Yoto has almost completely overhauled its card-swallowing smart speaker duo for 2026. The 4th generation Yoto Mini and Yoto Player are arriving imminently with new child-friendly features, better sound quality and loads more onboard storage, so even the most ardent card collectors can keep listening without having to hold their collections close.
A 2017 Kickstarter success, Yoto is now in some 6 million homes around the world, across more than 200 countries. Company co-founder Ben Drury said the fourth generation is the first Yoto players his team didn’t have to compromise on, with all-new hardware aimed at keeping both kids and grown-ups entertained.
It keeps the orange dials and cutesy pixellated LCD display, but the 4th-gen Mini now has a more rounded shape that’s even easier for little hands to hold. It’s rated IP67 for ‘puddle proof’ and ‘tumble proof’ play.
The most obvious change is the new green button, which puts up to 20 of your favourite cards instantly to hand – whether offline or online. These can be different for morning and evenings. You’ve still got to play a physical card once before it can be assigned, but any bought via the Yoto website are automatically downloaded and added.
Those downloads should be a lot faster, now the Mini supports Wi-Fi 6 – Yoto reckons up to 15x compared to the outgoing Mini. Bluetooth 5.2 has also been added, as part of a ground-up refresh that saw the electronics totally redesigned and all the code rewritten. That includes upgrading the audio quality, through some clever software tuning.
The new Mini now has double the storage of the old one, with 64GB being enough to hold over 1000+ of audio. That’s a serious selection of audiobooks, even chunky ones for older kids like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (for which you’ll need to put aside 24 straight hours to hear from cover to cover).
Don’t expect the built-in battery to last quite that long, though Yoto reckons the twelve hours this new Mini can manage comfortably has the competition beaten.
The Yoto Player, meanwhile, is meant to take up more permanent residence in your little one’s bedroom or playroom – although fit one of the optional Adventure Jackets and it can still be brought on the move, as the built-in battery is good for up to 14 hours of playback.
Its new green button might be a little bigger but does everything the smaller Yoto Mini’s does. The underlying hardware has seen the same upgrades to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, while Yoto’s tech team has redesigned the acoustic chamber to make the stereo speakers even more impactful. The display is also sharper, while keeping the pixelated vibe Yoto has curated over multiple generations.
The big addition is a dynamic night light, which can be set to glow different colours and at different brightness levels. A sleep timer will turn it off after a set time or once the current card has finished playing. At some point next year the firm will flip a switch server-side and it’ll be able to react in time with certain cards, illustrating stories with light.
The Yoto Mini arrives first, on September 30, for $110/£90/€100; the Yoto Player will start shipping in October and cost $150/£120/€130. Pre-orders for both are open right now on the Yotoplay website.
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