Digital photo frames: Pure magic
Or how a little bit of technology can make a big difference
It’s been a hectic few weeks here at The Rectangle. Whether it’s pieces about Apple’s design heritage or AI-driven bodyslop, we’ve published a lot of longform deepdives. The thing is, it’s all been a bit serious and downbeat.
If there’s one founding ethos behind The Rectangle it’s that technology isn’t a monolith; there’s good and bad in almost everything that happens. The way to approach that is through being holistic. We have to look at both sides.
This is why, today, I want to spend some time shouting about one of the gadgets that gives me the most joy: the digital photo frame. God bless each and every one.
The reason this came up again is because of a company called Aura. They recently launched a digital photo frame with a colour e-ink display. Imaginatively called the Ink, it’s designed to more closely mimic a regular picture, meaning it doesn’t need to plugged in.
Effectively, the Ink can last for around 3 months on battery power. This differs to most digital photo frames, which regularly use backlit LCD screens that require constant power.
Before you run and grab one, though, we must temper ourselves. The Ink is exciting, but this type of colour e-ink tech is definitely at the early adopter phase. Currently, Aura’s device costs about $500 and some reviewers have noted issues with the display.
Still, this is sick. When the price comes down, ya boi is picking one of these up because — as previously noted — digital photo frames are the bomb. I’d go as far to say as they’re one of my favourite pieces of technology.
I’ve had a Lenovo Smart Display 10 for several years now and it’s one of the best things I have in my house.
Effectively, it’s a voice-activated screen with a speaker. Yes, it’s useful for asking the weather or putting on timers, but it’s the photo frame element that elevates it.
It works elegantly. Several years ago I created a shared Google Photos folder and, every so often, transfer pictures to it. The frame then cycles through these images. It’s glorious — and solves one of the biggest issues with modern technology in the process.
In the past couple of years I’ve gotten into analogue photography. One of the reasons I went this route is because digitalism has somewhat devalued pictures. Sometimes, it feels pointless to take a snap, and phone photography feels worthless.
This is for a couple of reasons. The first is that with modern drives and cloud storage we can take what amounts to an infinite number of shots. There’s no need to wait for the perfect moment, you can take hundreds of photos and then comb through for your favourites.
It’s the second part where things get interesting though. One reason why digital pictures have a tinge of worthlessness is because they don’t really live anywhere. In the days of analogue photography, you’d receive actual prints, a physical representation of the importance of the pictures.
Digital photography doesn’t really have anything like this. Beyond occasionally flicking back through the photos app when you’re on a flight and have nothing better to do, your shots just sit there, never truly valued or engaged with.
It’s this issue that digital photo frames solve.
Now, I have a reason to take pictures on my phone, because I have somewhere to display them. This not only functions as a way of giving photos more perceived value, but also acts as a great memory refresher and source of joy. Each day I see hundreds of photos of friends, family, and general good times.
That’s the magic of digital photo frames.
If you’re after a nice gift, or just want to bring some more joy into daily life, I can’t recommend one highly enough.
See, technology’s not all bad.