These are pretty easy to DIY with something like the inky impression 13 (a spectra 6 display), a pi zero 2w and a tiny bit of python.
Haven't figured out a good coorless option but its a fun weekend project.
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
19 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
4459 readers
509 users here now
Which posts fit here?
Anything that is at least tangentially connected to the technology, social media platforms, informational technologies and tech policy.
Post guidelines
[Opinion] prefix
Opinion (op-ed) articles must use [Opinion] prefix before the title.
Rules
1. English only
Title and associated content has to be in English.
2. Use original link
Post URL should be the original link to the article (even if paywalled) and archived copies left in the body. It allows avoiding duplicate posts when cross-posting.
3. Respectful communication
All communication has to be respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.
4. Inclusivity
Everyone is welcome here regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
5. Ad hominem attacks
Any kind of personal attacks are expressly forbidden. If you can't argue your position without attacking a person's character, you already lost the argument.
6. Off-topic tangents
Stay on topic. Keep it relevant.
7. Instance rules may apply
If something is not covered by community rules, but are against lemmy.zip instance rules, they will be enforced.
Companion communities
!globalnews@lemmy.zip
!interestingshare@lemmy.zip
Icon attribution | Banner attribution
If someone is interested in moderating this community, message @brikox@lemmy.zip.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Any guide you know of for this?
I believe the inky impression might have tutorials available, but heres their sample code https://github.com/pimoroni/inky/blob/main/examples/spectra6/image.py
...i now realize I don't have my code up anywhere though, but its basically that on a cron job to cycle through a directory of images.
You grab a pi zero 2w, or maybe anything with the standard pi gpio connectors slap that on the back of the display and you should be good to go.
It's incredibly awkward to mount on a picture frame, and the weight of the pi does cause it to sag to one side, so might be better as a table frame than a wall mount.
This is really cool, I love that it has a gentle front light. But pricing aside, having to take off the wall to charge every three months is a dealbreaker. I wonder if a solar panel along the top edge of the frame would have been sufficient to keep the battery charged for most situations.
Regardless I hope we see more of these. Even if the ~~Kaleido~~ Spectra 6 screen is FAR from photo quality.
This is not kaleido, this is Spectra 6 which is unusable for e-readers as it's meant for digital signage. It takes as much as 30 seconds to refresh a spectra 6 screen.
Thanks, I fixed my comment, the article said "similar to that found in the Kindle Colorsoft" and I didn't read further.
Be warned, this market is currently exploding with options so if you are considering one SHOP AROUND THOROUGHLY. There are only going to be a handful of different screens all made by the same two companies, so the other features and app functionality will be how these are truly differentiated.