Great review! I bought my 15 month old a $13 Bluetooth speaker with an SD card so I could choose her music and not need to use my phone for Bluetooth. Probably one of the best screen free options for the younger kiddos 😃
Thanks! Before getting the Yoto Mini I did something similar! For a trip I got my son one of those cheap mp3 players with no screens that has like 8gb memory on it and put songs on it for him. Only thing with that was the battery life wasn't that great, but for like $10-$15 not a big deal. For music and audiobooks it's great.
Interesting alternative!! We still prefer the Yoto for library management because it’s easier for our little one to swap cards rather than navigating a folder structure or having to scroll through a million files to find their new favorite song. 😅
We use this at the nursery I work at for the baby room, and the larger version for the older rooms. I think it's totally brilliant and it's on our list to buy for my daughter's 3rd birthday. My favourite feature is actually Yoto radio! Although at Christmas it was verrrry Christmas heavy which I didn't think was great for a worldwide radio station, although there was a lot of Hanukkah music too.
I haven't used the larger version before, but from what I've read overall very similar with a couple extra features like the night light. We got it for Christmas this year for my children. We haven't used the radio too much as my son usually just clicks off of it and prefers one of the cards from the starter pack or the make your own cards I made for him. I do think it was the Christmas music variants they had didn't interest my son as much. We'll need to give it a longer listen than 1 minute.
I purchased the yoto mini for my soon to be 4 year old son during Christmas and he loves it! I was reluctant because I wasnt sure it was worth the money. It really was and I have no regrets.
@@kevin-lu i will make the same thing, but for the make your own cards, it’s a different way to add music. to add it, you need to tap your card on your youtube playlist thumbnail. here’s the real difference between the yoto mini and my new product “musical time audio player”: age range 3-12+ years 6 months - 13+ years battery life 24 hours 48 hours storage 32gb 128gb charging cable usb-c nothing (it runs forever) size both are 70 x70 x 40 mm. bluetooth connection yes headphones only languages english, french, spanish, german, and portugese all languages sound quality both are good. do you like my idea?
We LOVE the yoto mini! We got one for our 3 year old son for Christmas and he’s used it everyday since. My niece and nephew got one too and they love theirs. I would recommend this device to anyone with kids!
thanks, I got the larger yoto for my son who will turn 3 soon. I love the creative cards so I can put more cantonese content and music for him to listen. thanks for talking about headphones and volume limit, you encourage me to buy one for him now.
You’re welcome! Oddly I’ve noticed that my son seems to be more focused with the headphones on. The other day it was interesting to I heard him to repeating the 100 first words card which teaches words in languages we don’t speak like French or Italian! I’ve only been able to put cantonese songs on mine. Still looking for a good place to get audiobooks/stories. If you know one please share!
Thank you for another great review ! You really cover everything! You helped me decide to buy our tonie box and are helping me now decide to add a yoto mini player to our line up😁 I can't wait to see you compare the two!
@Kevin Lu I actually, since then, decided to sell off all my tonie stuff and completely switch to yoto! I've done so much research deciding on the switch and even started taking notes. Someone needs to do a updated review! 🤣 maybe I can send you my bullet point comparisons and you can do another video🤷🏼♀️😇
@@kayleeneuhauser6171 Oh wow you already made a full switch! I've found that there are pros and cons of both and haven't quite favored one over the other at the moment.
Thank you so much for this in-depth review! We have some Tonie boxes so bought this for one of my daughters for Christmas to use on the go! I love the design and am really looking forward to seeing her use it. She is autistic and I think it will be easy for her to use, though I’m worried the cards will be pulled or snapped out!
Thank you for the great review! Really interesting and good looking little device. Considering buying it for my soon-to-be 3 y.o. What would you say about sound quality? Is it decent or rather tolerable?
I'm not huge audiophile, but I would say that the sound quality from the built in speakers are decent. They're good overall for music and stories and I don't ever think to myself that I wish it sounded better. Most of the time it's just children's music playing on it, so not too much to judge from. They're not the loudest speakers, but good enough for home use.
@@kevin-lu I'm sold then, thank you for answering. Greetings from Germany from a basically twin family of yours: multilingual fam with a toddler boy and a baby girl, plus a dog 😀
@Kevin curious, why did you choose the mini over the regular size? :). how do you store and keep the Yoto cards organized and/or accessible for the kids?
At the time we already have the Toniebox which was fairly large so figured the Yoto Mini would compliment it allowing us to take it on car rides/trips more easily. I ended up purchasing the official binder from Yoto to store the cards. The plastic sheets on them are surprisingly sturdy. Even when my daughter was just 14 months old she didn’t destroy them yanking at the cards.
@@kevin-lu agree. see your point about it being portable. thanks for the tips! will probably look into the Yoto for our next trip and/or maybe after we get the Storypod.
Can you use Bluetooth headphones with the mini like you can the big yoto? Great videos, thank you! Also it seems like the yoto can store and play content without the physical cards is that true? Like if we were to go on a road trip do we need to bring all the cards or once they’re downloaded I can use my phone to just play whichever ones? Also curious if people can swap cards. Once I’ve downloaded certain content from cards could I give it to someone else to use for their yoto and they can download it too?
The mini can use bluetooth headsets too. It has memory to download content for offline use, but still requires the card. You can use the app to select cards to play onto it without the card but requires internet connection for that option. I’m not sure about card swap though. I think they have some kind of memory unless you’re on the same account( i can use cards on both my mini and regular no problem). I’ve heard of libraries in Europe with yoto cards so I assume it gets deleted from the player once someone else uses the card.
@@af7084 The app does help with walking the child and parent on how to use the Yoto. The included card has some detail information on it that can be played.
@kevinlu hey did you mention sometime somewhere that we can't create a Free story playlist on the MYO card or am I imagining that? I'm trying to upload the Free content to the card, but can't figure out how to create a playlist like the Creative Tonie, and seems to just wipe it out. Unless I need to try to go to next track. I'm looking at the app for a playlist.
@@kevin-lu i will do it this way. it’s very quick and easy. you tap the card on your youtube playlist thumbnail and it gets linked. this works for other playlists as well.
They’re made of plastic. Similar to credit cards or think plastic like those membership cards. Unless using tools or other objects I don’t think the cards are going to get ripped. Scratched sure but not ripped.
The recall was for the cord for devices from 2021 to March 2024, which they offer to replace for free, and now all devices sold were fixed from the issue and are now safe. ❤
You can download the songs ahead of time. Just place the card inside when you do have wifi and the player will download it. You can check in the app to see what cards have been downloaded.
Great review! I bought my 15 month old a $13 Bluetooth speaker with an SD card so I could choose her music and not need to use my phone for Bluetooth. Probably one of the best screen free options for the younger kiddos 😃
Thanks! Before getting the Yoto Mini I did something similar! For a trip I got my son one of those cheap mp3 players with no screens that has like 8gb memory on it and put songs on it for him. Only thing with that was the battery life wasn't that great, but for like $10-$15 not a big deal. For music and audiobooks it's great.
I imagine the yoto is easier because the knobs/buttons are bigger than the mp3.
Interesting alternative!!
We still prefer the Yoto for library management because it’s easier for our little one to swap cards rather than navigating a folder structure or having to scroll through a million files to find their new favorite song. 😅
We use this at the nursery I work at for the baby room, and the larger version for the older rooms. I think it's totally brilliant and it's on our list to buy for my daughter's 3rd birthday. My favourite feature is actually Yoto radio! Although at Christmas it was verrrry Christmas heavy which I didn't think was great for a worldwide radio station, although there was a lot of Hanukkah music too.
I haven't used the larger version before, but from what I've read overall very similar with a couple extra features like the night light. We got it for Christmas this year for my children.
We haven't used the radio too much as my son usually just clicks off of it and prefers one of the cards from the starter pack or the make your own cards I made for him. I do think it was the Christmas music variants they had didn't interest my son as much. We'll need to give it a longer listen than 1 minute.
I purchased the yoto mini for my soon to be 4 year old son during Christmas and he loves it! I was reluctant because I wasnt sure it was worth the money. It really was and I have no regrets.
It's kind of eerie that whenever I'm considering purchasing something you happen to make a video about it!
🤣 what are chances? Hope the video helps you decide.
Same same same. Kevin and I have the same taste and really trust his reviews.
@@kevin-lu i will make the same thing, but for the make your own cards, it’s a different way to add music. to add it, you need to tap your card on your youtube playlist thumbnail.
here’s the real difference between the yoto mini and my new product “musical time audio player”:
age range
3-12+ years
6 months - 13+ years
battery life
24 hours
48 hours
storage
32gb
128gb
charging cable
usb-c
nothing (it runs forever)
size
both are 70 x70 x 40 mm.
bluetooth connection
yes
headphones only
languages
english, french, spanish, german, and portugese
all languages
sound quality
both are good.
do you like my idea?
We LOVE the yoto mini! We got one for our 3 year old son for Christmas and he’s used it everyday since. My niece and nephew got one too and they love theirs. I would recommend this device to anyone with kids!
This is an excellent video...helped me understand the player quickly. .thank you!
thanks, I got the larger yoto for my son who will turn 3 soon. I love the creative cards so I can put more cantonese content and music for him to listen. thanks for talking about headphones and volume limit, you encourage me to buy one for him now.
You’re welcome! Oddly I’ve noticed that my son seems to be more focused with the headphones on. The other day it was interesting to I heard him to repeating the 100 first words card which teaches words in languages we don’t speak like French or Italian! I’ve only been able to put cantonese songs on mine. Still looking for a good place to get audiobooks/stories. If you know one please share!
@@kevin-lu if you live in the usa, are you half-american and half-cantonese?
Thank you for another great review ! You really cover everything! You helped me decide to buy our tonie box and are helping me now decide to add a yoto mini player to our line up😁 I can't wait to see you compare the two!
You're welcome! I'm glad my reviews are helping! Hope your little one enjoys the Yoto Mini as much as my two children.
@Kevin Lu I actually, since then, decided to sell off all my tonie stuff and completely switch to yoto! I've done so much research deciding on the switch and even started taking notes. Someone needs to do a updated review! 🤣 maybe I can send you my bullet point comparisons and you can do another video🤷🏼♀️😇
@@kayleeneuhauser6171 Oh wow you already made a full switch! I've found that there are pros and cons of both and haven't quite favored one over the other at the moment.
I didn't know I could use it connected to Bluetooth. Thank you for the review❤
Great Video! I would love to hear about some of you and your children’s favorite cards as a follow up video.
Sounds like a fun idea! We currently only have the starter pack cards but looking at buying a couple more soon.
Thank you so much for this in-depth review! We have some Tonie boxes so bought this for one of my daughters for Christmas to use on the go! I love the design and am really looking forward to seeing her use it. She is autistic and I think it will be easy for her to use, though I’m worried the cards will be pulled or snapped out!
Thank you for the great review! Really interesting and good looking little device. Considering buying it for my soon-to-be 3 y.o. What would you say about sound quality? Is it decent or rather tolerable?
I'm not huge audiophile, but I would say that the sound quality from the built in speakers are decent. They're good overall for music and stories and I don't ever think to myself that I wish it sounded better. Most of the time it's just children's music playing on it, so not too much to judge from. They're not the loudest speakers, but good enough for home use.
@@kevin-lu I'm sold then, thank you for answering. Greetings from Germany from a basically twin family of yours: multilingual fam with a toddler boy and a baby girl, plus a dog 😀
@kevin getting yoto mini for an upcoming trip. Where did you get that camo bag your son is using?
My wife bought it from State Bags website the name of it is LORIMER KIDS FANNY PACK. Other sites have it too.
@@kevin-luI’ve been eyeing State bags!
Why don't you demo it? What does it sounds like? Who reads the stories? What's the radio like? How is the sound quality?
So wait, you can add custom content/cards? I think I heard that in the comments.
Do u have a video on uploading audio books to the myo?
Or linking audible to play on the yoto mini?
Thanks in advance
Not yet, but I actually have a video planned with that topic planned for the first week of December.
@Kevin curious, why did you choose the mini over the regular size? :). how do you store and keep the Yoto cards organized and/or accessible for the kids?
At the time we already have the Toniebox which was fairly large so figured the Yoto Mini would compliment it allowing us to take it on car rides/trips more easily. I ended up purchasing the official binder from Yoto to store the cards. The plastic sheets on them are surprisingly sturdy. Even when my daughter was just 14 months old she didn’t destroy them yanking at the cards.
@@kevin-lu agree. see your point about it being portable. thanks for the tips! will probably look into the Yoto for our next trip and/or maybe after we get the Storypod.
Can you use Bluetooth headphones with the mini like you can the big yoto? Great videos, thank you! Also it seems like the yoto can store and play content without the physical cards is that true? Like if we were to go on a road trip do we need to bring all the cards or once they’re downloaded I can use my phone to just play whichever ones?
Also curious if people can swap cards. Once I’ve downloaded certain content from cards could I give it to someone else to use for their yoto and they can download it too?
The mini can use bluetooth headsets too. It has memory to download content for offline use, but still requires the card. You can use the app to select cards to play onto it without the card but requires internet connection for that option. I’m not sure about card swap though. I think they have some kind of memory unless you’re on the same account( i can use cards on both my mini and regular no problem). I’ve heard of libraries in Europe with yoto cards so I assume it gets deleted from the player once someone else uses the card.
Are all the instructions on the app because u don’t get any instructions in the box
@@af7084 The app does help with walking the child and parent on how to use the Yoto. The included card has some detail information on it that can be played.
@@kevin-lu the cards are durable. what material are they made of? i would love to use that.
wow what a cool little gadget! great audio plaer!
Yeah my son and daughter loves listening to music so this is easier for them to use.
@@kevin-lu i do too!
We have the same jacket colour! I bought this for my son this Christmas and he loved it :)
I think the light green is one of the better colors!
@@kevin-lu i love that too!
Do you know if you can make a card without a card and just have it on the app until you can buy a card?
You can
The MOST important thing about this device is the audio quality. You say nothing or demonstrate the quality. It's particularly important for music!!!
Since it wasn't anything special about the audio quality didn't cross my mind to mention it. Overall not worse or better than other devices.
Is there a way to freeze controls on the app?
I haven’t seen any options to freeze/disable the physical controls on the app.
Thank you!
@kevinlu hey did you mention sometime somewhere that we can't create a Free story playlist on the MYO card or am I imagining that? I'm trying to upload the Free content to the card, but can't figure out how to create a playlist like the Creative Tonie, and seems to just wipe it out. Unless I need to try to go to next track. I'm looking at the app for a playlist.
You can add free content but it’s only inexpensive free content per MYO card. No playlist options like Creative Tonies
@@kevin-lu i will do it this way. it’s very quick and easy. you tap the card on your youtube playlist thumbnail and it gets linked. this works for other playlists as well.
Main question: what material is the card made from? Will a little kid instantly rip it? Then what?
They’re made of plastic. Similar to credit cards or think plastic like those membership cards. Unless using tools or other objects I don’t think the cards are going to get ripped. Scratched sure but not ripped.
@@kevin-lu oh wow!
The CPSC just issued a safety recall on these, the lithium battery can overheat and cause a burn or fire.
The recall was for the cord for devices from 2021 to March 2024, which they offer to replace for free, and now all devices sold were fixed from the issue and are now safe. ❤
I saw this now I’m a ten your old saving up for this it’s taking a long time 😅
How do you get this to work from the car with no WiFi
You can download the songs ahead of time. Just place the card inside when you do have wifi and the player will download it. You can check in the app to see what cards have been downloaded.
The design of this is way too cool to be just for children😂
It is a pretty cool design. I know many. parents who actually make cards for themselves as well!
How to remove the podcast and radio features??
You can use the app to log in and change what happens when those buttons are pressed.
who got a lingokids ad?
👇