What to look for in a 12-inch digital photo frame?
A 12-inch digital photo frame offers a slightly more immersive display while bringing a slightly more unique design. They pull a little more attention to the display and give just a tad more screen real estate. It’s worth noting that 12-inch digital photo frames aren’t nearly as popular or common as a 10.1-inch digital photo frame. This means you don’t have nearly a large selection of choices of 12-inch frames as you do with other sizes.
Make sure the screen uses a 4:3 aspect ratio. This arguably has the biggest impact on immersion and the viewing experience. Photos that need to be cropped on displays with awkward aspect ratios like 16:9 and 16:10 will be even more apparent on a 12-inch digital frame. 4:3 offers the most versatile experience and matches the aspect ratio of photos taken on most smartphones and digital cameras.
Wi-Fi capability is another key feature – especially with premium digital photo frames. Wi-Fi support enables cloud storage and a host of related features including weather, web radio & music, web albums, sending photos to the frame via mobile app/web interface, remote control functionality, and much more. Frames that use Wi-Fi are significantly more versatile and functional – so it’s worth saving up a little longer.
Bigger displays will make better use of features like video support. Most digital photo frames have limited support for videos (usually less than 1-minute), but it adds quite a bit more personality and connectedness to how you use the frame.
Make sure there is at least 8GB internal storage and that the 12-inch digital photo frame supports USB/SD cards. This lets you use the frame while offline and is ideal for people that live in isolated areas but don’t want to miss out on important family memories.
A 12-inch digital frame should have at least 300cd/m2 of brightness, adjustable color settings, and a viewing angle of 90-degree minimum. This gives them quite a bit of versatility and lets you place them in brightly lit and large rooms. You’ll be able to sit around the dinner table and reminisce over old memories with your family, without the image quality being unviewable to people sitting at an angle.
Features like remote control functionality that let you remotely start slideshows, change settings, manage the frame’s storage, update and download web albums, etc. is a very handy feature. The ability to link the frame to photo albums on your social media and photo-sharing platforms & accounts is a great way to automate photo sharing – and makes it easy for grandparents to see all your new pics without having to lift a finger.
Avoid touchscreens as they aren’t as durable and are fingerprint magnets. You’ll find you spend more time cleaning the screen than you do look at it. More on touchscreens down below. Ensure the remote control is tactile and responsive, with enough range to reach across the room. This is especially important for wall-mountable frames. On that note, if you want to mount the 12-inch digital photo frame on the wall, make sure you get one with a standard VESA mount. Alternatively, hanging mounting holes is enough, but not quite as secure. Finally, ensure the attachable stand is sturdy and avoid frames that are self-standing (by being thicker) as they’re easy to knock over and damage.
Does Pix-Star sell a 12-inch digital photo frame?
The main issue with 12-inch digital photo frames is they’re not very cost-effective. The slightly larger display panels end up costing very close to what you’d pay for a 15-inch panel. They’re also not much bigger than 10-inch frames (which are by far the most popular on the market at the moment). Depending on the aspect ratio being used, in practice, 12-inch frames almost feel the same as 10-inch frames – but can be quite a bit more expensive.
It’s for these reasons that the 12-inch digital photo frame hasn’t been something Pix-Star has focused on in the past. Almost all the top digital photo frame makers stick to one popular size and one larger size. Some have a smaller size too, but value for money also tends to taper off – and you can’t squeeze as much functionality and versatility into smaller frames.
Is a 12-inch digital photo frame better than a 10-inch frame?
In practice, 12-inch digital photo frames feel very similar to 10-inch frames. While this depends on the aspect ratio being used, you might only notice the difference when you use the frame’s side by side.
You might appreciate a little more screen real estate, but in most cases, it’s just not enough to warrant spending significantly more money without getting a very tangible difference in viewing experience or functionality.
Unless the 12-inch digital frame has specific or unique features that you can’t find on any 10-inch frames or a particularly high screen resolution – it’s generally not worth the higher price you’d need to pay.
Should a 12-inch digital photo frame have a touchscreen?
You should avoid touchscreen on all digital photo frames, especially if they’re larger than 8-inches. Larger touchscreen panels are significantly more expensive to make and find. This often means that features and functions need to be cut to stay competitive.
While touchscreens might seem like handy and cool features, they’re more often than not an inconvenience. There will be fingerprints all over the display and they scratch far easier. Matte finish screens are especially tough to clean out the natural oil from your skin.
Touchscreens are less durable, more expensive, and less user-friendly for the elderly. It’s better to avoid them where possible. Most modern digital photo frames have remote control functionality that lets you control the frame from your phone, computer, and a handheld remote.
Is a 12-inch digital photo frame good for grandparents?
Any frame larger than 10-inches is a decent choice for grandparents. If a 10-inch frame isn’t big enough for them, a 12-inch frame probably won’t be either. You’d be better off making a bigger leap and getting a 15-inch frame. That being said, 10, 12, and 15-inch frames offer more than enough screen real estate to be usable, easy to see, and offer a broad enough viewing angle and distance to be practical. It’s more important to look for other features like a 4:3 aspect ratio, and resolutions above 800×600 for an improved viewing experience.
