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Aura Launches E-Ink Digital Photo Frame Addressing Common Criticisms of Digital Frames

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$499, but it looks like a printed photo.

Aura has released a new digital photo frame called the Aura Ink, which uses color e-ink technology to create a display that resembles a printed photograph.

Technology

The Aura Ink frame uses e-ink technology, similar to that found in e-readers, which produces a display that does not emit light like an LED screen. The current e-ink display manufacturer can only produce six colors: red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black. Aura developed a dithering algorithm to blend these colors into gradients, allowing for more realistic image reproduction.

Features

The 13.3-inch frame connects to the Aura app, which supports photo uploads from phone, web, email, iCloud, or Google Photos. The app includes social features for sharing photos among users. The frame changes photos once per day by default and requires charging via USB-C about once per month. The frame includes mounting hardware.

Comparison

Aura also offers the 12-inch LED Aspen frame for $229. Company representatives state that the dithering algorithm is optimized for portraits. According to user feedback reported by the company, some viewers perceive the color reproduction as acceptable while others, such as an analog film photographer, found it needed improvement.

“Some viewers perceive the color reproduction as acceptable, while an analog film photographer found it needed improvement.”