Aura just announced the Ink, a 13-inch color e-ink photo frame. The company says it’s the “thinnest e-paper frame available” that is “designed to join a gallery wall or stand alone.” Aura isn’t kidding here. This thing is just 0.6-inches thick.
One of the primary pain points of traditional digital photo frames is that many require constant power via an outlet. This creates an aesthetic problem, as one has to figure out a place to tuck away a power cord. Some modern frames operate via battery, but they don’t last all that long.
The Aura Ink, however, features a rechargeable battery that powers the device for three full months. That’s a really good metric and is likely due to the decreased power demands of e-ink.
There’s another problem that Aura looks to have solved here. Color e-paper has a limited palette with access to just six different hues. That’s just the nature of the technology. This doesn’t always make for the most pristine images.
The company is getting around this limitation via a proprietary dithering algorithm that “expands the appearance of the display’s six-color ink system into millions of tones, creating the illusion of full-color photographs.” I haven’t gotten a look at this frame in real life, but the marketing images look gorgeous.
There’s also an integrated front light that highlights photos. The company says this light has been designed to boost contract and automatically adjusts to ambient conditions. It also shuts off at night because the opposite would be kind of creepy.
The Aura Ink ships with a wall-mount and a tabletop stand. Now onto the bad news. This is high-end technology with a high-end price tag. The frame costs $500. Aura is a reputable company, however, as its Carver Mat model topped our list of the best digital picture frames.
