If you’re trying to upgrade your already modern home, you might be looking into what medium-screen device you should add to your living space next. How about a smart display? Or perhaps a tablet or a digital photo frame?
We’ll go over the differences between these three gadgets and which one is best suited for your lifestyle.
What Is a Smart Display?
Want to watch some YouTube videos? Just tell your digital assistant exactly that, and it will play the video without you even touching the screen. Need to look up the calorie count of French fries? Ask your digital assistant, and it will pull up this information right away (by the way, it’s 312 calories per 100 grams).
You can also ask your smart display for a recipe, have it play some Disney songs, display your photos, and look up weather information. Overall, consider the smart display to be an upgraded smart speaker.
What Is a Tablet?
In the game of portability, tablets are sure winners. They are typically seen as hand-held laptops with a multitude of uses. You can use them to browse the web, stream movies, work on documents, and play games. You can even use an Android tablet as a second screen for Windows 11.
However, what sets tablets apart from personal computers is that they can work as it is with no need for a keyboard or mouse. Another major difference between the two is that most tablets run on either iOS or Android.
Almost anything you can do on a smartphone can also be done on a tablet, from downloading apps to charging the device itself. In fact, most phone chargers work with tablets, too.
If you are looking for a handy gadget to work on while you sit on the bus to work, a tablet can be a cost-effective and feature-rich substitute. However, if you’re accustomed to working with screens as big as your laptop, this is probably not the best choice.
What Is a Digital Photo Frame?
A digital photo frame is exactly what its name suggests: a picture frame that displays images digitally. Instead of the traditional printed images, it has an LED display that showcases your most valued memories.
That said, its most obvious benefit is that you won’t need to go about printing pictures and buying a mountain of frames to put them in. All you have to do is transfer the photos to the digital picture frame either from your computer or smartphone via an app, USB flash drive, or memory card.
Once you get your pictures of choice on the device, you can easily exhibit them one at a time, have them played in a certain order, or shuffle them throughout the day. You can also have loved ones upload photos to the device remotely.
Most digital picture frames come in screens of nine to 10 inches, although some brands offer ones as big as 15 inches (larger than your average laptop screen.) If you want to add these to your home to give it more warmth, it’s important that you check the digital picture frame’s resolution to get the most out of the device. Look for 720p or higher as the lower the resolution, the more grainy your images will seem since there aren’t as many pixels.
Which One Should I Pick for My Home?
Whether you’re just starting to build your smart home or already thinking of smart devices to add during your next renovation, these three devices are worth looking into. But which one best fits your household?
At first glance, it’s easy to mistake smart displays for tablets and digital photo frames. After all, they look the same and have a bunch of similarities functionality-wise. Smart displays and tablets come with touchscreen capability and digital assistants. Meanwhile, both smart displays and digital photo frames can showcase your pictures.
However, between the three, there is actually a world of difference. For one, smart displays and most digital picture frames are not battery-operated. They are designed to be plugged into a wall outlet. This means you can only use them in a specific part of your home.
Smart displays and digital photo frames also work best when connected to the internet. They have no SIM card support, so you only have a Wi-Fi connection to rely on. Between smart displays and digital photo frames, though, the latter is far superior as they solely focus on displaying pictures. They have much higher resolution, too.
On the other hand, tablets offer more functionalities than the other two devices. They usually have SIM card slots and rechargeable batteries, and the best part is that they are just as functional without internet access! You can carry these around wherever with no problem.
In general:
Go for the smart display if you want a handy assistant in your home that can control your other smart home devices and you can use hands-free. Go for the tablet if you like working on a portable device with a bigger screen than your phone. Go for the digital picture frame if all you want is to display your favorite photos at home.
The Perfect Smart Device for Your Smart Home
With technology in the palm of our hands, there is almost no doubt that many more devices will be developed in the years to come. If a smart display, tablet, or digital photo frame isn’t for you, you’ll surely find another great gadget with a distinct and more useful function in your household.
