Aura releases e-ink photo frame that mimics printed photos
10 reported
Aura has introduced the Aura Ink, a 13.3-inch digital photo frame that uses color e-ink technology to create a display that does not look digital. The company, founded 10 years ago, had long wanted to use e-ink but said the technology was not feasible until now. Co-founder and CTO Eric Jensen told TechCrunch that users have reported friends asking how they printed a picture so quickly. The frame uses a dithering algorithm to blend a limited palette of six colors — red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black — into images that appear smooth. Aura says it designed the algorithm for portraits, as users tend to highlight family photos. The Ink frame costs $499, while Aura’s 12-inch LED Aspen frame costs $229.
What’s reported
Aura Ink is a 13.3-inch e-ink photo frame that does not look digital.
The company was founded 10 years ago; color e-ink was not feasible until now.
Co-founder and CTO Eric Jensen said users have asked how they printed a picture so quickly.
The e-ink display can only produce six colors: red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black.
Aura created a dithering algorithm to blend the limited palette into smooth gradients.
The algorithm was designed for portraits, since users tend to highlight family photos.
The Ink frame costs $499; the 12-inch LED Aspen frame costs $229.
The frame changes photos once per day by default, usually at night.
It takes about one minute for the frame to render a new image via the app.
The frame charges via USB-C and needs charging about once per month.
Key figures
Eric Jensen, co-founder and CTO of Aura
Sources: TechCrunch
