DDigital picture frames are also a nice Christmas present this year. At prices from 100 euros onwards, they show photos and sometimes videos on a display that is usually the diagonal of a tablet, i.e. 10 inches. The photos are on an SD memory card with 32 gigabytes or more and can also be sent to the display from a USB stick or via WLAN. Technically, none of this is rocket science.
There are differences in terms of workmanship and display quality as well as the equipment. We have now tried out a rather expensive device for some time, the Mason Luxe picture frame from the manufacturer Aura Frames. The company has been on the market for a long time and has a whole range of different frames on offer. The Mason Luxe has a display diagonal of 9.7 inches and a resolution of 2048 × 1536 pixels. It costs 260 euros. The “Smith” is also available for 400 euros with the same technical data but higher quality edging. A cheaper model is the “Mason” without additional name in 9-inch format with 1600 × 1200 pixels for 200 euros.
The Mason Luxe comes in a dignified gift box, which, in addition to the frame, also includes the instructions and the power supply unit with a 1.40 meter long cable. The connection of the cable to the device is proprietary. It’s actually a shame, a USB-C socket would offer more flexibility. The frame measures 32 centimeters diagonally, and not everyone likes the fat border around the display. You should also consider the depth of five centimeters. The Mason Luxe stands on a flat surface in portrait or landscape format; the images are automatically scaled when the orientation is changed.
With cable connection: Unfortunately, a proprietary connection is used.
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Image: Manufacturer
What this frame lacks is a memory card slot. Photos and videos have to go through the cloud, and Aura Frames has come up with a lot. You load an app for iOS or Android, connect the frame to your WLAN, create a user account and then select photos or videos from your own smartphone or tablet library to upload to the Aura server. Not everyone likes the fact that third parties may see their own family photos or private items here.
After a while, the photos and videos arrive on the picture frame, and the display can be configured in a variety of ways in the app. The duration of the slide show can be set between 15 seconds and 24 hours per image, the order can be changed and much more. If family members create their own Aura accounts, they can also send their snapshots to the frame. It is therefore ideal, for example, to constantly provide the grandparents with fresh photo feed, even if all family members live far away from each other.
If the frame user wants to switch quickly from one picture to the next, he wipes a touch-sensitive bar on the upper or side edge. This control can also be used to activate some functions of the Mason Luxe without having to pick up a smartphone. So you can switch off the digital picture frame or delete individual photos. Thanks to built-in speakers, videos can even be played with sound. To avoid irritation, however, the audio is only output when you tap the control bar. The ambient light is measured with built-in sensors and the display is adapted. The quality of the display is excellent and the frame turns off automatically in the dark.
The storage space for photos and videos is unlimited, and there are no additional costs. We liked the Mason Luxe and is recommended as a high-quality Christmas present. Please note that the recipient must have WiFi at home and that the app has the option of adding photos to the frame in advance, which are then shown immediately after unpacking.
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