External Display BrowserPhotos4 min readHow to Run a Photo Slideshow on a TV From Your iPhone or iPad, Two Ways
Whether it's holiday photos on the living room TV or a looping display in a shop window, you don't need a computer, a media player or a smart TV app. An iPhone, a cable and XeOS will fill any screen with your photos. There are two routes: your own photo library, or a Google Photos album in the browser. Both are below.
If your display isn't set up yet, start with connecting your iPhone or iPad to a monitor or TV and come back.
Method 1, The Photos app (your own library)
XeOS has a real Photos app that reads your actual iOS photo library, the same albums, the same favourites, and plays them full screen with the same options Apple's own Photos gives you.
Grant photo access first
Open Photos from the dock. The first time, iOS will ask what the app may see. Choose full photo library access. Limited access, hand-picking a few photos, won't work here: XeOS can only see the handful you picked, so albums and the full gallery stay empty. If you tapped the wrong option, you can change it later in iOS Settings › Privacy › Photos.
Open the album you want
Switch to the Albums tab. Your smart albums (Recents, Favourites, Screenshots) and every album you've made on your phone are here, each with a cover and a count.
Configure the slideshow
Open the album, then start the slideshow. An options sheet appears before anything plays, so you can set it up once and get it right:
- Play each photo for, 1 to 30 seconds. Five is a good default; for an unattended display in a shop, eight to ten reads more calmly.
- Transition, Cross-Fade, Fade Through Black, Push, Wipe, or None. Cross-Fade suits almost any mix of photos.
- Ken Burns effect, slowly zooms and pans across each photo. Lovely for a living room; switch it off if you're showing product shots or documents where drift is distracting.
- Scale photos to fit screen, on, every photo fits inside the screen with letterboxing where the shape doesn't match. Off, photos fill the screen completely and crop the edges. For a commercial display where you want zero black, turn this off.
- Shuffle, random order.
- Repeat, loop forever. Leave this on for anything unattended.
Hit Play
Playback takes over the whole display. The control bar fades away after a few seconds of no input and comes back when you move the mouse. Photos stored only in iCloud are downloaded as they come up, a couple ahead of time, so a half-downloaded album still plays smoothly.
To stop, press Escape or move the pointer to the top edge to bring back the title bar and click the green button.
Slideshow from a folder, not an album. The same player works from the Files app. Open any folder of images, including one on iCloud Drive or an external drive, and choose Slideshow from the toolbar or right-click menu. Useful when the photos aren't in your library at all.
Method 2, Google Photos in the browser
If your photos live in Google Photos, or you want to show a shared album that isn't on your phone, use the browser instead.
- Open the Browser from the dock and go to
photos.google.com. - Sign in. If you imported your passwords, this is a couple of taps.
- Open the album you want to show.
- Start Google Photos' own slideshow from its menu on the first image.
- Click the green full-screen button in the window's top corner. The browser window loses its title bar, tabs and toolbar, and the slideshow fills the entire display.
Because XeOS's full screen is a real window state rather than a website's own request, this trick works on any site with a slideshow or gallery view, not just Google Photos.
Which method should you use?
| Photos app | Google Photos in the browser | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Your iOS photo library | Anything in your Google account, including shared albums |
| Works offline | Yes, for downloaded photos | No |
| Control over timing and transitions | Full | Whatever Google offers |
| Fill the screen with no black edges | Yes, turn off "Scale photos to fit" | Depends on the photo shapes |
| Best for | Living rooms, events, unattended displays | Shared albums, photos not on this phone |
Tips for leaving it running
- Turn Repeat on and Scale photos to fit off for an unattended screen.
- Plug into a multiport adapter so the phone charges while it plays.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb so notifications don't interrupt the display.
- A cable beats AirPlay for anything running for hours, no network hiccups.
XeOS: External Display Browser turns an iPhone or iPad into a full desktop on any monitor, TV or projector.
Common questions
Can I include videos in the slideshow?
Yes, videos in the album play in place, and there's a switch in the options sheet if you'd rather skip them.
My photos are in iCloud and not on the phone. Will it still work?
Yes. Each photo is downloaded just before it's needed, a couple of slides ahead, so playback doesn't stall.
Why does the Photos app say it can only see a few items?
iOS is set to limited photo access. Grant full photo library access in iOS Settings › Privacy › Photos to browse your whole gallery and your albums.
Can I run this in a shop window all day?
Yes, that's what Repeat is for. Use a cable with pass-through charging, and turn off auto-lock in iOS Settings › Display & Brightness.
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