What are the best Wi-Fi digital photo frames to buy?
There are a ton of options for the best Wi-Fi digital photo frame on market at the moment – though the vast majority of them simply don’t have what it takes. We usually advise you to go for a premium digital photo frame as you get far enhanced performance, versatility, and functionality. It’s well worth the slightly higher price tag and these frames are better suited to families and elderly users.
Pix-Star’s frames are arguably the best Wi-Fi digital photo frames on the market. They have one of the broadest and most robust feature sets – making them excellent choices for both large families and individual users. With extensive Wi-Fi capabilities and free-for-life cloud storage, Pix-Star’s frames are uniquely versatile and fit sleekly into modern rooms and homes. They quickly earn their spot in your home and play a vital role in how you share and connect with your loved ones – regardless of where they are or their tech-savviness.
Pix-Star’s frames can view weather forecasts, listen to web radio & music, play music over slideshows, offer video & audio support, and let you send pictures & other media from anywhere in the world. The support Pix-Star Snap mobile app lets you send up to an impressive 250 pictures in one go – to as many connected Pix-Star frames as you’d like. The interface is intuitive and effortless to use.
Pix-Star’s web interface is unique in that it lets you remotely control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames. Here you can manage both local and cloud storage, change the frame’s settings, start & manage slideshows, and much more. You have almost the same level of control as you would using the frame in person.
Pix-Star’s web album feature is one of the most versatile and family-friendly on the market. You can link & sync photo albums & collections directly from your computer to a connected Pix-Star frame. Here you can also link selected albums directly from a dozen supported social media and photo-sharing platforms; including Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, Google Drive, Dropbox, Flickr, and more. These web albums can be set to automatically updated and sync to your frame whenever you add new photos. This happens across all linked frames and offers an effortless way to share the latest photos in just a couple of clicks.
While it might not seem like it, this web album feature is one of the most unique on the market. It makes the Pix-Star compete easily with alternate choices like smart TVs and tablets by being super-user-friendly and effortless to use. The automation is a huge selling point and ensures that everybody in the family gets all the desired photos as quickly and easily as possible – all without having to lift a finger.
What to look for in the best Wi-Fi digital photo frames?
When you’re looking for the best Wi-Fi digital photo frames, some features heavily outweigh others in terms of versatility and importance. Cloud storage is arguably the most important of these as it keeps all your pictures & other media safe – and lets you centrally manage & control cloud storage across connected frames. Cloud storage forms the foundations – in unison with Wi-Fi connectivity – for features like importing photos from social media profiles and direct from external sources.
A mobile app comes in at close second. This lets you send photos from anywhere in the world. In many cases, you can send over 100 pictures at once – and send them to multiple frames at the same time. Some mobile apps like the Pix-Star Snap let you send videos and audio recordings to any connected frame, and up to 250 pictures at once. They’re all saved to the frame’s internal storage and can be set to automatically display in slideshows as they are received. Note that some brands charge recurring annual fees to unlock the use and features of their mobile app (e.g., Skylight frames).
Make sure the frame you choose has at least an 800×600 display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. This is more important than it seems at face value and can singlehandedly ruin the viewing experience. 4:3 aspect ratios are the best as most smartphones capture 4:3 images. This means you won’t have to manually edit and crop photos before sending and they will display using the frame’s full screen. 16:9 displays are often cropped, distorted, or surrounded by ugly back bars that make the image even smaller.
Do the best Wi-Fi digital photo frames have touchscreens?
We usually advise you to avoid touchscreens as they are more expensive and quite a bit less durable – especially on digital frames. They are fingerprint magnets and the oil from your skin gradually builds up over time and is very hard to completely clean off. This negatively impacts the viewing experience. It’s worse on matte finish displays, and even glossy displays struggle with this (along with being super reflective and hard to see from an angle).
The added cost of the touchscreen needs to be recuperated from other areas of the frame’s functionality and/or performance & quality to stay competitive. With frames like the Pix-Star offering extensive remote-control functionality, touchscreens are unnecessary – plus they can be tricky for elderly users to get the hang of.
How to best maintain Wi-Fi digital photo frames?
Keep your digital photo frames out of direct sunlight and away from over hot/cold spots. You should avoid placing a digital frame in a kitchen (or at least avoid putting them near heat and water sources) and bathroom. Spots with lots of water moisture and humidity can also hurt the frame’s display – though many premium frames are very well designed to avoid these types of issues. If the frame is mounted or rested near a window, keep in mind that the sun shines at different angles depending on the season. Bear this in mind when you’re planning where to wall-mount a digital photo frame.
Can the best Wi-Fi digital photo frames be used offline?
The best Wi-Fi digital photo frames like the Pix-Star offer extensive offline functionality. This is due to a combination of the frame’s 8GB internal storage and USB/SD card support. You can simply insert a USB/SD card loaded with pictures to the relevant port on the frame. You can then either play a slideshow directly from the USB/SD card or copy the contents across to the frame’s internal storage.
Pix-Star’s digital picture frames save all received pictures & other media to internal storage (including synced web albums) so that they are available offline. You can select the folders & files you want to include in slideshows from the Pix-Star’s media library.
