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Show me one that hooks up directly to iCloud though. We got one for grandparents and its just full of proprietary crap specific to that app.

wpsimon3 3y ago
We kinda got something like this working for a relative. They have an "Aura" frame, and in their app you can set a watch folder/album. So we have a shared iCloud album set as the source and it automatically updates based on the images in that shared album.
- sfilmeyer 3y ago
  Yeah, we use an Aura hooked up to Google Photos rather than iCloud, but I think it's similar from the Aura UX perspective. It's super easy to use, and the photos just show up in the frame rotation whenever we add a photo to the corresponding album in Google Photos (which we already use for backing up and organizing photos).
eli 3y ago
The problem here is that iCloud is the proprietary crap. They don't offer an appropriate API to get photos out. It'd be easier if you were starting with pictures in something more accessible. That said, I think Aura frames will sync from iCloud via their phone app. Not sure how well it works.
- CharlesW 3y ago
  > They don't offer an appropriate API to get photos out. There's this: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit ("The framework provides access to photos on the person’s device and in iCloud.") If you want to use undocumented APIs on non-Apple devices directly, there are projects like https://github.com/steilerDev/icloud-photos-sync https://github.com/steilerDev/icloud-photos-sync and https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_do... that appear to be able to do this.
  - jmelloy 3y ago
    I've got an app that uses that to upload to S3. It's pretty straightforward.
  - eli 3y ago
    Yes, you have to build an app that runs on a device owned by someone with access to the album. Google Photos, by comparison, has a REST API.
- willseth 3y ago
  My MIL has one and loves it. It even plays Live Photos. There are multiple apps that will keep your iCloud Photos synced to various blob storage services. If you just want to maintain a copy or have direct access to photos, that will be a lot easier than a webservice API anyway.
zacharycohn 3y ago
Look up the "Aura frame". It syncs with Google photos and iCloud photos. Works great.

wpsimon3 3y ago

We kinda got something like this working for a relative. They have an "Aura" frame, and in their app you can set a watch folder/album. So we have a shared iCloud album set as the source and it automatically updates based on the images in that shared album.

sfilmeyer 3y ago
Yeah, we use an Aura hooked up to Google Photos rather than iCloud, but I think it's similar from the Aura UX perspective. It's super easy to use, and the photos just show up in the frame rotation whenever we add a photo to the corresponding album in Google Photos (which we already use for backing up and organizing photos).

eli 3y ago

The problem here is that iCloud is the proprietary crap. They don't offer an appropriate API to get photos out. It'd be easier if you were starting with pictures in something more accessible. That said, I think Aura frames will sync from iCloud via their phone app. Not sure how well it works.

CharlesW 3y ago
> They don't offer an appropriate API to get photos out. There's this: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit ("The framework provides access to photos on the person’s device and in iCloud.") If you want to use undocumented APIs on non-Apple devices directly, there are projects like https://github.com/steilerDev/icloud-photos-sync https://github.com/steilerDev/icloud-photos-sync and https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_do... that appear to be able to do this.
- jmelloy 3y ago
  I've got an app that uses that to upload to S3. It's pretty straightforward.
- eli 3y ago
  Yes, you have to build an app that runs on a device owned by someone with access to the album. Google Photos, by comparison, has a REST API.
willseth 3y ago
My MIL has one and loves it. It even plays Live Photos. There are multiple apps that will keep your iCloud Photos synced to various blob storage services. If you just want to maintain a copy or have direct access to photos, that will be a lot easier than a webservice API anyway.

zacharycohn 3y ago

Look up the "Aura frame". It syncs with Google photos and iCloud photos. Works great.