5 Features Your Next Digital Frame Needs

By Christina B.

last updated 9/17/26

If you're shopping for a digital frame — for yourself or as a gift — you've probably noticed they all start to sound the same. Touchscreen. Wi-Fi enabled. Share photos instantly. Great, but what does that actually mean once it's plugged in on someone's kitchen counter?

 

Most frames have one or two of these five things figured out. We've never found one that has all five, which is why we created Loop with all of them. Here's what to actually look for, and why each one matters more than it sounds like it would.

A Swipeable Touchscreen

A touchscreen sounds like a given in 2026, but a surprising number of frames still don't have one — you're stuck watching a slideshow cycle at whatever pace it decided on, with no way to go back.

 

That matters more than it sounds like it should. You're across the room, a photo pops up — your kid mid-laugh, someone's terrible birthday candle photo, whatever — and by the time you walk over, it's already moved on to the next one. With Loop's easy-to-use touchscreen, you can swipe forward and backward through your photos at any time. The automatic slideshow will pick up where you left off, making it easy to both interact and also enjoy on auto-pilot.

 

It's also the reason little kids end up loving these things. Hand a toddler a Loop frame and watch them swipe through pictures of themselves — no app, no login, just their own photos, right there.

Rene E.

"Now my first great grandson loves to sit and swipe through his history of photos and remember where they were taken 🥰"

Get a Frame You Can Swipe  →

Album-Level Sharing Control

Here's the thing most people don't think to ask about until it's a problem: on a lot of frames, if you invite someone to share photos, they can see everything on that frame — not just what you sent them. So your college roommate and your mother-in-law end up in the same photo pool, seeing each other's stuff, with no way to keep those worlds apart.

 

Albums on Loop solve that. You can create separate albums — one for your side of the family, one for his, one just for the grandparents, whatever makes sense for your life — and share only the specific album with those specific people. Nobody sees more than what's meant for them.

 

The part people discover later and love even more: you can send the same album to multiple frames at once, toggle albums on or off right from your phone, and archive ones you don't want cycling through anymore — all without deleting a single photo. It's less "digital frame" and more "control panel for exactly what everyone in your family sees."

Cari H.

"You can invite others to upload images to a specific album."

Get a Frame With Private Albums →

Text Message Upload Option

Everyone already texts photos. It's the fastest way any of us share a picture, and it's also where most of those photos go to disappear — buried in a thread, never printed, never seen again by the person you sent it to unless they think to save it themselves.

 

Text-to-frame skips all of that. Set it up once in the app, get a phone number, and from then on you just text a photo straight to someone's frame — no app to open, no login, no extra step. You keep doing exactly what you already do (texting a photo), you just stop losing it in the process.

 

Loop is the only frame on the market that has both a touchscreen and text-to-frame. Most frames give you one or the other — not both.

Jenny E.

"I choose this product for the texting option - no emailing or uploading to an app unless you want to."

Get the Frame You Can Text →

A Frame That Knows When to Turn Off

Nobody needs one more device to remember to shut off every night. Between the lights, the TV, and everything else, the last thing you want to add to the list is "also don't forget to turn off the picture frame."

 

With a sleep/wake schedule, you set the hours once and the frame handles the rest — off in the evening, back on and cycling through photos again in the morning, automatically. While it's off, you can choose a simple clock display or a totally blank screen, whichever fits the room. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of detail that matters a lot for a frame set up for an elderly parent or grandparent — one less thing anyone has to remember on their behalf.

Get a Frame That Runs Itself →

MaryBeth E.

"The ease of being able to upload pictures just by texting them to the Loop is so fast and convenient."

Cari H.

"The frames are easy to use with the touch screen, you can change the settings, skip ahead or go back to a previous picture."

Jenny E. 

"I choose this product for the texting option - no emailing or uploading to an app unless you want to."

Deb E.

"One has the ability to even add videos to the Loop and I have multiple videos of our granddaughter on the volleyball court.

Rene

"Now my first great grandson loves to sit and swipe through his history of photos and remember where they were taken 🥰"

Jill W.

"We love texting pictures right to the frame. It's so easy to use & a beautiful addition to their home!!"

Longer Videos — Not Just a 10 Second Clip

A lot of frames technically support video, but only in short bursts — meaning that you have to trim your favorite clips before you hit send. Loop supports video up to 5 minutes long, per clip, through the app.

 

That's the difference between sending a highlight and sending the actual moment. The whole goal celebration. Your baby's actual first steps, not just the tail end of them. The full dance recital your dad couldn't make it to. Volume can be toggled on the frame and on the video itself — most people leave it muted by default and tap to turn the sound on if a video comes through that they want to listen to.

Deb E.

"One has the ability to even add videos to the Loop and I have multiple videos of our granddaughter on the volleyball court."

Get a Frame for the Whole Moment →
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Let customers speak for us

from 181 reviews
I love Loop (& great customer service!)

I love Loop and bought one for myself, two sets of grandparents and an aunt. Our friends love it so much, they've also bought multiple to share with their family. Set up is easy, sharing photos across the country is easy, and it's a fun way to feel connected.
I've had a couple of faulty frames and Loop customer service has resolved the concerns every time. Great customer service!

Anonymous
Works great , many nice features for displaying

Works great , many nice features for displaying the time per photo, and clarity of pictures

Anonymous
Perfect, long-lasting gift for elderly mom.

My siblings and I bought this for our mom about four or five years ago. It is the gift she has enjoyed more than any other. I tasked our "techie" son with picking out the best quality frame that also had the least chance for our very "un-techie" mom to have a problem with. He succeeded. This frame allows all of her kids and grandkids to post photos so that she can get up-to-date photos of everyone and feel like she is still connected even though most of them live out of state. She is now 99 years old and in nursing care and the frame has made the move with her. An added benefit that I didn't anticipate was the positive reaction from facility staff: the photos have allowed them to get to know her better and recognize her full life (we've added lots of photos from when she was growing up, raising a family, etc herself). As her memory declines, the photos have helped her recall people and events and really brightened her day.

The frame has survived a few drops and still works perfectly. The reason for this review now is that I recently had to ask for a new plug as my mom broke off one of the prongs, (after an energetic recline in her reclining chair combined with an electric outlet that is about four feet up on the wall). The Loop team has been amazing to work with and are sending a new plug at no cost. Thank you Loop team for your excellent product and customer service for a gift that has been so treasured by my mom.

p.s. We have been so pleased with the Loop frame that we also bought one for our son and daughter-in-law and they love it too!

Kathy V.
This frame is great

This frame is great. A gift for my elderly mom who has dementia. We add the names of who is in the photos. Great support! Loop is sending a replacement power cord after it was damaged.
Thank you for a wonderful picture frame!

Anonymous
We received our loop digital frame as a gift

We received our loop digital frame as a gift from our our kids and we absolutely love it!
We upload pictures after each life event that we want to remember and re-live

Jerri
Excellent product and company

I received my Loop Frame as a gift and I enjoy it every single day. I had very few difficulties so I called the company and they sent me a brand new frame! The people I spoke with were so kind and they were so prompt sending me a new frame. I highly recommend this company and their products.

Anonymous
Rec’d as gift

Rec’d as gift. Love adding photos for family to share. Had a glitch and customer service (Christina) was VERY helpful and got my frame back on track. Highly recommend

Anonymous
Best gift for Grandparents!

I gifted a loop frame to my step dad for his birthday, and he and my mom absolutely love it! Their favorite part is being able to see new pictures of their grandkids (my kids) when I send them.

Jody O.
AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE

I got this frame when my grandson was born. We live across the country from each other so it really makes me smile to see him in action. About a week ago the frame suddenly stopped working. I reached out to the customer service team for help ( hard for a grandma to be without grandson pictures) They could not solve my problem so they are sending me a brand new frame at no cost. Christina has been incredibly helpful and kind. I LOVE THIS COMPANY

Jo L.
A great company

I bought one for my daughter & son-in-law and myself a long time ago. When we both tried to get it to work, there was an issue. We contacted Loop via their website. They immediately responded to the issues and replaced them without any complaints. They have incredible customer service. I highly recommend them.

Anonymous
The very best new GRANDPARENT’s gift!! 💝

This is our second Loop frame. The first one was gifted to us by our son and daughter in law when they had their baby James. What a special and FANTASTIC gift for first time grandparents!! We loved being able to watch James grow although he lives across the country. Well apparently we wore it out, because we needed a new frame, and your company was very generous in helping us replace it. We loved being able how crisp the photos are, and we just leave it on all day so we can enjoy seeing our little guy all the time. Thank you again for such an enjoyable gift.

Ann M.
Great Customer Service

Our Loop was going in and out but I never bothered to contact the customer service because I didn't want to go through the 1000's of questions, the finding the paper work. But when the Loop finally died. I decided to email customer service. That happen next was the surprise. Loop's customer service is top notch. I told them what happened and Boom! The sent me out a replacement unit in no time. I should of contacted them much sooner. Now my Loop is up and running and I get to see all those great pictures in HD. Thank you so much Loop!!

Anonymous
My Loop was a gift from my niece

My Loop was a gift from my niece. She knows I love displaying my families pictures and the younger ones love seeing themselves and recounting the memories. When I noticed my Loop was not working I was worried that the cost would not be in my budget but I emailed Loop anyway hoping for the best. Loop responded quickly to my email and I was able to receive another quickly. I am deeply appreciative of how Loop was able to help me. Set up was quick, even for someone like me that is not tech savvy. Thank you Loop I am a very grateful customer!

R M.
I love our loop digital frame that we received as a gift from our son and daughter in law

I love our loop digital frame that we received as a gift from our son and daughter in law. We get to see new pictures of our grandchildren every day and it’s been amazing.

Anonymous
Awesome product

Love the loop frame! Made a great gift for family as well. Awesome customer service from the loop team as well!

Ryland L.

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100-Day Happiness Guarantee

Try it for 100 days. If you don't love it, return it. We cover return shipping — no questions asked.

Secure Checkout

All transactions are encrypted and secure. Pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, or Amex.

Ships in 1-2 Days

Free shipping on every order. Your frame arrives quickly and is ready to start sending photos immediately.

Grab the digital frame with all the features your family needs.

Join 50,000+ families already sharing moments through Loop.

Jill W.

"We love texting pictures right to the frame. It's so easy to use & a beautiful addition to their home!!"

Get the Frame with All 5 Features →