Yoto finally put a button on it

The card is behind the dresser. Again. It was in the player at bedtime, and now it’s 6:40 a.m., the same story’s been asked for three times, and you’re on your knees with a phone flashlight. Yoto noticed. The new fourth-generation Player and Mini, out this week, add a green button on the side that plays the favorites without a card.

What the button does

Twist to browse, press to play. It holds 20 titles for the day and 20 for night, picked by you in the app and saved to the player, so it works in the car with no signal. And the cards aren’t going anywhere. Nearly every one you already own still works in the new players, the interactive ones are on the way, and a card’s first play still needs Wi-Fi to pull the audio.

Day and night each get their own volume limit, an okay-to-wake light, and a toothbrush timer. That last one you won’t think about until the first morning it buys you two quiet minutes.

What else changed

Both players now hold 64GB, which Yoto counts as a thousand-plus hours kept right on the device, and faster Wi-Fi keeps the downloads from holding up bedtime. The Player gets a louder 5-watt speaker, a night light that glows across the whole front panel, up to 14 hours of battery, and USB-C or wireless charging. The Mini’s still the one for the diaper bag: water and dust resistant to IP67, 185 grams, up to 12 hours, and a headphone jack for the plane.

The jackets got a refresh too: Penguin Blue, Fresh Frog Soup, and Dancing Flamingo, at $29.99 for the Player and $22.99 for the Mini. There’s also a $34.99 travel case for when the Mini starts living in a backpack.

The prices, once

Player, $149.99, ships October 15. Mini, $109.99, ships September 30. Both are on pre-order now at yotoplay.com, both for ages three and up.

The one we’d pre-order

Already have a third-gen Player? The button and the night light are the whole upgrade, and you know your household better than we do. Been meaning to get one? Get the Mini. It’s $40 less, it ships before the fall rush, and it’s the one that survives the car and the sandbox. That’s the good one. If none of the new bits move you, the 2024 Mini is still listed at $79.99.

Yoto’s in the club: 10% off bundles when you go through Cubbie Club. See the Yoto offer →