Pexar is the photo frame offshoot of memory manufacturing giant Lexar, who you will no doubt be familiar with as the maker of some of the best memory cards, as well as top-rated USB sticks. It has two debut frames in its initial line-up: an 11-inch 2.4Mp model, which I'm reviewing here, and a frame that's physically not much smaller at 10.1 inches but has a much lower-res 1.02Mp display.
True to form for a company that made its name in memory, there's plenty of storage built in, with its internal 32GB being enough for 40,000 or so images. But if that's not enough for you then it has an SD card slot, as well as USB-A and USB-C interfaces, enabling up to a whopping 1TB of external storage.
Lexar Pexar 11in photo frame: Specifications
Lexar Pexar 11in photo frame: Price
This 11-inch Pexar digital picture frame sells for $159.99 / £149.99. There is also the aforementioned slightly smaller 10.1-inch version that costs $149.99 / £TBA, but while there's not a lot in it when it comes to the physical dimensions, the resolution of the smaller frame is only 1280x800 pixels, compared to 2000x1200 pixels on offer here. Considering the minimal difference in selling price, the 11-inch frame is the much better buy.
It's an attractively priced frame, considering the spec sheet, comparing well to other frames on the market from well-known brands. The 11-inch screen is bigger than most, the resolution puts it among the most generously proportioned frames, and the 32GB storage is way ahead of what most other frames offer.
Also, keep an eye out for frequent discounts. At the time of writing, there was a 20% Black Friday saving available on the Pexar Amazon US store until December 2, 2024, with those prepared to wait for the actual Black Friday weekend (November 29 to December 2) also receiving a 64GB Lexar USB storage drive, limited to the first 500 buyers.
Lexar Pexar 11in photo frame: Design & Handling
The 11-inch screen sits within a classic white surround inset into a thin black bezel. The display is bright and clear, and while the brightness can be toned down from its maximum 400nits so that it doesn't look overly bright in dark environments, it's not automatic but needs delving into a menu. An anti-glare coating makes it easy to view in bright conditions, while an antistatic coating prevents it from becoming a dust magnet.
A magnetic stand fixes firmly in place yet is easily removed and props up the frame in either portrait or landscape orientations, with images auto-rotating to suit. There are also insets for hanging the frame on a wall, should you wish to do so. Around the back are USB-A, USB-C, and SD card slots.
The only physical control on the device is a discrete power button. The display is touch-sensitive, and a swipe to the right moves onto the next photo in the sequence, while swiping left brings up the previous image. Tapping the screen brings up a set of options, and double-tapping allows a variety of 'like' emojis to be added. By default, the time and weather are overlaid onto the image, along with info on who uploaded it, but can be switched off – which was my preferred option for a more natural photo-viewing experience.
Lexar Pexar 11in photo frame: Performance
The Pexar boasts a 100% sRGB color gamut, so your images look true to life as they were intended, and it packs 2000 x 1200 pixels into its 11-inch diagonal screen, giving a very nice high-resolution display for its size. The resultant 2.4Mp images really do look gorgeous – beautifully clear and crisp, and full of color and pop.
Most of the frame's functionality is controlled by a companion Frameo app. This isn't custom-developed software from Pexar but a licensed app that's used by a variety of electronic picture frame makers and has the advantage that if you have other non-Pexar frames then the app can easily share shots to multiple different frames.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of Frameo is that many users can connect to a single frame, making it ideal for sharing images within the family or wider friendship groups. You do have to trust who you share the code with though, lest an unsuitable shot pop up when you're least prepared for it.
It's easy to upload images from your smartphone's library via the Frameo app. You can select up to 10 images at a time, add captions, and then choose the most important area of the photo. This is so the frame knows where best to crop into the image, both in portrait and landscape orientations.
You can also upload short videos – the maximum length being 15 seconds. These are best only uploaded to frames using the same native orientation, as otherwise the video is hemmed with borders. It's also wise to mute the volume for video uploads if you don't want it to disturb the peace when you're not expecting it.
The basic Frameo app is free, but there's also a paid-for option that enables up to 100 images to be uploaded at once, as well as longer videos. This service also enables you to see which photos have been uploaded to the frame and provides cloud storage. It's not overly expensive at $1.99/£0.99 per month or $16.99/£7.99 per year, but it's perfectly possible to get by without it.
If you're primarily a DSLR or mirrorless – rather than phone – photographer, then uploading images is a bit more of a faff. You'll have to first copy the images to an SD card or a USB drive, and plug it in manually. Images can be transferred directly from a PC via USB, but not Macs. There's no way to transfer images over Wi-Fi from a computer.
Lexar Pexar 11in photo frame: Verdict
There's a lot to like about the Lexar Pexar 11in digital photo frame. Perhaps the most important aspect of such a device is the quality of its screen, and this is an absolute cracker; packing 2.4 megapixels into 11 inches of real estate displays your images in beautifully crisp detail, while the full 100% sRGB color gamut ensures they are wonderfully vibrant too. It has enough storage space for even the most trigger-happy photographer, it's a breeze for family members to share their shots, and it's competitively priced. There's a choice of two models, but I'd go for the 11-in version every day of the week.
✅ Buy it...
- You want a decent-sized frame that packs in plenty of megapixels for crisp detail
- You have a big extended family or trustworthy friends and need plenty of storage for images
🚫 Don't buy it...
- You mainly want to upload images from a computer, rather than a smartphone
- Money is tight – there are cheaper alternatives though they're not nearly as nice
