Tablet as a digital photo frame on the wall: photos, apps and the right mount

Which tablet is suitable as a photo frame?

A slideshow does not need current hardware. Three things matter: a display without major dropouts, a working charging port and a system on which a photo app or the browser still runs. As for size: a tablet around 8 inches looks like a small framed photo on the wall, for example in the hallway or next to the door; 10 to 11 inches look like a medium-sized picture in the living room or above the sideboard. Decide before buying the mount whether the tablet should hang in portrait or landscape: portraits and many smartphone photos work in portrait, landscapes and group pictures in landscape. Our mounts can be installed in both orientations; depending on the app's settings, the photos are cropped to fit or shown with a border.

Older devices in particular are good candidates. Our picture frame mount is available (as of October 2026; the current selection in the shop is decisive) for, among others, iPad from the 5th generation, iPad Air from the 1st generation, iPad mini from the mini 2, Galaxy Tab of the A and S series, Lenovo Tab of the M and P series, Xiaomi Pad and Redmi Pad as well as Fire HD 10 from 2019. Whether your model is included is shown by the model finder. Detailed guidance on choosing a device is in the guide Which tablet is suitable for the wall?.

Getting photos onto the tablet

The simplest way is a dedicated album that contains only the pictures for the wall. Depending on the system, there are three common routes:

• Shared album in the photo app: Apple Photos and Google Photos can share albums with other people. If you set up a shared album "Wall", everyone in the household or the grandparents can add pictures, and the tablet shows them as soon as it is online.
• Cloud folder: A folder in a cloud storage that the photo frame app reads. Handy when photos from several devices and people come together.
• Locally on the device: Copy pictures once via cable or network share. This works without an account, but new photos need an extra step.

A tip from experience: sort beforehand and choose pictures that you will still like after the hundredth round. An album with 100 to 300 photos provides variety without the favourites getting lost.

Setting up the slideshow: iPad, Android and Fire

For the actual display there are built-in features and dedicated photo frame apps. Which functions are available depends on the device and system version:

• iPad: The Photos app shows an album as a slideshow, including transitions and music. For more settings, such as the interval, shuffle, time or weather in the picture and a schedule, there are photo frame apps in the App Store (search for "digital photo frame"). So that visitors do not accidentally leave the app, you can use Guided Access from the accessibility settings.
• Android tablets from Samsung, Lenovo or Xiaomi: Many devices come with a screen saver that shows photos from the gallery or from Google Photos and starts as soon as the tablet is charging. Photo frame apps from the Play Store add schedules, cloud connection and often a detection of whether someone is in the room.
• Amazon Fire tablets: Fire tablets can show photos from Amazon Photos as a screen saver; depending on the model, there is also a display mode that alternates photos with time and weather. Apps from the Amazon Appstore add further options.

Whichever app you use: set the slideshow to the orientation of your wall (portrait or landscape), choose an interval that suits the room, and test the display for a few days before you finally place the tablet in the mount.

Display times, brightness and charging

A photo frame does not have to be lit without interruption. Most photo frame apps and plenty of tablets offer schedules: the display turns on in the morning and off in the evening, or the slideshow pauses when the app has not detected anyone in the room for a while. Also lower the brightness to a level that suits the room light; photos look calmer on the wall anyway when the display does not glare. A dark night mode or a display that is switched off at night saves power and is easier on the battery. Numerous tablets now offer a charging limit or adjusted charging behaviour; if your device can do this, it is worth a look at the battery settings.

The tablet gets its power via its own charging cable, which is routed concealed inside the mount to the device; the mount covers a standard flush-mounted box. If there is a socket or a flush-mounted box with a USB power adapter at the wall, hardly anything of the cable is visible from the outside. The options in detail, including for an existing wall without a box, are shown in the guide Tablet wall mount with charging function.

The mount: picture frame design for your model

So that the tablet looks like a picture on the wall and not like a device that was put down, we developed the picture frame line: the tablet sits behind a mat and frame, display and front camera remain uncovered, the side buttons are covered by the frame, which can reduce accidental inputs. The mount is made in Germany for the respective tablet model, comes in black and white, can be installed in portrait or landscape, and the back is prepared for a VESA 100x100 pattern. Screws and wall plugs for wall mounting are included; the mounting steps are shown in the guide Mounting a tablet wall mount.

The picture frame mount is currently available for these device ranges (as of October 2026):

• for Apple iPad (from iPad 5), for iPad Air, for iPad Pro (up to 11 inch) and for iPad mini
• for Samsung Galaxy Tab (A and S series)
• for Lenovo Tab (M series, P11, Idea Tab, Tab One)
• for Xiaomi Pad and Redmi Pad
• for Amazon Fire (Fire HD 8, Fire HD 10, Fire Max 11)

Not every line is available for every model; the model selection on the respective product page shows the current status, and the page Fits your model lists all supported devices. All mounts are in the overview Tablet wall mounts. If the tablet should regularly come off the wall, for example to read on the sofa, the slide-in line is the more suitable choice: there you slide the device in and take it out without tools.

More than photos: calendar, weather, smart home

The tablet on the wall does not have to be limited to photos. Many photo frame apps display the time, the weather or the family calendar, and with a tap on the display the picture becomes a smart home dashboard or a shopping list. How to set up a tablet as a control hub is shown in the practical guide Tablet as a smart home hub on the wall; Home Assistant users can often show photos and dashboard there in alternation.

In short: check the old tablet, create an album, set up the slideshow with a schedule, route the charging cable concealed into the mount, and the device looks like a picture on the wall that changes every day. If you are unsure which model you have, the guide How to find your tablet model helps.

For an iPad, you will find all lines and versions in the overview wall mounts for iPad.

All brand and product names mentioned belong to their respective owners. They are used solely to describe which devices our mounts are intended for.