How do I send photos from my iPhone to a Samsung Frame TV?

SmartThings is Samsung's companion app and the way to put your own iPhone photos permanently into Art Mode. Install SmartThings from the App Store, make sure your iPhone and the Frame TV are on the same Wi-Fi network, and add the TV to the app (it usually appears automatically; otherwise tap add device and follow the prompts).

In SmartThings, select your Frame TV and open its Art Mode controls. Choose to add or upload art, pick photos from your iPhone's library, and they upload to the TV. Once uploaded they live on the TV itself, so your iPhone can leave the house and the photos keep showing. You can also pick a matte style and set Art Mode to rotate through a selection so it behaves like a slideshow.

The limitation is that uploading is manual, a few photos at a time, so a very large camera roll is tedious to manage from a phone. It is best for a curated set of favorites you want on display.

• Best for: photos you want to stay on the TV and show on standby
• Persists: yes, photos live on the TV after upload
• Setup: SmartThings app, same Wi-Fi, upload from your library

Samsung Frame TVs support AirPlay 2, so you can stream photos straight from your iPhone with no app to install on the TV. Open the Photos app, select a photo or album, tap the share icon, choose AirPlay, and pick your Frame TV. You can also start screen mirroring from the iPhone Control Center to send whatever is on your screen.

AirPlay is the fastest way to show a batch of photos right now, for example during a gathering. The catch is that it is live mirroring: when you close the app or stop mirroring, the display stops and nothing is saved to the TV. The first time you connect, the TV may show a passcode that you enter on the iPhone to pair.

• Best for: a one-off, live slideshow tonight
• Persists: no, it stops when your iPhone stops
• Setup: Photos app share to AirPlay, or Control Center screen mirroring

iPhones save photos in the HEIC format by default and capture Live Photos (a still plus a short motion clip). SmartThings and AirPlay both handle HEIC, and Live Photos are sent as a single still image, so in most cases there is nothing to change. If you do run into a photo that will not upload or display, switch the camera format: on the iPhone, go to Settings, Camera, Formats, and choose "Most Compatible" to capture JPEG instead of HEIC going forward.

For the sharpest result, remember the Frame is a 4K, roughly 16:9 panel. Portrait iPhone photos and square crops will be letterboxed or cropped to fit a landscape screen, so landscape shots fill the screen best. Our guide on the best aspect ratio and resolution for TV art covers sizing in more detail.

If your goal is a beautiful rotating display rather than showing your own specific photos, you can skip the upload step entirely. A browser screensaver runs in the Frame TV's built-in web browser and streams a curated library for you.

FrameSaver is built for this and is quick to start from an iPhone: open the TV browser, go to framesaver.app, and scan the on-screen QR code with your iPhone camera. Enter the 6-digit code from your email (no typing an email address with the TV remote), pick a category like landscapes, space, or national parks, and the TV rotates through curated open-access photography automatically, with attribution shown on screen. It is free with no subscription. You can also upload a few of your own photos to your FrameSaver account and mix them with the curated set. For other USB-free routes, see the guide on displaying photos on a Frame TV without USB.