Are Nixplay digital photo frames the best frames on the market?
Nixplay digital photo frames are premium digital frames that a quite popular. They have premium features, access to a mobile app & web dashboard, plenty of options for sending & receiving photos wirelessly, and more. Nixplay’s 10-inch frame is a great option and one of the market’s most popular frames – but they’re far from the best.
Nixplay’s digital frames have several issues that take away a lot from the frame’s overall performance. Firstly, the 16:9 display aspect ratio is a major issue – especially since these frames rely so heavily on photos being sent from mobile phones via the app. Most smartphones shoot in 4:3, meaning that digital frames with 16:9 displays have to crop, distort, or box in these photos. It has a significant impact on immersion and the overall viewing experience.
Another key consideration is the Nixplay Plus optional subscription. We’ll talk more about his down below – but with this subscription, these frames lose access to almost all the features that put them in the premium range. When you consider the long-term cost including the subscription plus the base price, you get nowhere near the value for money you’d get with a competing frame like the Pix-Star.
Web album support is limited to just a couple of platforms, which is still better than nothing, but not enough to justify the high price of these frames (especially when compared to the largest digital photo frames). You have to take into account the user experience too, even though this can be very vague at the time. The mobile app isn’t the smoothest out there. It’s rather buggy and requires you to create an account. This can be a headache for elderly users – especially when you consider that top frames like the Pix-Star have excellent mobile apps that don’t require you to create an account.
Nixplay’s digital photo frames have rather limited remote-control support. While it claims that you have total control over the frame via the mobile app, it’s not true in practice. The app is finicky and slow to respond on the frame – often resulting in actions being doubled.
Nixplay’s 10-inch frame also uses a touchscreen – something we seldom recommend getting due to its poor longevity and durability. They’re very prone to scratching and are significantly more expensive than non-touch panels of the same size. This higher cost needs to be offset elsewhere in the frame’s feature set or performance to keep the price competitive. This is probably part of the reason that these frames have to charge an extra annual subscription fee.
Is the Nixplay digital photo frame’s Plus subscription worth it?
We rarely recommend getting a digital photo frame that requires a paid subscription to be fully operational – and this is certainly true for Nixplay’s digital frames. Without the Nixplay Plus subscription, these frames lose almost all of the features that make them feel premium. You don’t get cloud storage, only 15-seconds of video playback, the ability to create playlists, multi-frame control groups, and more.
By contrast, Pix-Star’s 10-inch digital frames offer all of these features including free-for-life cloud storage and the ability to control & manage up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames – and much more. With Pix-Star, you don’t need to pay for any of these features. You can play 2-minute video clips with Pix-Star’s frames; compared with the 15-seconds on Nixplay (and 1-minute clips if you get Nixplay Plus).
When you consider that Nixplay’s frame has a higher base price than frames like the Pix-Star, it’s hard to see the value for money. This is made even worse when you factor in the cost of Nixplay’s frames over their lifetime with the premium Nixplay Plus subscription plan.
At this price point, few frames offer more value for money than Pix-Star. They’re comfortably one of the most versatile frames – and they don’t charge a cent extra. This is fantastic considering the free-for-life cloud storage, access to both a mobile app & web dashboard, web album support for a dozen different platforms, video & audio support, and much more.
How to send photos to Nixplay digital photo frames?
The best way to send photos to the Nixplay digital frame is through the mobile app. There are limits on the number of photos you can send in one go, and on the number of photos that can be saved in a single playlist. Another common way to get photos to your frame is to link them from Facebook, Instagram, or Dropbox via the web dashboard. Note that it’s not an easy interface to use and will take some getting used to. There aren’t as many supported platforms, and the limitations are stricter than with frames like the Pix-Star.
Do Nixplay digital photo frames offer cloud storage?
Nixplay’s digital photo frames don’t offer cloud storage with the frame’s base package. Cloud storage is an essential digital photo frame feature for 2021. You’ll need to purchase the annual subscription package to unlock cloud storage. You’ll get 50GB of storage space for your photos and they can be set up to backup automatically. That being said, it’s not the greatest deal as frames like the Pix-Star offer free-for-life cloud storage without charging a cent extra.
You’re not likely to run out of cloud storage space once you purchase the Nixplay Plus, though that could change if you have several frames for the whole family. Another key point worth noting is that everybody that uses the app needs to have a subscription or they won’t be able to use all the features like sending videos or for the multi-frame control group function.
Can Nixplay digital photo frames play videos & audio?
Nixplay digital photo frames can play 15-second videos as they come out of the box. This is the base allowance without buying the premium Nixplay Plus annual subscription. If you want to extend video playback support, you need to pay for the Nixplay Plus subscription plan. It’s paid annually and will unlock video playback to let you play 1-minute video clips (which isn’t much as Pix-Star’s frames let you play 2-minute clips without paying for any subscription fees). Audio playback is supported – just make sure to stick to the format and size guidelines to avoid any compatibility issues.
