Nixplay Iris review: Cloud management in a traditional photo frame

Nixplay makes some quality digital photo frames — I also reviewed the Zip Lux and Nixplay Seed — offering folks a choice between mod or former-fashioned styles, also as whether or not photo management is taken care of locally through ports or via the cloud and app. The Iris is a mix of the 2 previous frames I looked at, offer a archetype frame style that is both Alexa-enabled and able to play 15-second video clips.

Information technology'southward bachelor in three colors, with silvery costing the to the lowest degree at $157, peach copper in the middle at $193, and burnished bronze at $200. I tested the Nixplay Iris to determine whether or not its worth the price tag that gets relatively steep.

Cloud-based digital frame

Nixplay Iris

From $157

Bottom line: With plenty of features and hardly whatever drawbacks, the Nixplay Iris is a not bad frame for anyone who wants to keep a classic look while treatment media through an app or web browser.

Pros

Easy setup
Nice frame end
Ability cable disguised as a stand
Plays up to xv-second videos
Works with Amazon Alexa

Cons

No ports
Non wall-mountable

What yous'll honey near the Nixplay Iris

Struggling to set up up a digital frame is non something you want to deal with, and Nixplay keeps information technology piece of cake. You plug it in, type the password for your Wi-Fi network using the included remote, let a firmware update automatically install, and the frame is ready to display. I already had the app on my phone from previous reviews, which quickly picked upward the frame and added information technology to my contour. Next, a list of my playlists popped up, and I assigned ane to play on the frame. This all took nigh five minutes between ripping the plastic off the box and seeing pictures on-screen, simply the first-time setup of the app that I skipped here will add a few minutes more than.

Category	Spec
Display size	eight-inch LCD IPS
Display resolution	1,024 x 768
Aspect ratio	iv:3
Storage	eight GB internal 10 GB complimentary deject storage
Wi-Fi	Yes
Speakers	One
Ports	None
Battery	No
Wall-mountable	No
Colors	Peach copper Silver Burnished bronze

The frame continues the Nixplay style with a pebbled blackness back and smart stand that doubles as the power cable, allowing you to use the frame in either landscape or portrait. It is very thin, especially effectually the edges, with one side dedicated to property a speaker and light and motion sensors. The slim torso means there are non whatever extra bits that permit for wall mounting, and then if you want something to hang, y'all'll want to look elsewhere. The aluminum front of the frame, with about a 1.5-inch bezel in glassy copper, could exist mistaken for plastic. But in any case, it looks like a high-quality product.

The viii-inch IPS display has a matte finish and 1,024 x 768 resolution, which at this size looks pretty sharp, and the 4:3 aspect ratio is far more mutual than ratios constitute on some other frames. Set up in a sunroom, I had to creepo the brightness to get a practiced picture. However, I found it wasn't quite enough to cut down completely on glare, though in a room with a more than normal amount of low-cal information technology was bright plenty. I switched on the adaptive brightness pick thereafter and oasis't thought near it since. Overall the picture is clear and has great dissimilarity, and y'all can tweak RGB colors if it doesn't quite look right.

Nixplay's Iris is a perfect digital frame for those who want a traditional await, well-baked display, and easy Wi-Fi direction.

There are plenty of settings you can modify to get the right slideshow, you can toggle what's shown on the screen (like clock or caption), you can set a sleep timer, and you tin can plough on the activity sensor that turns the brandish off when it senses no i is around. The playlists themselves are handled through the app or online, where y'all tin can add local photos or import photos from the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Flickr, and Google Photos. The app can exist used anywhere in the world to send images or videos to a particular frame, and others can send in their all-time via a dedicated email address you can set up later. Sharing videos directly to the frame is currently available with the iOS app but, with Android set to come later.

As an added bonus for those setting upward a smart abode, the Iris is Alexa enabled. It'due south pretty basic stuff — turn on the display, show a playlist, and check whether or not the frame is continued to your network — but it's in that location if yous desire information technology.

What you'll dislike virtually the Nixplay Iris

The Iris is an ideal frame for anyone who wants to handle photo direction through an app or a web browser. The UI in both is well laid out and makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to send media. Only I know that some notwithstanding appreciate having a port or two on the dorsum of the frame for directly transfer from a camera or other device. If that sounds like you, yous volition probably dislike the simple, thin design that otherwise works almost perfectly. The lack of a born wall mount will also disappoint those who want to go on the frame off of a tabular array or shelf, and anyone expecting the speaker to blow them away will be disappointed. It gets the job done, merely information technology'due south nothing special.

Should yous buy the Nixplay Iris?

Those who similar some only not all of the features here should bank check out the Nix Lux or Nixplay Seed, which each offer a bit of what the Iris has for less coin. The old offers a classic design and is loaded with ports for local transfer, while the Seed has a more than modern blueprint and is deject-based like the Iris.

If y'all want a frame with a classic design that relies entirely on Wi-Fi to go things done, the Iris should be a neat choice for you lot. I'm not sure if spending more to get a certain colour is worth information technology, but that'southward really upwards to you. The cheaper silver model seems to accept all the aforementioned features as the more expensive colors, and it costs almost $50 less.

Cloud-based digital frame

Nixplay Iris

Classic look with Wi-Fi management.

The Iris is perfect for those who want a traditional-looking frame that can be managed entirely through an app or spider web browser. The display is crisp, you can tweak plenty of settings, and the frame itself is built well and looks like a premium product. Now with Alexa back up and (limited) video playback, the frame is quite versatile.

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