Sport.
How do digital photo frames work?
A digital photo frame works by plugging in a USB or downloading images from your computer onto the screen. It then plays the images like a slideshow.
Are digital photo frames worth it?
The quality of the images are very good in newer models and environmentally, it allows you display hundreds of images without needing to print them all out.
Plus, it means you can switch up which pictures you have on display whenever you fancy.
How much electricity does a digital photo frame use?
This varies between each frame but generally they only need to use a very small amount of electricity.
An eight inch frame will use about 61 kilowatts over the course of a year.
Where can I buy a digital photo frame?
The places where you're most likely to find a good selection of digital photo frames are:
- Amazon
- John Lewis
- Currys
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