Aura introduces a $499 e-ink digital photo frame that lets you go cordless

Aura is introducing its newest model, the $499 Ink frame, which brings a 13-inch colour e-paper show to the company’s otherwise LCD-based lineup. The technology, akin to that recovered successful the Kindle Colorsoft e-reader, uses a six-color ink strategy to make the illusion of millions of tones. More importantly, utilizing e-ink exertion allows the framework to yet spell cordless.

That makes it perfect for hanging successful your location successful places wherever a corded show whitethorn look bad, similar a surviving country wall, stairwell, oregon anyplace other a cord would ruin the aesthetic.

The company, founded by aboriginal Twitter employees, has wanted to enactment with e-ink exertion for immoderate time, but it wasn’t yet up to the task of sharing colorful photos taken connected your smartphone. But arsenic e-ink systems person advanced, Aura has changed its mind.

The caller framework uses Spectra 6 exertion that delivers six superior colors — white, black, red, yellow, green, and bluish — with amended saturation and contrast, making it much adept astatine displaying photos.

Image Credits:Aura

In addition, Aura added a beforehand airy to the frame, taking a cue from the Kindle Paperwhite. This helps amended the contrast, notes Eric Jensen, Aura co-founder and CTO.

“It’s a precise subtle airy compared to an LCD. It’s possibly a sixth of the brightness of an LCD,” helium told TechCrunch successful an interview. “People often don’t adjacent announcement it has a airy until they’re successful a acheronian country and it turns off,” Jensen adds.

On apical of the Spectra 6 technology, Aura built its ain proprietary dithering algorithm, which uses mistake diffusion.

“We had to spell backmost to the past dithering algorithms from similar paper technology, wherever you had to fig retired however to blend these dots to simulate different colors,” Jensen says.

A closeup of Aura’s E-ink rendering systemImage Credits:Aura

Though the e-ink exertion means you tin spell cordless, the framework inactive does request a recharge astatine times, which means you’d person to instrumentality it down from clip to clip to powerfulness it up. However, Aura claims the framework tin get up to 3 months of artillery life, truthful this isn’t a immense inconvenience.

To trim its powerfulness needs, the Ink uses question and sensors to crook disconnected the airy erstwhile nary 1 is around. In the accompanying mobile app, customers tin besides take to configure their ain on/off schedule, if they prefer.

Like different Aura frames, the Ink has an upgraded look and consciousness with a graphite-inspired bezel, paper-textured mat, and solid front, making it look much similar a accepted photograph framework than inexpensive tech bought online. (As good arsenic it should, fixed the price.)

Image Credits:Aura

The framework itself is 13.3. inches with a 1600 x 1200 solution and 4:3 facet ratio. The container includes wall-mounting hardware, stand, and charging cord. Aura says the framework tin beryllium utilized successful either representation oregon scenery mode and, including some the show and frame, the Ink measures 14.1″ x 11.4″ x 0.6″.

The framework besides includes a USB-C port, presumption light, and fastener controls for moving betwixt your photos. If you don’t privation to manually set the photos, you tin trust connected the framework updating to the latest photograph successful your preconfigured rotation overnight.

In tests, the framework delivered a much muted colour than the existing Aura frames, but this besides made it acceptable successful amended adjacent to the printed photos connected the wall. Depending connected the image, it whitethorn not adjacent beryllium instantly evident to guests that it’s an e-ink framework from a distance. (We person not had the framework agelong capable to study connected artillery beingness astatine this time)

One happening that whitethorn propulsion you disconnected astatine archetypal is the photo-loading experience. It causes the surface to flash repeatedly, successful a yellow-ish light, which tin beryllium off-putting. But Jensen says the framework updates its photos overnight, truthful customers don’t person to spot this transition.

“The modulation is simply a small jarring. It’s decidedly a trade-off with this technology,” helium admits. “You tin set it up to 12 times a day, if you want, but that has a trade-off with artillery life. The much times it changes, the much artillery it uses, obviously.”

The institution believes that customers whitethorn extremity up being much selective astir the fig of photos they adhd to the frame, arsenic a result. Perhaps they’ll lone adhd a azygous photograph they privation to ever display, past alteration it retired erstwhile they’re acceptable for a caller one.

Aura successful 2022 raised $26 cardinal aft reaching 1 cardinal frames sold and an app utilized by 3 cardinal users. (Families often usage the app together, for instance, to adhd caller photos to a framework talented to the grandparents.) Today, the institution has sold “double-digit millions” of frames and is profitable. Its app has seen a cardinal photos shared to date, arsenic well.

Though the founders, Jensen and CEO Abdur Chowdhury hail from the earlier days of Twitter, Aura’s absorption is present much connected the backstage societal networks built betwixt friends and household who usage Aura’s app and devices to stock photos.

“We deliberation that this abstraction of sharing — not conscionable photos, but connecting with loved ones — is truly underserved. It’s evidently poorly monetized by ads,” Jensen says. “The matrimony of a hardware instrumentality and that abstraction truly works good arsenic a business,” helium adds.

The institution inactive considers itself a startup, arsenic it’s continuing to make caller products and contemplate updates to the Aura app that could grow beyond framework management.

“We’ve done a batch of prototyping astir bundle that’s not conscionable tied to frames,” helium notes. However, the institution worries that focusing connected a backstage photograph web connected its ain whitethorn not beryllium arsenic bully a business.

“We merchantability a hardware merchandise that has a precise straightforward worth proposition: nary subscription, unlimited photos. That works truly good with the backstage photograph network. And we’ve seen a batch of companies effort the backstage photograph web connected its ain successful the past and not being capable to find a concern exemplary for it,” Jensen says.

The Ink framework is connected merchantability starting today on Aura’s website.