At $349, Aura’s next color E Ink photo frame is smaller, cheaper, sharper and more colorful

A smaller, lower-cost frame

The smaller frame has a black border and matching mat board. Like the larger Ink, it has a rechargeable battery, allowing it to hang without a power cord dangling from the frame.

More colors and detail

The 10-inch display uses E Ink’s Spectra 6 technology, which combines black, white, red, yellow, blue and green ink droplets. Aura worked with E Ink to add off-white, mustard yellow and orange base colors for the new model.

Its pixel density is 200 pixels per inch, compared with 150ppi on the 13-inch version. Aura says its enhancements are intended to make faces look more natural, bring out texture and smooth gradients.

Color still has limits

The improvements are subtle in practice, and comparing the same photo on both models side by side may be needed to notice them. E Ink estimates Spectra 6 can reproduce around 65,000 colors, potentially more with Aura’s additions, while LCD screens can show millions.

Bright blues, greens and reds can stand out, but skin tones may look too warm or cold. A bright-yellow water taxi photo also appeared less saturated than expected, illustrating how difficult it can be to predict the display’s colors.

Printed-photo look, slower updates

The frame’s images have the appearance of printed photos, with a subtle front light that adjusts automatically to room lighting. Aura estimates the battery lasts three months if the displayed photo changes once each night.

Users can set up to 12 automatic refreshes daily in Aura’s mobile app or change the image with buttons on the back. Each update takes about 30 seconds and includes flickering patterns; more frequent changes mean charging the frame more often.