Minecraft will soon release a brand new block called a shelf. This block is set to arrive with a new game drop releasing sometime in the fall, along with many copper-related features. The shelf has a special feature that allows storing and displaying items, which only an item frame was capable of up until now.
Since shelves have unique appearances and use cases, there is a chance that they might reduce the use of item frames in Minecraft.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.
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How Minecraft's new shelf block will reduce the use of item frames
Shelf displays more items than item frames

Firstly, a shelf can hold up to three stacks of items. This means players can either store three stacks of wooden planks, each stack with 64 units, or three stacks of potions, with each being a single unit. Compared to this, an item frame can only hold one unit of any item.
This means shelves can not only be used as a better display device, but they can also become a small storage area for players.
Many players use item frames to display a single item above a chest to show what kind of items the chest contains. With shelves, players can display more items at once and provide a better understanding of the items stored in a chest.
Since they can hold more items and display more information, shelves might be used more than item frames in the future.
Shelves blend better with blocks compared to item frames

Shelves are wood blocks that can be crafted with any stripped wood, stripped stem, or stripped bamboo block. Players only require six of these blocks to make six shelves on a crafting table.
When a shelf of a particular wood is placed on a wall with the same wood planks, it will blend quite easily. In contrast, an item frame rarely blends with any blocks, as it has an oak-colored frame with an orange leather-colored interior, which does not match most building blocks.
Hence, it is safe to say that since shelves can blend with different colored walls a lot better, they might be used more than item frames in the future.
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