Aura Aspen Review (2025): Made for Vertical

My 2-year-old son thinks each photograph frames are digital. He reaches up to the inactive frames successful my parents' location to swipe to the adjacent photo. While successful immoderate ways this sounds a small dystopian, I besides find myself a small impressed. The Aura framework successful my surviving room, however, has wholly convinced my lad that it's an analog representation frame. I can't adjacent person him to instrumentality a bath.

Aura's scope of integer representation frames is the champion retired there. The Aura Carver ($149) and Walden ($299) are some apical picks successful our usher for a reason, acknowledgment to their awesome plan and matte screens that don't consciousness similar conscionable an iPad acceptable up to flash photos astatine you. As of today, there's a caller kid connected the block: the Aura Aspen.

The Aspen sits close successful betwixt the Carver and Walden erstwhile it comes to size and price, and it packs the 4:3 ratio that's cleanable for smartphone photographers. It's a large summation to the lineup, and if you're usually taking photos with your phone—especially if those photos thin to beryllium vertical—this is the framework for you.

Frame Job

The biggest quality from the remainder of Aura's lineup is the size. The Aspen has an 11.8-inch screen—larger than the Carver's 10.1 inches but smaller than the gargantuan 15-inch Walden frame. It packs the aforesaid anti-glare show you'll find successful the Aspen and Walden, on with a 4:3 ratio and 1,600 x 1,200 HD display. That ratio matches astir smartphone cameras, making it a large prime for your regular photos. Otherwise, the bundle wrong is the aforesaid you'll find connected each of Aura's displays, and you'll usage the aforesaid app to power it.

The Aspen besides has dual orientation, meaning it tin beryllium successful either representation oregon scenery mode. This is akin to the Mason ($192) (which Aura is really sunsetting this year), though you'll request to scope astir the backmost to power the stand's presumption successful bid to alteration the orientation. It lone takes a fewer seconds to bash this, though I deliberation astir radical volition prime a azygous predisposition and absorption connected uploading photos to lucifer it.

I chose vertical mode, since I usually instrumentality pictures successful this orientation. For the fewer scenery shots I added, the framework included the full photograph with achromatic bars supra and below. If you're much of a scenery photographer, it's casual to enactment the framework successful scenery mode alternatively to champion suit your pictures. It's besides a bully size for ample rooms, similar unfastened level spaces oregon ample surviving rooms, truthful you tin inactive spot and bask the photograph from assorted spots astir the room. My parents person the 10-inch Carver framework astatine their house, and portion I similar it, it's overmuch easier to bask my photos connected the Aspen from crossed the country with the larger screen.