Yoto upgrades screen-free speaker to give kids even more control

Yoto has redesigned its Yoto Player and Yoto Mini screen-free speakers, adding a new button that lets kids access content without a physical Yoto Card. It looks like a handy upgrade for when you forget to pack their card collection on the family road trip.

Designed to be a more mentally stimulating alternative to screens, Yoto’s robust speakers play kid-friendly stories, songs, and other audio when Yoto Cards are inserted. This gives children the freedom to decide what they want to listen to, while still ensuring they don’t stumble across inappropriate content. However, you do have to trust your kids not to lose their favourite cards. While adults can still play content from lost cards via the Yoto App, doing so eliminates the element of independence.

Now Yoto has updated its speakers to offer a solution. Announced today, the 4th generation Yoto Player and Yoto Mini introduce a new customisable Green Button on the side of each speaker. Adults simply need to set it up via the Yoto App, programming the button with a child’s favourite Yoto content, and the kid can play it back themselves with a simple twist and press — without inserting a Yoto Card.

Yoto states that its cards are still central to its system, and the primary way in which children engage with its speakers. However, the Green Button allows for more flexibility. Up to 20 pieces of content can be programmed to the Green Button at once, selected from Yoto’s physical cards, digital-only cards, or any other audio available on the app. 

Credit: Yoto

The Green Button isn’t the only change Yoto has made. Its 4th Gen speakers can now automatically transition to different content according to the time of day, offering gentle cues to help keep families on schedule. This not only applies to audio content such as sleep sounds at bedtime, but also includes their digital clock and the Yoto Player’s night light. 

Both the Yoto Player and Yoto Mini have increased storage as well, doubling it from 32GB to 64GB. Yoto states that this is enough room for over 1000 hours of audio, which is more than 40 days.

The 4th Gen Yoto Player and Yoto Mini are available for pre-order from Sept. 11.