We have had a Yoto Player and Yoto Minis for over three and a half years now. Here's my honest, transparent review of the Yoto audiobook player.
A Yoto Player is a screen-free, microphone-free audio platform. These small players utilize cards to play audiobooks, music, and other audio content.
The Yoto is available in two sizes: Yoto Player (Original) and Yoto Mini.
Both versions include these features:
- Plays Yoto cards
- Headphone compatibility
- Pixel display
- Bluetooth compatibility
- Can adjust via the Yoto app
- 32 GB capacity
- Includes additional in-player content
- Can create your own Yoto card (MYO)
The Yoto Mini is smaller and more portable, making it perfect for traveling. The Yoto Player is great for listening around the home- it's larger and includes a nightlight as well as other additional features.
For a complete list of features and dimensions, visit the Yoto website.
Our Experience
We have have had the Yoto Player since November 2021 and Yoto Minis since February 2022. Here are my overall thoughts:
Using the Yoto Minis has been a great fit for our family! All five of my children currently have their own Yoto Mini (ages 1, 4, 6, 8, 10).
My oldest three boys use their Yoto Mini every day: they listen to audiobooks or other audio content before bedtime. They also will occasionally listen to their Yoto Mini during their free play.
These have been great for both rest time and travel. I always joke that I will never travel without our Yotos!
For our family, they would be worth the cost alone for how they help us navigate travelling with young children. This helps entertain them during long drives, and it makes it easy for them to listen to their favorite audiobooks while staying with family.
One of my favorite features is the Make Your Own (MYO) cards. This allows you to take your own audio content and place it on a blank MYO card. While there can be a learning curve to creating them, this has been 100% worth it for me. This allows me to put other audiobooks, music, podcasts, and more on a MYO card. You can even have a family member record a story for your kids!
Because of the MYO cards, you can purchase audiobooks or music from other sources to play on the Yoto. Note: the audio files must be in the correct format and meet the size requirements. For full information on MYO cards, read the complete details and instructions on the Yoto website.
Note: Because the file must be in the proper format, some audiobook websites are not immediately compatible with creating a MYO file. They must first be converted to the proper file type, and they may need to be split into files by chapter. However, this may go against the terms of service of the website. (For example: audiobooks from Audible are not in the proper format).
If you check out audiobooks from the library via app, these cannot be put on an MYO card, as there is no file to download. However, the Yoto Player and Yoto Mini can be used as a bluetooth speaker to broadcast the book from another device. This is less convenient, but may work for your family.
We currently do not use the radio or podcast features on the Yoto player because I do not have capacity to screen them for content. Some of these podcasts *do* contain ads, even though the Yoto player claims to be ad-free.
Considerations
I always encourage families to count the cost: there is the initial cost of the player, jacket, cards, and any other accessories (such as headphones or card cases) you need, as well as the potential ongoing cost of new cards. (A jacket is a case for the player).
I also suggest considering the Yoto Club. This can be a great way to start builing your card collection in a more affordable way. There are now multiple tiers to the Yoto club: for full details and information, check out the Yoto website.
Our Overall Experience
Overall, the Yoto Minis have been an excellent choice for our family! Most of my children use them literally every day, and they are an essential travel staple for us. Because of how often we use them, they have been worth the price.
For transparency: I initially purchased a Yoto Player (2nd generation at the time) myself. This was before they had launched the Yoto minis. Initially, we didn't use this one Yoto Player as much as I thought or hoped we would.
Later, after the launch of the Yoto minis, our family took a very long trip where we would be in the car for significant amounts of time. We then purchased three Yoto Minis for my three oldest children. They were a huge hit! They helped us avoid too much screen time on our long drive.
After that trip, my boys used their Yoto Minis frequently and we began using them before bed almost daily.
A while later, Yoto approached me about providing a free product. I received a gifted Yoto Mini (as well as several Yoto cards) which we gave to my fourth son. Last Christmas, I had several Yoto reward points saved up and was able to get a Yoto Mini for my fifth and youngest son.
Honestly, we don't use our Yoto Player (larger size) very often. The Minis are a perfect fit for our family.
In the summer of 2024, several of our Yoto Minis began to experience technical issues, all at the same time. Yoto was very gracious to work with us and resolve our issues: they ended up replacing several of the Minis due to SD card failures. While it took a while to get our issues fully resolved, I'm very thankful that they fully replaced the affected Yotos.
Overall, we are very happy with the Yoto products and the customer service, and we highly recommend these players!
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