Does the Aura digital picture frame offer cloud storage?
The Aura digital picture frame offers cloud storage, though there are some important points worth noting. Unlike competing frames like the Pix-Star, Aura digital frames don’t have internal storage. Thus, they rely wholly on their connection to the company cloud servers to receive and display photos. This isn’t a great setup as you’re likely to run into connection troubles at some point.
Aura’s cloud storage is free – so you probably aren’t going to run out of space. The issues start when you can only use the mobile app to send photos to the frame. Unlike competing frames like the Pix-Star, Aura’s frames can’t receive photos by email, web interface, or USB/SD card.
Pix-Star’s digital picture frames let you load photos to the frame directly from photo-sharing and cloud storage sites like Dropbox, OneDrive and SmugMug. With Aura’s frames, you’d need to manually download these photos to your phone, sync them to the cloud, and sync them from the cloud to the Aura frame to be displayed in slideshows.
How does the Aura digital picture frame compare with the Pix-Star frame?
Both the Pix-Star and the Aura digital picture frames are high-end digital frames. Pix-Star’s frames come in quite a bit cheaper than Aura frames, with their LUX 10-inch model costing less than half of some of Aura’s pricier models. The main advantage Aura’s frames have over Pix-Star’s is display resolution.
Unfortunately, Aura’s choice to go with a 16:9 display ruins much of this advantage. Pix-star’s 4:3 aspect ratio perfectly matches most of the photos we take on our smartphones (usually 4:3) and does a far better job at displaying photos taken on cameras (usually 3:2).
Pix-Star’s digital picture frames are dominant in almost every other area that matters in a digital frame. They offer extensive offline functionality, let you plug-and-play slideshows from USB/SD cards, offer 16 GB of internal storage, play videos & audio, offer remote-control functionality, and web album support. None of these features are possible on Aura’s frames.
Pix-Star’s frames can play slideshows offline, let you browse through all of your locally stored photos to start selective slideshows. You can control both the play order & frequency of photos within slideshows too.
Pix-Star’s remote-control function lets you manage & control up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames from anywhere in the world. You can start and manage slideshows, adjust the frame’s slideshow and general settings, import photos from online storage sites, update firmware, and manage both local & cloud storage – and much more.
Pix-Star’s frames are great value for money and offer far more functionality and real-world practicality than Aura’s frames offer. They’re a whole lot cheaper and the viewing experience may even be superior when viewed from across the room thanks to Pix-Star’s 4:3 aspect ratio.
Can the Aura digital picture frame play video and audio files?
The Aura digital picture frame is not capable of video or audio playback. These frames are designed to be picture-only frames that display your photos in relatively versatile slideshows. Unfortunately, at this price point, you’d expect more from Aura digital frames – especially when you consider what much cheaper frames like the Pix-Star are capable of.
Aura digital picture frames are known to be some of the most expensive frames on the market today. While you do get a higher resolution display, many essential features like the ability to function offline, internal storage, and video & audio playback are sacrificed. At this price point, you’d expect more of these features to be present than missing.
For comparison, Pix-Star’s digital picture frames can play both video and audio files. Videos are limited to 2-minute clips (which is more than almost every other top frame on the market), and they can be sent via the mobile app or by USB/SD card. Videos can be included in slideshows and can even be set to play muted.
Pix-Star also offers great audio playback support. You can listen to web music and radio on the frame, send voice messages to your frames via the mobile app and play audio files from a connected USB/SD card. Pix-Star’s frames can also be connected to external speakers to enhance immersion and boost the audio quality and volume (compared to the frame’s inbuild speakers).
Can the Aura digital picture frame work without Wi-Fi?
Since Aura digital picture frames have so internal storage, they cannot work without a reliable and constant connection to both Wi-Fi and the company cloud servers. This is a big issue as we have seen other premium frames with the same setup fail in the past. When the company closed down, their cloud servers were eventually taken offline too – meaning there was no way to view all of your photos.
By contrast, other top frames like the Pix-Star and Dragon Touch frames feature internal storage and let you load photos by email, mobile app, web albums, and USB/SD card directly to the frame’s internal storage. It’s a must-have feature for families as you only need to sync images to the frame once and be sure that they’re safely available whether the frame is online or not.
Aura digital picture frames are one of the only top digital frames that don’t have internal storage or offline functionality – a fact that’s made worse by their high price. While Aura frames don’t have extra fees, they’re still one of the most expensive digital picture frames on the market at the moment.
How to load photos to the Aura digital picture frame by USB/SD card?
Unfortunately, the Aura digital picture frame doesn’t have any internal storage, and as such, cannot receive photos directly to the frame by USB/SD card or email. Unlike other top digital frames, Aura stands out as being one of the only premium frames that don’t have internal storage – which is a big strike against them in our books.
Internal storage is essential for offline functionality such as viewing photos and starting slideshows without being connected to Wi-Fi. This is particularly important in homes that don’t have internet available at all times – or for grandparents that aren’t too familiar or comfortable with Wi-Fi-only devices.
For example, Pix-Star digital frames can receive photos and videos by USB/SD card. USB sticks and SD cards up to 2 TB are supported, giving you plenty of extra storage space. This is in addition to the frame’s 16 GB of internal storage and free-for-life cloud storage. You can also load audio files to the USB/SD card and view them on the frame without needing to copy them to its internal storage.
Pix-Star’s plug & play feature is seen on a couple of other top frames – and is an essential feature for a modern frame. You can play slideshows directly off an inserted USB/SD card without needing to copy any of its content to the frame’s internal storage first. It’s great for setting up slideshows in just a couple of seconds and doesn’t require any Wi-Fi or cloud connections.
How do you send photos to the Aura picture frame?
The only way to send photos to the Aura picture frame is through their mobile app. Unlike many other high-end digital frames, there’s no photo-sharing over email, and no way to import photos from external sources like social media.
Aura’s frames don’t have internal storage and don’t support USB/SD cards either. They need to connect to Aura’s cloud to sync, steam, and display photos on the frame. If you lose your connection, you can’t view any of your photos. By contrast, competing digital frames like the Pix-Star offer both internal storage and full USB/SD card support (up to 2 TB, and let you play slideshows without copying photos to local storage first).
How many pictures can the Aura digital photo frame hold?
The Aura digital photo frame does not have any internal storage or USB/SD card support. As such, Aura’s frames cannot hold any photos on the frame or for offline use. To view photos, you need to make sure you have an active Wi-Fi connection with a strong signal.
This is one of the most common complaints against Aura Wi-Fi photo frames. They don’t work without Wi-Fi and you have no offline access to your pictures or storage.
With competing for digital photo frames like the Pix-Star, you get 16 GB of internal storage. This is enough for around 20,000 to 30,000 photos (assuming an average file size of 300KB per image).
Additionally, Pix-Star offers USB/SD card support up to 2 TB. You can use a USB stick or SD card up to 2 TB, insert it into the frame, and play slideshows without having to copy anything to the frame’s internal storage.
Combined, you get access to sufficient internal storage, free-for-life cloud storage, and extensive USB/SD card (giving you access to up to 2 TB of external storage space). It’s ideal for families, grandparents, and individuals that share loads of pictures by USB/SD card (such as photographers).
Does the Aura picture frame need to be plugged in?
The Aura picture frame needs to stay plugged into an outlet at all times. Aura’s frames are not battery-operated digital frames. To function properly, make sure the frame is plugged in at all times. Set up the motion sensor and on/off schedule to manage when the display turns on to save power. It’s worth noting that digital frames with Wi-Fi don’t use much power, so wastage isn’t a big concern.
Very few top-end Wi-Fi digital picture frames are battery-run for good reason. Battery-operated digital frames typically have very limited feature sets due to their poor battery life and longevity. They often have a very small display (smaller than 8-inches) and don’t offer Wi-Fi or cloud connectivity.
We suggest avoiding battery-run digital frames as they don’t have the features necessary to cater to the modern home and family. Their main advantage is mobility – though much of this benefit is lost to their poor 2-4 battery life – which doesn’t offer enough to be effective as a digital photo display.
How much do Aura picture frames cost?
Aura picture frames are among the most expensive 9-inch to 10-inch frames on the market. Prices vary widely from one model to another. Prices may vary depending on where you buy the frame from, the shipping fees, etc.
Aura’s picture frames are available in four different models: Aura Carver, Aura Mason, Aura Buddy, and Aura Smith. The Aura Smith is the most expensive of the bunch, with a 2K, 9.7-inch display.
By comparison, Pix-Star’s LUX 10-inch Wi-Fi digital picture frame costs US$139.99. Despite costing much less than Aura’s picture frames, Pix-Star offers many more features, customizations, and interconnectedness.
Pix-Star’s LUX 10-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch digital frames are better for families thanks to their robust feature set, remote configuration support, web album imports from cloud storage, and intuitive mobile app. Pix-Star also offers great offline functionality, video and audio support, and internal storage (of which Aura offers none).