Are Kohl’s digital photo frames worth the money?
Kohl’s digital photo frames refer to the catalog of digital frames sold on Kohl’s online shopping platform. Kohl’s isn’t a brand of digital picture frames like Pix-Star or Skylight – but rather a shopping hub. While Kohl’s catalog of digital frames is larger than Target’s or Walmart’s, they’re still extremely limited.
For the premium range, Kohl’s only sells the Aura digital photo frames. They sell a couple of different models from Aura – but they come with a steep Aura price tag. Aura digital photo frames are arguably the most expensive digital photo frame brand, though they offer surprisingly few features considering their price.
Aura’s digital photo frames do have great display resolution, but this is let down by their awkward 16:9 aspect ratio. Since most of our smartphones & cameras shoot in 4:3 or 3:2 respectively, wider & narrower displays like 16:9 and 16:10 don’t do well. Most of the photos sent from smartphones and cameras will end up being cropped or distorted. In many cases, photos will be boxed into the center of the display by large unsightly black pillar bars.
Aura digital photo frames are also missing key features like a smooth & refined mobile app, access to a web dashboard, remote control functionality, and more. They can’t be connected into multi-frame control groups and aren’t a great choice for families (and their steep price tag doesn’t help either). As with all premium frames, there’s always a little give and take. In Aura’s case, the high-resolution display panels are very expensive. This cost needs to be offset from other areas of the frame’s performance and feature set.
For the mid-range, you can choose from a selection of Aluratek digital photo frames. If you’ve never heard of this brand before – we won’t hold it against you. They’re not very popular and are too limited to cater to the needs of modern homes & families. The interfaces feel outdated and key features like an intuitive mobile app & web dashboard are missing. It’s not as easy to send photos to these frames from anywhere in the world and they struggle to compete with what top digital photo frames like the Pix-Star are offering.
In summary, if you’re after value for money, getting a digital photo frame at Kohl’s probably isn’t the best idea. With other platforms like Amazon, you can choose from hundreds of digital photo frames, read through thousands of reviews and Q&As. Through reading in-depth product reviews, comparing several similar frames, and making the best use of all the other information, you can paint an accurate picture of how the frame performs in the real world.
Are Pix-Star’s frames a better choice than Kohl’s digital photo frames?
Pix-Star’s digital photo frames are one of the most popular frames on the market today. Pix-Star is known for its ease of use, robust feature set, and is one of the few premium brands that focus on families & elderly users. This is seen through their free-for-life cloud storage, smooth interfaces, remote control functionality, and family-focused features like a mobile app & web dashboard.
Pix-Star’s digital photo frames aren’t available at Kohl’s – much like almost all other premium digital frames. They can be found at Amazon or through Pix-Star’s online shop. With Pix-Star’s digital frames, you can connect & manage up to 25 Pix-Star frames by creating multi-frame control groups. The remote-control feature lets you adjust their settings, start & control slideshows, and manage both local & cloud storage. All of this is easily done through the web dashboard from anywhere in the world.
Pix-Star’s digital frames offer versatile slideshows, easy navigation, photo-mail, web album support, and both video & audio playback. You can link & view photo albums directly from your social media profile to your frame via the web album feature. Videos can be sent to the frame by USB/SD card or through the Pix-Star Snap mobile app. Slideshows can include videos and photos sent from several different sources at the same time – and you can play radio stations or songs/audio files over slideshows too.
Pix-Star created the idea of having a digital photo frame with a dedicated & unique email address. This has since developed into a robust and capable digital frame that’s arguably one of the best on today’s market. Pix-Star’s frames are available in either a 10-inch or a larger 15-inch version. They offer excellent value for money and will easily slot into – and cater to – the needs of families, modern homes, and elderly users.
Can Kohl’s digital photo frames work without Wi-Fi?
Kohl’s digital photo frames like the Aura frame cannot work without being connected to Wi-Fi. You can connect them to a mobile hotspot or a standard Wi-Fi connection (so long as it doesn’t require web authentication). Aura frames are quite unlike all other premium frames in that they have no offline functionality. Competing frames like the Pix-Star have 8GB of internal storage and extensive offline functionality. You can view slideshows, manage storage, and much more. If you want a digital photo frame that works offline, Kohl’s frames are not a good choice.
How to send photos & videos to Kohl’s digital photo frames?
Most of Kohl’s digital photo frames can only receive photos by USB/SD card. They don’t have Wi-Fi connectivity or a photo-mail function. This is common for most mid-range or budget digital frames as they don’t support Wi-Fi or cloud storage. Aura frames have more options for sending and receiving photos – but the whole process relies on having an active connection to the cloud. Without that connection, these expensive Aura frames are nothing more than a pretty – but blank – display.
How long do Kohl’s digital photo frames last?
Most of Kohl’s digital photo frames are in the budget to mid-range. This end of the market is not known for its longevity or build quality. It’s the main reason that we recommend getting a more premium frame like the Pix-Star. Their superior build quality, intuitive interfaces, and quality displays make them far less likely to run into issues after just a couple of months.
