Aura Aspen: Premium Digital Frame, Mid-Range Price.

The Aura Aspen digital photo frame distinguishes itself within Aura’s product line and the broader market by offering a blend of sophisticated design, user-friendly features, and high-quality display. Positioned in the middle of Aura’s offerings, the Aspen aims to deliver a premium experience without reaching the highest price point.

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Aura Aspen: Key Specifications

• Display: 11.8″ diagonal, dual-orientation, anti-glare matte finish
• Resolution: 1600 x 1200 (170ppi)
• Storage: Cloud-based (unlimited with Wi-Fi)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi only
• Aspect Ratio: 4:3
• Audio: Built-in speaker
• App: Aura (iOS and Android)
• Dimensions: 12.7 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches
• Weight: 2.1 lbs

Pricing and Market Position

The Aura Aspen is priced around $229, positioning it between the more compact Carver and the larger Walden within Aura’s product range. While Aura frames occupy the higher end of the digital photo frame market, their superior build quality, stylish design, and intuitive functionality, largely driven by the Aura app, justify the investment for many consumers. The app’s preloading feature, perfect for gifting, adds significant value.

Design and Handling

The Aspen’s design emphasizes a blend of modern aesthetics and traditional photo frame sensibilities. It is available in Ink (black) and Clay (gray) bezel colors, framing a textured, white inset designed to mimic the look and feel of heavy-duty cardstock. This attention to detail creates a sleek, minimalist appearance that avoids a cheap, plastic feel, despite being constructed from plastic.

As Aura’s slimmest frame to date, the Aspen measures just half an inch in thickness. Its stand allows for both horizontal and vertical orientation, with automatic display rotation. The frame maintains a clean look by minimizing physical controls. An on/off button is discreetly located on the back, and touch-sensitive bars are integrated into the top and side edges. These Touch Bars allow users to navigate and interact with the frame without leaving fingerprints on the display itself.

A slight bulge on the back, housing the speaker, is concealed by the stand, ensuring the frame sits stably. However, this design choice means the frame cannot be mounted flush against a wall. While wall mounting isn’t an option, the trailing power cord often associated with wall-mounted digital frames can disrupt the overall aesthetic.

Performance and Features

The Aspen features a 1600 x 1200-pixel display within its 12-inch diagonal screen. This resolution, identical to the larger 15-inch Walden, results in a higher pixel density (170ppi) on the Aspen, contributing to a sharper, more detailed image.

A key feature of the Aura ecosystem is its cloud-based storage. Instead of relying on limited internal memory, the Aspen stores images on Aura’s servers, offering virtually unlimited storage as long as a Wi-Fi connection is maintained. The Aura app simplifies image management, allowing users to easily upload photos from their phone libraries and search for specific people. The app also provides basic editing tools, such as cropping and rotation, to optimize image display.

Family sharing is another standout feature. Users can grant access to friends and family, allowing them to contribute photos from anywhere in the world. The gifting feature, which allows preloading images by scanning a QR code, makes the Aspen a thoughtful and personalized gift.

The Aura app also includes a scanner function, enabling users to quickly digitize physical prints. The app’s editing tools allow for straightening and converting images to black and white.

The touch-sensitive bars on the frame offer basic controls: swiping right advances to the next photo, swiping left goes back, tapping displays image information, double-tapping “loves” the image, and a long press opens a menu for excluding unwanted photos.

An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display brightness, preventing excessive brightness and ensuring a natural look even in dark environments.

Overall Impression

The Aura Aspen delivers a compelling combination of minimalist design, high-resolution display, and user-friendly features. Its 12-inch screen size offers a good balance between visibility and space requirements. The 1600 x 1200 resolution ensures crisp, clear images, while the auto-dimming feature prevents eye strain.

The integration of Touch Bars provides a convenient way to interact with the frame without smudging the screen. However, the primary control interface is the Aura app, which simplifies image management and sharing. While the Aspen is more expensive than some digital photo frames, its ease of use, top-quality display, and thoughtful features make it a worthwhile investment.

Alternative Options

• Lexar Pexar 11in Photo Frame: Offers even higher resolution with a 2000 x 1200-pixel 2K display, a 100% Adobe sRGB color gamut, SD card, USB, and wireless connectivity, multi-user support, and built-in storage for approximately 40,000 images.
• Aura Walden: Provides the same Aura functionality, including cloud storage and preloading, but with a larger 15-inch screen at the same 1600 x 1200 resolution.