It’s no secret – I’m a fan of the Samsung Frame TV, and rate it as the best frame TV on sale at the moment. But I may have found something better, especially if you're looking for more 'art' than 'TV' in your next digital picture frame purchase.
The Galari digital frame is an art frame that uses e-paper technology – like you'd find on a Kindle – rather that LED or LCD, as with most digital frames out there. That means, if you want a digital art frame that actually looks like real art and not just another back-lit screen in the room, the Galari is where it's at. And that's for $445 from Kickstarter right now, and $699 when it becomes commercially available.
Of course, there's a reason that e-paper isn't widely used for digital frames. All the best-selling art frames use LCD or LED so they can show colour, and that colourful image can be brightly lit. The Galari only offers black and white imagery, and there is no back light. The reasoning goes, that's because it would rather be a visual treasure in harmony with your living area, rather than advertise its presence whenever it's switched on.
Speaking to Sushi Suzuki, the man behind the Galari frame, using e-paper technology is more than a marketing point of difference. When he previously owned art frames, he was struck by how, well, loud they were. "Humans are naturally drawn to light sources, so having a light source in your living space just doesn’t feel right," he says. "It keeps clawing for your attention. I think they work fine in loud environments like public spaces and offices, but at home, where you spend half your time relaxing?!"
The Galari frame is a good example of 'calm tech' – technology not trying to win you over, but rather subtly complement its lived in environments.
When I reviewed the Samsung Frame TV, which has a QLED display, I was always aware that it was a light source. Yes, it offered colour art, but even with the matte finish of the 2024 model, it still looked like a screen displaying art. From the real life pics that Sushi sent me, this doesn't seem to be the case with the Galari.
The Galari's subtlety is its power, but there's nothing subtle about the interest people have shown in this pre-market product. It blasted through its Kickstarter goal (£205,000 pledged of the £15,800 goal) in no time at all. Each model comes in a wooden frame, and with a photo matte that frames the image further. To further distinguish it from other bright digital frames, there's no visible plastic on its front.
Sushi thinks these touches of quality are important, but don't fully explain the popularity of the Galari frame: "More than ten years ago, while working in Germany for Panasonic, I was part of a research team studying how people live at home," he says. "One thing that stood out to me was how much effort people put into hiding technology in their living spaces." And it wasn't just the consumer. "Companies went to great lengths to remove buttons from built-in kitchen appliances, refrigerators were concealed behind cabinet doors, and some people even covered their unused TVs with tapestry."
It seems that we've been crying out for tech that doesn't look like tech for ages. And now there seems to be enough art lovers eager for tech that does justice to art, rather than trying to sell it back to us.
