We’re big fans of Aura’s digital picture frames, which goes beyond simply displaying photos by allowing people to share images with family and friends, making it easier to keep up with distant loved ones via photographs. Like other LCD-based display frames, it requires a steady power source, requiring you to run a power cord, which doesn’t exactly offer the best aesthetics. The Aura Ink offers a reprieve from that predicament.
Instead of an LCD panel, the digital picture frame uses a power-saving e-paper display (the kind they use in e-readers), allowing it to run on battery power for up to three months at a time. Whether you hang it on a wall, put it on a shelf, or set it down on a small table, it can stand there like an analog picture frame with no need to be tethered to a power outlet.
The Aura Ink is digital picture frame that’s about as slim as an analog picture frame, coming in at just half an inch thick. It uses a color e-paper display that measures 13.3 inches with 1600 x 1200 resolution, allowing you to display reasonably large photos in both portrait and landscape orientations (it automatically adjusts based on placement). According to the outfit, it uses a modified color E-Ink panel that’s been reinforced with a proprietary dithering algorithm, which expands the six ink colors of the e-paper into what appears like millions of different color tones. As such, it’s able to show images in full color, albeit with with a softly-lit, vintage appearance that resembles newsprints from back in the day. It really adds to the aesthetic.
There’s a built-in front light that automatically adjusts its brightness based on the room’s ambient lighting. When the lights in the room are turned off, by the way, the front light automatically turns off, which should help further extend the battery life. Additionally, users can set a schedule for the front light to turn on and off.
The Aura Ink is set to switch to a different image only once a day by default, which is necessary if you want to achieve the full three month battery life rating. You can set it to update more frequently, as well as set the intervals, although that will definitely cut down on the battery life. Do note, since this is an E-Ink panel, switching to a new image takes a while (around 30 seconds), with the screen flashing multiple times as the color pigments shift onscreen. All of those actions can be done through the companion app, although there are also built-in buttons, which probably aren’t the best to use considering how slow e-paper refreshes.
As with the outfit’s other digital picture frames, you can upload an unlimited number of photos to it via the company’s cloud service. Adding photos is completely free, as well, with none of the monthly subscriptions many cloud services now require. Each picture frame comes with a stand for setting down on flat surfaces and a mounting kit for putting the whole thing up the wall.
The Aura Ink is available now, priced at $499.
