Digital photo frames make it possible to put hundreds of photos into a single frame, but the cords and glare mean the tech is better suited for a tabletop than a wall. Aura’s newest photo frame, however, is not just cord-free but is made to blend in with prints in a gallery wall thanks to e-ink.
The Aura Ink is a cordless 13-inch frame that uses e-ink rather than LEDs. Taking inspiration from the tech used to make e-readers (like the Kindle) longer lasting and easier on the eyes, the Aura Ink is a cordless digital frame with up to a three-month battery life rating.
The e-ink technology, however, isn’t only about creating a frame that’s power-friendly enough to ditch the cord. Aura says Ink uses a proprietary E Ink Spectra 6 technology that uses six ink color dots to make up a color photograph. The result, Aura says, is a “a vintage-toned display that brings out the warmth of a sunset, the subtlety of a black-and-white portrait, and, most importantly, the joy of a loved one’s face.” The close-up of the ink dots almost reminds me a little of film grain.
Aura says that Ink’s more paper-like surface will also help the digital frame not to look so out of place when mixed in with printed photographs on a gallery wall. The frame includes a paper-textured mat and a glossy finish.
E-ink readers can appear dim without a built-in light, so Aura included what they describe as a “subtle” front lighting that’s around 1/8th the brightness of an LCD. That light adjusts as the light in the room changes, with the frame using built-in light and motion sensors.
The Aura Ink is automatically set to swap images just once per day – users can change those settings, though increasing the number of photographs displayed each day will decrease that three-month battery life rating.
As a photographer and avid Kindle reader, I’m highly intrigued by the idea of an e-ink screen. I love the idea of a digital photo frame, but most of my photos hang on the wall rather than sitting on a shelf or a table, and a cord would just ruin the look of one of my many gallery walls that I have.
The Aura Ink isn’t the first e-ink frame. The $499 price is higher than other Aura frames, but sits under the recently launched InkPoster that starts at $599 in the US. International pricing and availability for the Aura Ink haven’t yet been announced.
The Aura Ink is available to order direct from Aura.
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