I built an e-ink picture frame using an old e-reader as a Christmas gift for my parents. The frame cycles through photos from a shared iCloud photo album, allowing my parents to add new pictures from their Photos app. To create the frame, I used a Nook Simple Touch Reader because it runs Android, making it easier to root and run Android apps. I followed a helpful post by Terence Eden to root the Nook, and then used the Electric Sign app to display a website URL on the Nook’s screen. I placed the Nook in a larger frame, added white card stock to blend in the bezels, and connected a charging cable. I sourced the images from a shared iCloud album by replicating the API requests Apple uses. Using Laravel code, I retrieved the photos and inserted them into a simple HTML page. The images were brightened and the URL was encoded using the wsrv.nl API for optimal display on the e-ink screen. Overall, the project has been a success and the frame is working beautifully.
https://ben.page/eink