There are a number of audio players on the market and they have increased in popularity over the last few years. We have had the opportunity to review the Tonies Tonibox, and more recently we have we have had the opportunity to try out the Yoto player and Yoto mini player. Here is our review of the Yoto mini and Yoto player and I have also offered a comparison between Tonies toniebox and Yoto player. Read on for our full Yoto player review.
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Yoto Audio player Review
You may be asking what is the Yoto plater? The Yoto Player is a screen-free audio player. Designed for kids from 3-12+, The idea is to the insert physical cards into the the audio player to explore audiobooks, music, activities and educational audio.
Features of the Yoto player
The Yoto player is a fairly compact audio player with a pixel display on the front to bring the audio to life. The audio player is charged by a magnetic charging dock and offers up to 10 hours of play per charge.
I love that the audio player gives kids the freedom to explore its own daily podcast, family radio stations and stories, music, and sleep sounds.
On first impressions, the Yoto player is really straightforward to set up, I managed it quite effortlessly and I am not particularly tech savvy. You can download the app and this provides you with a step by step instruction to allow you to pair it to your wifi at home and to play the cards.
What’s included with Yoto Player?
- Yoto Player (3rd generation)
- 1.5m (USB-A > USB-C) Charging Cable
- Welcome Card
- Setup Guide
Yoto Player and travel
I really love that the Yoto player is great for our vanlife family travel. You will need a WiFi connection to set up the Yoto player in the first instance and download the Yoto cards. Once the cards are downloaded the children can listen to the stories wherever and whenever, so they work perfectly for vanlife with kids.
The Yoto makes an ideal vanlife travel toy and really works for a campervan holiday with kids!
The Yoto player has 32GB internal memory (600+ hours of audio for offline listening).
The recommended Yoto player age is from 3-12+. The Yoto Player is simple to use. The audio-player has three buttons, two orange buttons on the top to adjust the volume or move between the chapters. There is an on/off button on the side too. Another great feature is the Yoto Player can be used as a Bluetooth speaker. It is quite straightforward to connect Yoto to bluetooth. This can be done via the Yoto app by enabling this feature in the settings.
The Yoto new generation has a room temperature monitoring and an ‘Ok-to-wake’ night light and clock.
Another great feature of the app is you can have multiple devices on the same app, and control the devices, pausing the audio etc under one parent account.
Yoto Mini audio player vs Yoto Player
The Yoto Mini is a miniature version of the Yoto player but with all the features! The Yoto mini basically allows you to take the miniature audio player on all the family outings making it perfect for road trips, car travel, holidays and days out!
The main difference between the Yoto player and the Yoto mini player is the size. The Yoto mini is a miniature version but works like the Yoto player.
The Yoto mini player is charged by the same USB-C charging cable used for most smart devices and telephones and you can enjoy up to 20 hours of play per charge. You can use the Yoto mini as a bluetooth speaker, exactly the same as the Yoto player. The Yoto mini also has a pixel display brings audio to life. One thing to note is the Yoto mini doesn’t have the night light feature as seen in the Yoto.
Yoto Cards
There is a HUGE selection of Yoto cards that cater for all ages. They are also a really great idea for Christmas or birthday presents to expand the collection. You can purchase single cards or a card pack. Our middle daughter is absolutely loving the Enid Blyton Malory Towers collection. There are so many options including Ladybird adventures, The rainbow fairies collection, Disney Classics collection, Roald Dahl Stories collection. There is even a Christmas selection! The cards are available to purchase via the Yoto website and cost from a few pounds for a single story. You can also purchase make your own cards for £12.99 for a pack of five.
What is the Yoto club?
You can join the Yoto club and get two new cards every month plus VIP benefits including free shipping and 10% off everything (even during the sales).
£9.99 per month
£99 annually (this works out at around £8.25 month)
*Prices correct on 24/7/2023
Yoto Player (3rd Generation) Review
The 3rd generation Yoto builds upon the features of the previous version, and includes a vibrant seven-colour night light and built-in sleep timer and alarms.
The Yoto Player (3rd Generation) has some further improvements and updates including;
● Acoustically-engineered, sparkling stereo sound
● A more powerful battery life (3x longer charge than the 2nd Generation)
● USB-C fast-charging and wireless charging for choice and convenience
● A room thermometer
● A durable casing defending against daily rough and tumble
● 32GB of storage for 600+ hours of audio for offline listening
● Improved pixel display, night light and WiFi signal
The room thermometer is a great new edition to the Yoto Player, and what is really great is the room thermometer can be monitored through the Yoto App on a mobile device.
We love audio players and I have recommended them for a long time. They also make for an ideal screen free travel toy when on holiday or travelling on long journeys. What I love about the Yoto is it serves a wide age range with an excellent choice of Yoto Cards ( including learning and educational options too). Just to give you an idea – my two younger children are currently 6 and 9 and listen to the Yoto player every night without fail.
The Yoto third generation launched on the 15th June 2023 and is available to purchase on the Yoto store.
Yoto Player (3rd generation) Price and accessories
● Yoto Player 3rd Generation: £99.99
● Yoto Player Adventure Jacket 3rd Generation (available in 4 new colours) £24.99
● Yoto Wireless Charging Dock, £29.99
● Yoto Wireless Headphones, £34.99
*Prices correct on 7/7/2023
Yoto vs Tonie
Having reviewed the Tonies Toniebox previously, I will try to offer a comparison between the Yoto and Tonie as honestly as I can.
The Tonies Toniebox is in the region of £79.95 for a starter set, with additional Tonies characters costing around £14.99.
The Yoto player is currently £89.99 and the Yoto mini is around £59.99 with the Yoto cards start at around £2.99 upwards.
The Yoto player has a huge library of cards available for upto 12+ from Peppa Pig to Enid Blyton to Roald Dahl. There are also podcasts available. Both audio players are great for children offering screen free entertainment, but as a parent of older children, The Yoto player I think is great for both younger and older children whereas the Tonies box with the gorgeous characters I think is great for toddlers and younger children alike. In addition the additional features of the Yoto player compared to the Tonies box (such as the nighlight, clock and blue tooth speaker) make it a great purchase.
I love audio players and have recommended them for a long time, but I think the comparison is worth doing as it can help to make your mind up depending on your requirements and age of the children.
An ideal gift for Christmas – Find out more about the award-winning audio players and to purchase a Yoto player or Yoto mini player visit the online shop here
Disclosure: I was sent the Yoto audioplayer and Yoto mini for the purpose of this review. The Tonies mentioned in this post was also gifted for a previous review. This post contains affiliate links. should you click to purchase, it is at no additional cost to your, although I receive a small commission.