{"id":1961,"date":"2021-11-11T03:53:53","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T03:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pix-star.com\/blog\/?p=1961"},"modified":"2022-03-15T08:59:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T08:59:31","slug":"google-hub-digital-photo-frames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pix-star.com\/blog\/smart-homes\/google-hub-digital-photo-frames\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Hub Digital Photo Frames Aren\u2019t What They Seem!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do Google Hub digital photo frames work?<\/h2>

Google Hub digital photo frames are not like most digital frames with Wi-Fi<\/a>. Their slideshow function is just a small side feature that\u2019s hidden away in the frame\u2019s settings page. The \u201cAmbient Display\u201d function lets you play photos in slideshows while the frame is not being used. While you can navigate and swipe through the photos, that\u2019s about all the functionality it offers.To use the \u201cAmbient Display\u201d feature, you need to link your Hub to your Google Photos<\/a> account. It\u2019s the only platform that you can link to the frame (unlike the dozen compatible platforms with competing frames like the Pix-Star). Load the desired photos to your Google Photos account and select them via the \u201cAmbient Display\u201d section.The slideshow will only play when the Hub goes to \u201cSleep\u201d and the ambient display engages. You don\u2019t have control over the frequency or play order of photos. There are some basic features like the ability to categorize photos according to the people in them \u2013 but this isn\u2019t very consistent. You\u2019ll find several mistakes and some weird photos being mixed in (it is AI after all \u2013 they learn but don\u2019t often understand).<\/p> <\/div>

How do Google Hub digital photo frames compare with Pix-Star\u2019s frames?<\/h2>

Pix-Star\u2019s digital photo frames<\/a> are arguably the most versatile dedicated picture frames on the market. By comparison, Google Hub digital photo frames aren\u2019t made to act as digital picture frames \u2013 they have other main focuses. To add to this, their slideshow function is extremely limited as it\u2019s a sort of \u201cadd-on\u201d feature that doesn\u2019t get much attention.Everything about the Pix-Star digital photo frame caters to the viewing experience. The 4:3 aspect ratio is far more versatile than the Google Hub\u2019s 16:9 ratio. Photos on the Pix-Star (especially those taken on smartphones) don\u2019t need to be edited, cropped, distorted, or boxed-in when viewed on the frame. This is a major issue with 16:9 displays and makes the Hub\u2019s 7-inch display appear even smaller.Pix-Star\u2019s digital frames<\/a> can be remotely controlled via its web interface. You can adjust their settings, start & manage slideshows, manage storage (both cloud & local), and much more. Pix-Star\u2019s frames can be grouped into multi-frame control groups (with up to 25 connected Pix-Star frames).The Pix-Star Snap mobile app, photo-mail function, the web dashboard let you send photos, videos, and audio messages to your Pix-Star frames from anywhere in the world. It\u2019s quick, simple, elderly-friendly, and very responsive. They only take a couple of moments to show up on the frame \u2013 and you can send the same media to several Pix-Star frames at the same time. These are excellent choices for families and modern homes.Pix-Star\u2019s digital photo frames<\/a> offer far more versatile slideshows with tons of personalization and customizations. Free-for-life cloud storage is a big plus and Pix-Star frames can import photos from a variety of sources including Facebook, Google Drive & Photos, Instagram, Dropbox, Flickr, and many more. Web albums are available offline as they\u2019re saved to the frame\u2019s 8GB internal storage \u2013 along with all other received photos & videos.<\/p> <\/div>

Can Google Hub digital photo frames play slideshows?<\/h2>

Google Hub digital photo frames can play slideshows \u2013 but they\u2019re exceptionally limited. The only slideshow features these frames offer are hidden away in their settings via the \u201cAmbient Display\u201d function. It\u2019s not easy to find and set up \u2013 which is another reason why these Google Hubs don\u2019t serve well as digital picture frames.While they get the job done in its most basic sense, there\u2019s still a lot that you\u2019ll be left wanting. You have to first link the Google Hub to your Google Photos account and load all the desired photos to it (if you have the space available). You then have to sync these photos to your frame and select them as the source folders via the Hub\u2019s \u201cAmbient Display\u201d function.Slideshows on the Google Hub aren\u2019t very versatile. You can\u2019t control the play order or frequency of photos within these slideshows. You also only have basic control over the speed at which photos are changed (usually around 1-minute). There aren\u2019t nearly as many customizations as you get with the top digital frames like the Pix-Star. Additionally, stylistic effects are limited and it isn\u2019t much you can do to adjust.Videos and audio files can\u2019t be displayed over slideshows, and videos can\u2019t be included \u2013 period. While you can play videos from other sources like YouTube, they can\u2019t be sent directly to the hub like you can with Pix-Star\u2019s frames \u2013 but more on that down below. For another comparison, we take a look here at Facebook Portal digital frames<\/a> and if they’re worth it.<\/p> <\/div>

How to send photos to Google Hub digital photo frames?<\/h2>

The only way to send photos to a Google Hub is by linking them to your Google Photos account. From there, you can sync the photos saved in the albums on the account. This also means that you\u2019re limited to the cloud storage available on your account (which becomes a paid feature once you exceed a set limit).Premium digital photo frames like the Pix-Star offer this feature, along with the ability to link to around a dozen other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, Dropbox, Flickr, and more. For a digital picture frame to be modern enough to cater to the needs of families<\/a>, offering the functionality of one online photo-sharing platform simply isn\u2019t enough. It\u2019s one of the main reasons that frames like the Pix-Star take a broader and more versatile approach.<\/p> <\/div>

Can Google Hub digital photo frames play videos?<\/h2>

Google Hub digital photo frames can play videos and support streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, and more. While this may seem like a great feature to have, it\u2019s still rather limited. You can\u2019t load personal videos to view on the display and you can only sync photos from your Google Photos account. If you want to view personal videos, you\u2019d need to manually load them to YouTube and view them that way. This is not user-friendly, especially when compared to what digital photo frames like the Pix-Star can do (letting you send videos to your frame via mobile app or by USB\/SD card).<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are Google Hub digital photo frames a good addition to your home? Find out if these are decent digital frames here!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n