Aura's Mason Luxe is a bright, clean, mid-sized 9.7" frame with a 2K screen in your face, encased in a decorative, rustic granite style housing. Both still images and video can be viewed with exquisite detail and deep, true-to-life color reproduction. Operated by its own smartphone app, the frame has no on-board storage and does not accept camera cards or thumb drives, but can display unlimited media from your camera roll, gallery, Google Photos, and other online photo sources.

The picture quality is superb in widescreen with realistic colors and wide viewing angles. Two touch bars on the top and side of the frame provide minimal control, but most important is the Aura app for iOS or Android. Read our Aura Mason Luxe review to find out why this is one of the best digital photo frames.

This flagship product is one of the highest quality photo frames available, and it doesn't come cheap. Available in Sandstone (whitish gray) or Pebble (medium gray), it costs $249 on Amazon or the same price on Aura's website.

The Aura Mason Luxe frame is a true designer piece for any interior. Its neutral color scheme and naturally textured stone-like exterior (actually made of plastic) work equally well with rich colors, bright hues, or minimalist monochromatic color schemes. Although sometimes compared to the older Aura Mason Frame, the bezel is thinner and the glass is larger, making it actually a superior design. The overall impression is of a larger, brighter image that looks the same in landscape or portrait orientation.

The Mason Luxe is strictly a tabletop frame and cannot be hung on the wall, but unlike many other frames, the outer bezel is thick and sturdy and will not tip over with normal use.

The image quality at 2048 x 1536 resolution is nothing short of spectacular. If you want the best image quality, this is the frame to choose, and the Mason Luxe pairs perfectly with photos and videos from Apple and Android smartphones, plus a web uploader lets you add images (but not videos) directly from your computer. It can also import photos from iCloud and Google Photos accounts.

The frame's semi-matte glass projects crisp, clear images. Photos and videos are integrated and played together in a slideshow, but videos load and play silently by default. Video playback is limited to 30 seconds, which is long enough for a digital photo frame. Sound quality is about what one would expect from the small speaker on the back of the frame. Playback tends to be a bit stuttery at times, so videos are best kept short.

Viewing angles are reasonable, but the image appears darker the further away from the center of the frame.

As for the frame interface, nothing major. Two touch bars, one on the top and one on the side, allow the user to control the frame without tapping or swiping the glass. There is no remote control or touchscreen functionality. While touchscreens are easy and convenient, oily fingerprints can obstruct the view and make it look messy. The touch bar keeps the screen clean at all times.

The top bar allows you to advance through photos until you find the one you want to see. A long press can close the menu, delete an image, or turn off the frame. Swiping the side touch bar reveals minimal metadata such as location, date and time taken, and photographer. You can also "Like" a photo from the slider can also be pressed. Frames only support cloud input, not SD cards, thumb drives, or internal storage.

Friends and family can add photos to the frame via email, their own apps, or websites (with permission). The screen brightness automatically adjusts to ambient light, but at night, when the lights go out, the frame automatically goes into sleep mode. If there is a motion detector, such as the one in our favorite Pix-Star frames, the frame's operation is controlled when a person is actually viewing it. If the room is dark, it doesn't mean people aren't there. However, on/off times can also be scheduled, giving users more scheduling and energy-saving options.

The app's setup panel offers flexibility in how photos are presented. Overall speed, rotation, and cropping can be set. When you rotate a frame, the image will automatically rotate as well. If you own multiple Aura frames, the app allows you to share photos and videos across all frames. You can choose between a random or chronological view, but you cannot specify the order of the photos or videos.

Like the other Aura frames we examined, Mason Luxe relies on its mobile app for the bulk of its uploading and image tracking. We found Aura's own mobile app to be easy and efficient. It syncs with the device's gallery and connects via its own servers, so there is no storage limit on the number of photos a frame can display. You can also manually upload the photos and videos you want displayed in the frame. The app allows you to crop and rotate images for optimal viewing. You can choose from 13 different slideshow timings ranging from 15 seconds to 24 hours.

Friends and family can be invited to the frame from the app, and comments and favorite images can be posted. You can also add images from Google Photos, control the images on the frame from Aura's web uploader, crop images using the positioning tool, and move or share images between multiple Aura frames if you own or manage multiple Aura frames. If you own or manage multiple aura frames, you can also move or share images between them. It can also be programmed to work with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.

The Aura app accesses the device's photo library to collect metadata, including facial recognition, and uploads this data to the cloud. This is used for the app's Smart Suggestions feature, which we are less than impressed with. It is designed to group photos according to similar metadata, with a photo rotation of frames showing similar times, places, and people nearby. Metadata is never shared or sold, and photos are never uploaded without permission. If you disable Smart Suggestions, Aura will retain access to the metadata of the photos you share, but will not upload data about photos that have not been shared.

For a medium-sized tabletop digital photo frame, the Aura Mason Luxe is a great choice if you crave beautifully detailed, high-resolution photos that are rich and dynamic without being flashy. Colors are realistic and artifact-free. If you want larger, consider Aura's Carver frames, while the original Mason frames are smaller, quieter, and more artistically appealing in their overall presentation.

Mason Luxe frames are easy to set up and perfect for the non-technically inclined.