If you’ve spent any time looking for the best Wi-Fi digital frame of 2022 for your home and family – you’ll know it’s not as easy as it looks. Many of the top frames are very similar on paper. It’s only through deeper inspection or real-life experience that you notice their vast differences.
In this guide, we’re going to unpack why we think the Pix-Star Wi-Fi digital frame is arguably the best frame on the market in 2022. You’re going to learn about its most prominent features, how they work, and if they’re right for you!
Pix-Star’s frames are often overlooked for brands with “flashier” marketing. Sadly, those brands and their frames often leave their users with a sour aftertaste.
Our goal is to help you avoid common buying mistakes, and ensure you don’t get trapped by the allure of flashy – yet empty or impractical – features. Not only do we cover Pix-Star’s best and most versatile features, but we also dive into how they compare with each of the most popular digital frame brands!
By the time we’re done here, we’re confident you’ll see through many of the top frame’s claims. You’ll see the real value of Pix-Star’s frames – and why they’re capable of catering effortlessly to the modern home and family! You’ll have everything you need to find the best digital frame with Wi-Fi for 2022 and beyond!
What Makes the Pix-Star the Best Wi-Fi Digital Frame of 2022?
The Pix-Star Wi-Fi digital frame is one of the most popular frames on the market in 2022. They’re very easy to use and quick to set up. Pix-Star’s frames are one of the few high-end frames that specifically cater to elderly users and families at the same time. Despite this, they don’t sacrifice functionality for the individual user or modern home.
Pix-Star offers extensive Wi-Fi and cloud connectivity. You get free-for-life cloud storage without having to pay extra subscription fees (as is required by both Nixplay and Skylight frames). Cloud backups are automatic and are remotely accessible. This is great for families that want to get their less tech-savvy elderly users more involved without spending hours on frustrating phone calls.
In terms of features and functions, Pix-Star’s frames are some of the most robustly packed and versatile on the market. With both a great mobile app and web interface, along with remote configuration support and social media photo album imports, bulk photo-sharing is effortless.
The ability to manage and control several Pix-Star frames at the same time makes it the ideal choice for families. When you combine this will their great USB/SD card support, internal storage, and offline file explorer, you get everything you need from a digital frame for the modern home and family!
Pix-Star’s immersive viewing experience is further supported by its versatile slideshows. You can adjust many of these features remotely via the web interface, start slideshows from anywhere, and even create multi-frame control groups with up to 25 Pix-Star frames.
A 4:3 aspect ratio for Pix-Star’s display is ideal for displaying photos. You don’t need to worry about pictures being edited, cropped, or surrounded by black bars. Additionally, you can play 2-minute video clips in slideshows, play audio files over these slideshows, and even connect to external speakers/headphones for one of the most immersive viewing experiences on the market.
Now, let’s take a couple of minutes to explore some of Pix-Star’s most capable and versatile features. We’ll look at the impact they have on the frame’s overall performance, who they suit best, and how they compare to what other frames offer at this – and similar – price points. Let’s start with the Pix-Star Snap mobile app and the frame’s unique web dashboard!
The Pix-Star Snap Mobile App
The Pix-Star Snap mobile app is probably the most capable mobile app on the digital frame market. It’s super easy to set up and has a minimalistic interface. You don’t need to create an account for each user and none of its features are locked behind a paywall (as is the case with Nixplay and Skylight).
The Pix-Star Snap mobile app lets you send up to 250 pictures to several Pix-Star frames at the same time. This is the perfect feature for families as you can share tons of photos to everybody’s frames in just a couple of moments. Additionally, you can send 2-minute video clips and audio messages to any of your frames – no matter where you are in the world.
To add your frame to the Pix-Star mobile app, simply add its unique email address after selecting the “Add a Pix-Star frame” button at the bottom of the screen. Once added, you’ll never need to re-add the frame. Simply select it from the list of added frames to send pictures, videos, and audio messages.
Perhaps the best feature here is the Pix-Star lets you set all incoming photos from the mobile app (and some other sources) to display in the currently playing slideshow. This means that when you send photos to any of your Pix-Star frames, they’ll display right away – making sure your love doesn’t miss a moment. It’s ideal for elderly users and pairs well with the Pix-Star’s remote configuration and web album feature.
A Capable Web Interface to Manage Your Pix-Star Wi-Fi Digital Frame
The Pix-Star web interface is where you’ll many of the most versatile and modern features. You simply need to register your Pix-Star frame via the web portal to unlock the web interface. Once unlocked, you can manage and control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames from a single user account.
Here you can manage and adjust their slideshow and general settings, start slideshows, change slideshow sources, import photos from external sources like social media, set auto-on/off schedules, update the firmware, and much more.
The web interface isn’t quite as simple as the mobile app but offers an excellent host of features. If you own more than one Pix-Star frame, we recommend setting up the web interface. Learn how to use the Pix-Star web interface with our simply how-to guide!
The remote configuration feature is particularly useful for elderly users and families. You can automate photo-sharing, manage and control any of your Pix-Star frames, and make sure everybody sees the right pictures at the perfect moment!
Unique Remote Configuration Feature for Quick Control from Anywhere
One of the best features offered on Pix-Star’s web interface is its remote configuration feature. This feature is available on all Pix-Star frames. To use this feature, make sure the Pix-Star frame is connected to Wi-Fi, powered on, and registered (done via the web interface).
Using Pix-Star’s remote configuration feature, you can manage and control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames from anywhere in the world. It’s great for families and elderly users as you can adjust their settings, start slideshows, change slideshow sources, manage local and cloud storage, update their firmware, and even import photos from social media and other external sources.
It’s arguably the best remote configuration feature on the market and almost no other digital frame offers anything close in terms of practicality and ease of use.
While you don’t have 100% control over your frame, you can manage most of the settings and functions that matter. It’s ideal for elderly users as you can start slideshows and manage their pictures without requiring any input on their part.
Finally, Pix-Star’s remote-control feature ties in excellently with their web album support, motion sensor, and auto-on/off schedule. Using these features in unison allow you to automate photo-sharing, set what, how, and when the frame display pictures (and video), and control almost all adjustable slideshow settings!
Import Photo Albums Directly from Social Media
Another fantastic feature of Pix-Star’s web interface is its unique web album support. This feature allows you to import photo albums from a dozen external sources like social media, photo-sharing sites, cloud storage platforms, and even syncing a folder directly from your computer.
Supported platforms include Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox, and several more. These linked albums are saved to each connected Pix-Star frame’s internal storage for offline use. Furthermore, they can be remotely managed and you can start slideshows from specific (or several) web albums no matter where you are in the world.
One of the best ways to use Pix-Star’s web album feature for big families allows bulk and automated photo-sharing. All you have to do is create a folder on your computer, fill it with photos, link it as a web album, and let it sync to each desired Pix-Star frame. Once synced, set this web album to automatically stay up to date and sync whenever you add new photos.
To share photos with all the Pix-Star frames in the family, simply drag & drop them into the web album folder – Pix-Star will take care of the rest. You’re not only limited to doing this with a folder on your computer. You can link any photo album from any supported platform and set it to stay up to date automatically.
Pix-Star’s web album feature offers arguably the most versatile and capable photo-sharing method for families and elderly users – allowing Pix-Star frames to effortlessly cater to the modern home and family! Learn how to import web albums on the Pix-Star Wi-Fi digital frame with our simple guide.
Highly Customizable Slideshows to be Immersed In Your Favorite Memories
Pix-Star offers highly customizable and easy-to-personalize slideshows. You can adjust these settings in person on the frame or remotely via the web interface. Additionally, you can adjust slideshow settings via the general settings page – or preferably by pressing the “Menu” button while viewing a slideshow.
This latter method lets you adjust slideshow settings on the go without having to leave the current slideshows. It’s great for elderly users as they don’t need to worry about starting the slideshow or returning to where they left off.
Pix-Star offers a host of slideshows settings that let you control the play order and frequency in which photos are displayed. You can start slideshows from specifically selected files and folders via Pix-Star’s file explorer – making sure you can always see exactly the pictures you want.
Other important slideshow settings include manually adjustable brightness and color settings, tons of transition styles and speeds, including videos in slideshows (and setting them to play muted by default), and even playing audio files over them from a connected USB/SD card.
Pix-Star’s 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for immersive slideshows. Photos aren’t unnecessarily cropped or edited. You also won’t need to worry about them being boxed in by black pillar bars – a common issue with 16:9 displays. To further enhance immersion, you can connect the Pix-Star frame to external speakers/headphones/earphones for improved audio quality.
Finally, you can set Pix-Star frames to automatically display incoming photos in the currently playing slideshow. It’s a great way to make sure that nobody misses an important picture – and requires minimal input from users that aren’t very tech-savvy! Pix-Star’s slideshows pair fantastically with their web album feature, remote configuration support, and great mobile app and web interface!
Extensive Offline Functionality for Access Anytime
Offline functionality is an important aspect of any digital frame with Wi-Fi. It’s important for families that share a lot of photos but don’t always have access to reliable Wi-Fi networks. It’s also great for elderly users as you can simply give them a USB/SD card loaded with hundreds or thousands of photos. They simply need to insert it into the frame and hit play.
Pix-Star digital frames offer excellent offline usage thanks primarily to their extensive USB/SD card support and 8GB of internal storage. Unlike competing frames like Aura and Skylight, Pix-Star doesn’t require an active Wi-Fi connection to stream and view photos.
Pix-Star’s USB/SD card support is unlimited – meaning you can use any size of USB/SD card without maximum size restrictions. There’s also a plug & play feature that allows you to play slideshows directly off the connected USB/SD card without having to copy any of its content to the Pix-Star’s internal storage first.
When you send photos, video, or audio messages to the Pix-Star frame via mobile app, web albums, email, etc., they’re automatically saved to its internal storage for offline use. You can access these photos via the frame’s file explorer, make changes (delete and move photos around), and even start slideshows from specific files and folders.
Paired with Pix-Star’s versatile slideshows and highly customizable settings, you can see your favorite photos, and videos, and play your favorite audio over slideshows – no matter where you are in the world. You don’t need to be connected to Wi-Fi to view saved photos and can effortlessly bulk share pictures via USB/SD card!
How Pix-Star’s Frames Compare with the Best Wi-Fi Digital Frames of 2022
Here we’re going to take a look at how Pix-Star’s Wi-Fi digital frames compare with top competing frames at similar price points. We’re not going super in-depth for each frame but will link to our various in-depth guides and comparisons.
By the time we’re done here, you’ll have a clear idea of how and why Pix-Star’s frames are better value choices than anything else on the market. Let’s get started!
Pix-Star vs Aura Photo Frames
Aura frames are arguably the most expensive frames in this size range on the market. Despite this high price tag, Aura frames are extremely limited. You don’t get any internal storage, USB/SD card support, web albums (social media photo album imports), remote configuration, access to the web interface, no video and audio support, and very limited slideshow customizations.
In exchange, Aura’s digital frame offers a high-resolution display. The issue here is that you aren’t going to notice the difference in resolution when viewing this frame from across the room. Additionally, the Aura frame uses a 16:9 aspect ratio – which is one of the worst for displaying photos. Most pictures will need editing or cropping to display using the whole screen – otherwise, they’ll be surrounded by black pillar bars.
For a lot less money, Pix-Star’s digital frames offer access to both a great mobile app and web interface. You can remotely manage and control any of their frames from anywhere in the world, adjust their settings, start slideshows, manage internal and cloud storage, update firmware, and much more.
Pix-Star offers 8GB of internal storage, automatically saving incoming photos, social media photo album imports, unlimited USB/SD card support, and much more. Where Aura frames require a constant and strong Wi-Fi connection, Pix-Star frames don’t. You can view, access, and manage all of your photos offline.
Additionally, Pix-Star offers video and audio support, letting you include videos in slideshows, play audio over slideshows and even connect to speakers and headphones. Their 4:3 aspect ratio is much better suited to the pictures most smartphones take, and better suits pictures from DSLRs than Aura’s 16:9 display!
When you consider how much more Pix-Star’s digital frames offer in terms of features and functionality – particularly for families and elderly users – it’s hard to justify Aura’s high price tag and poor feature set! Read our full Pix-Star vs Aura frame comparison for in-depth details.
Pix-Star vs Skylight Wi-Fi Frames
Skylight Wi-Fi frames are subscription-based digital frames. This means that along with the premium upfront cost, you need to pay an additional monthly subscription fee to unlock all of the Skylight frame’s features.
Features locked behind the Skylight Plus paywall include cloud storage, multi-frame control groups, video, and audio support, access to and use of the mobile app and web app, online access to cloud storage, and more.
It’s also important to note that Skylight frames don’t offer internal storage, video or audio support, or USB/SD card support. They can’t work offline and require all photos to stream live from the server to display in slideshows.
Now, Skylight’s frames are almost identically priced to Pix-Star’s frames – and this is before counting the cost of their subscription over the frame’s lifespan.
Despite Pix-Star’s frames being far more affordable and having no recurring subscription fees, you get free-for-life cloud storage, video and audio support, multi-frame control groups (with up to 25 connected frames), access to the mobile app and web interface, remote configuration support, online access, and storage management, 8GB of internal storage, USB/SD card support, social media photo album imports, and much more.
Pix-Star’s frames are far more versatile and offer much better value for money. Their 4:3 aspect ratio is better suited to displaying pictures than Skylight’s 16:9 display. You don’t need to worry about adding yet another subscription-based service to the ever-growing list either.
Skylight doesn’t offer nearly enough to justify its subscription service (Skylight Plus). Pix-Star’s frames offer more – and better – features than Skylight, even with its premium subscription active! You get better functionality and Pix-Star’s frames effortlessly fit into the modern home and family – all without excluding elderly or less tech-savvy users!
Read our full guide on Pix-Star vs Skylight digital frames to get an in-depth comparison!
Pix-Star vs Nixplay Smart Frames
Much like the Skylight frame, Nixplay’s digital frames are also subscription-based. Now, they’re quite as limited as Skylights frames and don’t lock quite as many features behind the Nixplay Plus paywall. The issue here is that a significant number of Nixplay’s features aren’t accessible unless you pay for the additional subscription package.
Features that are locked behind the Nixplay Plus paywall include expanded cloud storage, access to and use of the mobile app and web interface, remote and online access to cloud storage, video and audio playback, and more.
Sadly, Nixplay’s frames are even more expensive than Skylight’s frames in terms of upfront cost. Nixplay is more expensive than Pix-Star on average – and offers fewer features and functions. It’s also worth noting here that Nixplay’s frames don’t work well offline. There’s no USB/SD card support and sharing photos in bulk is very challenging.
By contrast, Pix-Star digital frames offer free-for-life cloud storage with automatic cloud backups. You can remotely manage and control up to 25 Pix-Star frames with their multi-frame control groups. Use the web interface to remotely adjust their settings, start slideshows, manage local and cloud storage, and much more.
Pix-Star’s mobile app is free to use and lets you send up to 250 photos to several Pix-Star frames at the same. Additionally, you can send video clips and audio messages from anywhere in the world.
A web album feature allows you to remotely import photo albums from a dozen social media and photo-sharing sites directly to your frame’s internal storage. You can link the same album to several frames and set them to automatically sync when new photos are added to the album!
Pix-Star offers a lot more than Nixplay while costing significantly less – especially in the long-term. You get more and better features that cater to families and elderly users, and make connecting and sharing with your loved ones effortless – no matter where they are in the world!
For an in-depth comparison, read our full Pix-Star vs Nixplay smart frame comparison to make sure you’re getting the perfect frame for your home and family!
Why the Best Wi-Fi Digital Frame in 2022 is Worth the Money!
If you want to get your grandparents more involved with the rest of the family and share pictures with all your loved ones around the state/country, the Pix-Star digital frame is an excellent idea. It removes a lot of the frustrations that many digital frames are known for having issues with.
You can share photos, videos, and audio no matter where you are. You don’t need to rely on constant Wi-Fi connections to view your photos. You even have near-total control over each of your Pix-Star frames via the web interface.
Pix-Star offers a personalized and highly customizable way to share your favorite moments and memories with the people you care about most. View them in your home or office, mount the frame on the wall, the display is and professional photographs – it is up to you!
Pix-Star shine clear of the rest of the competition with its robust feature set, great value for money, and smart functionality. You’ll find them pleasant to use and a lot less complicated than expected! Connect and share with your loved ones more intuitively and more inclusively with the best Wi-Fi digital frames 2022 has to offer!
