Is a 7” digital photo frame worth buying?
We don’t recommend buying a 7” digital photo frame for families, modern homes, and even elderly users. While these frames can be quite cheap, they tend to miss a lot of important features such as Wi-Fi, cloud storage, a mobile app, etc. Most 7” digital photo frames have low-resolution displays (lower than 800×600) and limited slideshow features.
The most popular digital frame size on the market is the 10” frame. It offers a more immersive viewing experience, more slideshow settings, and key features like Wi-Fi, cloud storage and related features, sending photos via email or mobile app, remote configuration, and much more.
While it’s a more expensive frame, it’s almost always worth saving up a little longer for a 10-inch frame. Many of the best digital frame brands offer a 10-inch frame and great build quality. Many of the 7” digital photo frames feel very outdated and haven’t been popular for several years. We generally recommend sticking to a handful of good digital frame brands as their quality and features offer the best value for money on the market.
Does Pix-Star sell a 7” digital photo frame?
Pix-Star does not sell a 7” digital photo frame. Like most other popular digital frame brands, Pix-Star sells a 10” frame, but also sells a larger 15” digital photo frame. Pix-Star’s 10” frame is one of the most popular markets, offering free-for-life cloud storage, Wi-Fi & cloud connectivity, remote control support, importing photos from social media, a mobile app & web interface, video and audio support, and much more.
There are no 7” digital photo frames on the market that offer anywhere near as many features and helpful functions as the Pix-Star frame. While the upfront cost is higher, it’s well worth saving up a little longer. Pix-Star’s frames are cheaper than most other top digital frames – and unlike Skylight or Nixplay – Pix-Star doesn’t charge any recurring fees or subscriptions.
Is 7” the best size for a digital photo frame?
Most 7” digital photo frames are found in the cheap or mid-range of the market. These frames aren’t typically built with high-quality materials and don’t offer many key features including Wi-Fi and cloud functionality. Additionally, very few reputable digital frame brands sell a 7” digital photo frame and it’s tough to know which frames are acceptable in terms of quality and real-world performance.
10” digital photo frames are the most popular on the market at the moment. They offer excellent value for money, good display resolution, and extensive Wi-Fi & cloud features. Most top digital frame brands sell a 10-inch frame, with some – like Pix-Star – selling larger 15-inch frames too. These 10” and 15” digital frames are among the most trusted, offer good value for money, and have extensive feature sets that cater to both families and elderly users.
Do 7” digital photo frames use touchscreens?
It’s more common to find 7” digital photo frames with touchscreens than it is to find larger 10” and 15” frames with touchscreens. This is due to touch displays being more expensive for larger panels (8” and larger). Some cheap and mid-range 7” digital frames can use touchscreens as they don’t need premium features including Wi-Fi, cloud storage, a mobile app, etc.
Touchscreen digital frames often have to sacrifice features such as Wi-Fi and cloud connectivity to keep the frame competitively priced – which is why few premium digital frames use touchscreens. Touchscreen digital frames are also less durable, scratch more easily, and need frequent cleaning – especially for glossy/reflective touchscreen displays (which are often hard to see clearly in well-lit rooms).
Can I load photos to a 7” digital photo frame with Wi-Fi?
Most 7” digital photo frames can’t connect to Wi-Fi and don’t offer any cloud-enabled features. Instead, they rely on using a USB or SD card to load photos to the frame’s internal storage. In some cases, plug & play support lets you play photo slideshows directly from a connected USB or SD card without having to copy anything to local storage first.
It’s worth noting that many cheap and mid-range 7” digital photo frames limit the maximum size of connected USBs or SD cards. In most cases, you can’t use a USB/SD card that’s larger than 32GB. For comparison, digital frames like the Pix-Star let you use any size of USB or SD card and support plug & play – giving you unlimited space for your photos.
What aspect ratio do 7” digital photo frames have?
Most 7” digital photo frames use a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is better for playing videos, though not ideal for photo slideshows. For displaying photos, a digital photo frame with a 4:3 aspect ratio is best. Most modern smartphones have a 4:3 camera sensor, which means these frames can display these photos without cropping, zooming, or any distortion.
Top digital frames like the Pix-Star use a 4:3 aspect ratio to avoid requiring edits to pictures before sending. You don’t need to worry about photos being surrounded by black pillar bars and intelligent features like “Smart Fill” ensure photos are immersive and full-screen.
Are 7” digital photo frames battery-powered?
Battery-powered frames are not common on today’s market – even for smaller 7” digital photo frames. Most battery-run frames are limited in terms of their display size, resolution, and feature set, making it hard for them to compete with non-battery-powered frames like the Pix-Star.
These digital frames tend to have a relatively short battery life of anywhere between 2 to 4 hours – which isn’t much for an ambient display. You’ll find that you need to keep the battery-run frame close to the power outlet – negating much of its enhanced mobility. Additionally, battery longevity is a major concern as these batteries have limited charge cycles before needing a replacement.
For these reasons, very few reputable digital photo frame brands sell battery-run digital frames. Instead, they emphasize functionality, larger 10” to 15” displays, and modern feature sets that can cater to families and elderly users (e.g., sending photos via mobile apps and from social media, remote configuration support, cloud storage, etc.).
