I turned my old tablet into a self-hosted photo display, and it’s better than anything you can buy

Every tech enthusiast owns a closet full of old hardware that isn’t being used anymore. I’m much the same. Be it smartphones, old consoles, or other tech paraphernalia, this is usually tech that we aren’t quite ready to dispose of yet, but don’t have a use for either. In my case, it was a couple-of-years-old Android tablet that had become too slow for heavy multitasking and everyday use, but still possessed a gorgeous high-resolution screen. Rather than letting it sit until the battery failed, I decided to give it a second life as a dedicated, self-hosted photo display.

The best smart photo display you can buy probably isn't in a store, it's sitting in a drawer collecting dust.

Going in, I didn’t expect much. My previous experience with commercial digital photo displays has been abysmal, to say the least, and some of the newer models are way too expensive for my tastes. However, as I quickly found out, the DIY route gives you a result that is better than any smart photo frame you can buy at a big-box store. By pairing this so-called obsolete hardware with a powerful tool called Immich Kiosk, I created a privacy-focused display that actually looks like a premium product. It has no ads, no subscriptions, and gives me total control over every aspect of the photo display experience. I love it.