The best digital picture frames of 2024, tested and reviewed

Screen size: 11 inches | Resolution: 2,000 x 1,200 | Storage: 32GB | Touchscreen: Yes | Orientation options: Landscape/portrait | Motion sensor: No | Dedicated email address: No

Lexar is best known for making flash drives, memory cards and other storage devices; this is the company's first foray into photo frames — and it's an impressive one. The Pexar — points for rhyming! — features a high-resolution 11-inch touchscreen and surprisingly good ... box?

Yep, the white-cardboard inner packaging has a picture-frame insert that can prop up at an angle while the bottom is used for jewelry, craft supplies or whatever. It's really refreshing to see something that's not just recyclable, but actually reusable.

I also like this frame's magnetic clip-on stand, which makes it a breeze to shift between a portrait or landscape orientation.

As for the Pexar itself, it's all up there on the screen, as they say: Photos look stunning thanks to its razor-sharp 2,000 x 1,200 (aka 2K) resolution, vibrant color and glare-reducing matte finish.

Let me pause here to note the price: $150, though often on sale for $130. That's an excellent deal for an 11-inch frame with a 2K screen and 32GB of expandable local storage. The Aura Carver also sells for $150, but it's slightly smaller and has a much lower resolution (1,280 x 800) — same as Lexar's 10.1-inch Pexar (which is $120). I strongly recommend choosing the 11-inch Pexar instead, especially if you can get it for just $10 more.

To my surprise, Lexar opted to use the same Frameo software as many other frames (such as the YunQiDeer and Pastigio, below). That makes for easy setup and operation, though I do have a couple nitpicks. First, Lexar's printed quick-start guide is short with tiny print, and it covers only the frame; there's nothing about using the Frameo app.

Speaking of which, that app suffers from the same puzzling deficit as many others: It doesn't flag the photos you've already uploaded to the frame, meaning it's all too easy to accidentally send the same ones — and wind up with duplicates in your slideshow.

I know little about coding, but this can't be a difficult feature to add. Aura and Pix-Star frames have it; you're on notice, Frameo. And while you're at it, how about some transition effects for the slideshow? Right now, all we get is a fade.

Also on my wish-list: a larger Pexar, something in the 15-inch range, and a motion sensor that would allow the frame to go dark when there's no one in the room. At least there's a sleep mode so you can set times for it to go on and off.

Although the Pexar Lexar doesn't have every bell and whistle, it does deliver what's important: a bright, sharp screen, plenty of local storage and an affordable price.

Screen size: 10.1 inches | Resolution: 1,280 x 800 | Storage: 16GB (expandable) | Touchscreen: Yes | Orientation options: Landscape/portrait | Motion sensor: No | Dedicated email address: No

Amazon is home to dozens of off-brand photo frames like this one, with prices typically ranging between $60 and $100. I've chosen this model as representative of those "generics" — the frames that all look pretty much the same and offer similar specs. The YunQiDeer is one of the better deals for a frame of this size, and it's been around awhile; it's less likely to suddenly vanish from Amazon.

I was pleased to find a complete, informative instruction manual in the box. And it's not just for the frame; it also focuses on the Frameo companion app, which is used to upload photos. (Friends and family will need this app as well if they want to share their pics, but it's admirably simple to add them.)

Frameo is fairly easy to learn, but has a couple usability issues. The big one: It doesn't flag photos you've already sent to the frame. There's a history tab that shows prior uploads, but it's a hassle having to switch back and forth while you're selecting new pictures. 

More of a nitpick: You're limited to uploading 10 photos at a time — unless you upgrade to Frameo+, which also nets you cloud backup and support for videos up to two minutes long. (Without it, the limit is 15 seconds.)

I know: another subscription. But Frameo+ is only $1.99 monthly or $16.99 for an entire year. Pretty cheap. And definitely optional; the benefits are all nice to have but not critical.

The frame itself is nicely styled in basic black, and it supports auto-rotation: Just turn it to switch between portrait and landscape viewing. There's 16GB of onboard storage; you can add another 32GB by way of a microSD card.

I like that it can do two important things that some more expensive frames can't: Auto-size photos (either globally or individually) and export all your photos to external storage.

All told, I'm pretty impressed by what you get for the money here. The YunQiDeer frame originally sold for $120; it's now priced at $70 most of the time, but I've seen it dip to just $40 repeatedly throughout the year. So unless you're in a hurry, wait for a sale.

Screen size: 15.6 inches | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 | Storage: 32GB (expandable) | Touchscreen: Yes | Orientation options: Landscape/portrait | Motion sensor: No | Dedicated email address: No

The bigger the photo frame, the easier it is to see from across a room. Needless to say, Pastigio's 15.6-inch screen virtually dwarfs the 10- and 11-inch competition. Thankfully, it doesn't saddle you with a 50% higher price: You can get this for just $130, or as low as $100 if you wait for a sale.

There's nothing fancy about this frame's appearance: A basic black-plastic border surrounding a white-plastic beveled mat surrounding the screen. The included stand can prop it up in portrait or landscape orientation, but there are also four holes in the back for wall-mounting — though it's not clear in the instructions exactly how you'd go about that, and there's no mounting hardware included.

Speaking of instructions, you get an actual printed booklet — and it's very detailed, especially with regard to using the onscreen menus and Frameo app (yep, the same one used by Lexar and YunQiDeer). I just wish the print was larger. You also get a completely separate troubleshooting guide, a nice touch.

At this price I expected a fairly low screen resolution. Surprise: 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, ample for a screen of this size. Photos look sharp and bright, though despite this being an IPS screen, viewing angles aren't as good as on the Aura and Lexar models. Once you get past around 30 degrees from dead center, the image starts to look dim.

What's more, because the screen lacks a matte finish, there's a fair bit of glare. The good news is it's bright enough that you may not notice. 

Another surprise given the price: 32GB of expandable storage, enough to hold thousands of photos. Videos, too, though they're limited to 15 seconds apiece unless you subscribe to Frameo+. (Priced at $1.99 monthly or $16.99 annually, it allows for videos of up to two minutes, plus up to 100 photo uploads at a time — versus just 10 without it — and a complete cloud backup of your library. All this is very optional — but the backup alone makes it worth considering.)

One often-overlooked benefit of local storage: You can export your entire photo library to external media (such as a USB drive), great for making a backup or migrating to a different frame.

I like the onboard Frameo software (and eponymous companion app), which makes it easy to tweak settings, invite friends and family members to contribute photos and so on. But I'm still annoyed that it doesn't mark photos you've already uploaded. That's a usability issue that needs fixing.

Indeed, many of the pros and cons listed in the YunQiDeer review are shared here. But they're all relatively minor. If you want a big frame without a big price, I highly recommend checking this one out.

Screen size: 10 inches | Resolution: 1,280 x 800 | Storage: 16GB (non-expandable) | Touchscreen: Yes | Orientation options: Landscape only | Motion sensor: No | Dedicated email address: No (but dedicated phone number for texts)

Every frame here can accept new photos via app; some also have dedicated email addresses, which simplifies things a bit for friends and family. The Loop relies on an app as well, but instead of email, it has a phone number, meaning you can actually send photos via text message — arguably the simplest solution of all.

Less simple: Frame setup, which was more complicated than it should have been owing to some conflicting instructions between the setup guide and the app. Thankfully, things went smoothly after that, and, in fact, the Loop proved one of the more novice-friendly frames I've used. The app and onscreen settings menus are simple and straightforward, allowing you to set up different albums and tweak things like photo transition time and sleep mode.

However, there are some limitations to consider. The frame works only in landscape orientation and doesn't have a motion sensor. It can display two photos side by side but doesn't offer any transition choices beyond a basic fade. Finally, although you can configure the Loop for gifting, you have to go all the way through the setup process first; you can't preconfigure and preload the frame like you can with Aura's.

My main complaint is that the app doesn't flag photos you've already uploaded to the frame, meaning you might accidentally send the same ones, resulting in duplicates. (Unfortunately, this is true with a lot of frames.)

These gripes aside, I like the screen’s brightness and the Loop's overall simplicity. And it's the only frame that lets you text new photos. That option alone may make it the preferred choice for some buyers.

Screen size: 15 inches | Resolution: 1,600 x 1,200 | Storage: Cloud (unlimited) | Touchscreen: No (touch bars) | Orientation options: Landscape/portrait | Motion sensor: Yes | Dedicated email address: Yes

I have fallen out of love with Aura's frames — the Carver, the Walden, the just-released Aspen — not because of the hardware, which is excellent, but because they're too limited.

For example, there's no clock option. Nearly every other photo frame on the planet lets you toggle a clock overlay. It's a small thing, but also the first thing my wife noticed when I set up the Aspen: "Why doesn't it show the time?"

In addition, there are no transition effects available for your slideshow. No fade, no wipe, no dissolve. And the shortest possible interval between photos is 15 seconds, which strikes me as weird and arbitrary. (Why forbid, say, 10 seconds?)

Aura controls screen brightness automatically based on an ambient-light sensor, which is nice, but doesn't let you adjust it manually, which isn't.

Here's what really bugs me: The frame automatically scales each photo to highlight what it thinks is the best part (usually faces). But sometimes it zooms in too much or excludes parts of the photo I want to see (like, you know, the beautiful countryside in the background).

There's a shrink-to-fit option that will display the entire photo, but you can't apply this globally; you have to do it one photo at a time — and each time requires opening the Aura app and navigating to the Remote Control menu.

This is the real dealbreaker, though: Aura doesn't afford any means for retrieving your frame's photo library — a unique, irreplaceable library you've assembled over time from any number of different sources. You can't download it from a web portal. You can't offload it to a USB drive or memory card (the frame has no ports or slots).

Suppose Aura goes out of business someday. Or your frame dies and you decide not to replace it. Or you want to move your photos to a frame from another brand. Bottom line: You're out of luck. Your photos remain trapped in Aura's cloud, end of story.

There's an argument to be made that some of these limitations are in the interests of simplicity, and I'll agree Aura frames are easy to operate. But having used and championed them for the past couple years, I'm frustrated that not one of these usability issues has been addressed. And all of them could be; they're all software-based.

I'll end with upside: Aura's frames are a breeze to set up and also to preload with photos for gifting purposes. The app is blissfully simple to learn and use, and it's one of the few that actually flags photos you've already uploaded so you don't accidentally send duplicates.

I like the frame's motion sensor, embedded touch bars (which keep the screen free of fingerprints) and unlimited free cloud storage. There's a lot to like here, no question, which is why the Walden was our previous top pick.

But for an ostensibly premium product (with a price to match), there are too many limitations. While I have no doubt many users will enjoy having an Aura frame on the shelf, I have reservations about recommending it.

Earlier this year, Nixplay made a change I consider unforgivable, and therefore I'm no longer comfortable recommending the company's frames.

It's all about storage. Years ago, you were afforded unlimited cloud storage for your photos as part of your frame purchase. Then came a cap of 10GB — a bait-and-switchy kind of move, but at least that was still enough to hold thousands of snapshots.

Now, you're limited to just 500MB — unless you pay for a Nixplay Lite or Plus subscription ($20 and $30 annually, respectively). And this affects existing customers, not just future ones. Anyone with a photo library above 500MB is "restricted from sharing or viewing on a frame without editing your content or upgrading your subscription," according to a company e-mail.

(Sure enough, when I signed into the app after the cutoff date for purchasing a subscription, I was locked out.)

I understand there's a cost to cloud storage, but as a longtime Nixplay user, I feel betrayed. It's not even about the money — $20 or $30 per year isn't unreasonable — it's about an advertised feature (arguably the most important one) that was severely diminished. And if the company is willing to do this, what's next?

Nearly as hard to forgive: Nixplay has been in the photo-frame business for nearly 20 years, and its app still doesn't identify which photos you've already uploaded to your frame. Nor is there any means to locate and/or remove any of the duplicates you'll invariably end up with.

I take zero joy in saying this, because I absolutely love this product category, but I recommend steering clear of Nixplay frames.