If you’ve got little bookworms at home then the Yoto Mini could be the perfect toy for enjoying storytime in bed or on the go.
This cute little audio player is easy for small hands to pick up and operate.
Plus there is not only a huge range of Yoto Cards (sold separately) loaded with audiobooks they will love to choose from, but also free content available too.
I’ve been testing out the Yoto Mini on my own two little bookworms for several months. Now I want to share our thoughts on whether it’s worth buying for your own kids, plus explain what it’s all about.
This post contains affiliate links.
Quick verdict on the Yoto Mini
The Yoto Mini is an easy-to-use audio player your child can snuggle up with in bed or enjoy on the go thanks to its compact size.
It’s cheaper than other similar products on the market – including the Yoto original player and Toniebox.
The controls are simple, the small display offers a useful clock function and shows cool pixel images that go with the story being played, and the size is spot-on for small hands.
And parents have full control of the Yoto Mini via the app – turn the volume down, switch it off, change what’s being played, and more!
There is content available for kids aged three to 12. I would say at age 11 your child may be gravitating more towards a smart tablet and possibly even smartphone for audio content.
In addition to the range of Yoto Cards on offer there is also free content available with the Yoto Daily podcast and Yoto Radio.
The Yoto Mini makes a great gift for kids that they can use every day.
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What is the Yoto Mini?
The Yoto Mini is an audio player that fits in the palm of your hand and can be used to play stories, music and educational content for kids.
It is the smaller sibling of the Yoto Player – read my full Yoto Player 2nd Gen review and Yoto Player 3rd Gen Review.
Kids can insert Yoto Cards (sold separately) into the top of the Yoto Mini (there’s a slot at the top) to play their favourite stories, or access free content such as podcasts and the Yoto Radio station.
Yoto sells a huge range of Yoto Cards to work with your player. The type of content varies massively. You can browse the Cards by age on the Yoto website shop to help you narrow your search to find something appropriate for your child.
Some examples include phonics lessons for younger kids, Disney stories, classic books like The Gruffalo, Enid Blyton books, Roald Dahl books and Marvel Universe stories. So if you want superhero stories, Yoto has lots of those!
What’s great about the selection is its really got something for everyone, so I think it can be really good for engaging kids who aren’t necessarily mad about books.
Although the Yoto Mini has a very small square screen that shows pixel graphics that change depending on the Yoto Card being played or what the Mini is being used for, it isn’t a distraction from the audio content.
So even though this toy includes a screen, I would classify it as a screen-free toy as the screen isn’t the key function of the player, it’s just something that helps engage kids with it.
Headphones can be plugged into the Yoto Mini – making it ideal for travel on public transport or for use in a room where adults want a bit of quiet.
What comes with the Yoto Mini
- Yoto Mini Player device
- USB-C fast charge cable (no plug)
- Welcome Card (which doubles as a Make Your Own audio card)
The pink Mini Adventure Jacket you see on the Yoto in some of these pictures is sold separately and includes the carry strap.
I do recommend you get one of these as it makes it easier for your child to carry around the house or elsewhere and comes in a variety of colours.
Key features
- Small square screen displaying pixel graphics that change depending on function and story played
- 16GB built-in storage – equivalent to 350 hours audio
- Parental control via the Yoto App
- Up to 20 hours battery life
- Headphone jack or can be connected to Bluetooth headphones for private listening
- Alarm clock – set in Yoto App
- Can operate as a Bluetooth speaker
- Up to 20 hours of battery life
- Access to free Yoto content including Yoto Radio, Yoto Daily podcast, recipes, sleep sounds and useful timers (such as a toothbrush and tidy up timer)
How does the Yoto Mini work?
Operating the Yoto Mini is simple. Operating it does often require a WiFi connection but it can be used without one if you have already played a card in the Mini (more on that shortly).
Kids insert Yoto Cards into the top of the Mini and it autoplays the content (you’ll need to be connected to WiFi that first time you play the Card).
If your child wants to stop playing that content they can simply pull the card out – and when the re-instert it playback will resume from where they got to.
Kids can adjust the volume with the dial on the left, and the dial on the right has multiple functions. If kids turn it while playing a Yoto Card they can skip through the chapters on the card – with the pixel display showing what number they have reached. They then push the button to select that chapter.
The right button can also be pushed once to play Yoto Daily (a kids daily mini podcast) and twice to play Yoto Radio. Both of these are free with your Yoto Mini.
There’s an on/off button on the right hand side.
Quick start guide for the Yoto Mini
You need to download the Yoto App to your smartphone in order to get started with the Yoto Mini.
Then follow these steps:
- Plug the Yoto Mini in to charge using the USB-C cable.
- Follow the instructions in the app to connect your Yoto to your home WiFi.
- You’ll also be prompted to set up a family account with Yoto. Other adults can download the Yoto app and be connected to your family account.
What can parents do in the Yoto App
The Yoto App gives you total control of the Yoto Mini, including the volume and alarm times!
Stuff you can do in the app includes:
- Setting an alarm (you can set multiple alarms and adjust by day of the week and time). There’s a variety of different alarm sounds or you can set it to play Yoto Radio.
- See what content your child has downloaded to the Yoto Mini player. This is really handy if you are going on a car or plane journey and want your child
- Set the volume (crucial if they’re insisting on blasting it at full volume when you’re wanting some peace!)
- Switch the Yoto Mini off – really handy if your child has fallen asleep listening to it and you are too lazy to get up to switch it off (or too worried you may wake them up if you go into their room!)
- See how much battery is left
- Change what time the Yoto goes into “day” mode (sun displayed on the screen, volume adjusted if you choose to) and “night” mode (moon displayed on the screen, adjust volume and display brightness)
- Check what Yoto Cards are downloaded to the player – so you can see what cards they can play without wifi if you are heading out of the house
- Make Your Own Yoto cards. Put any audio from the Yoto App onto a Make Your Own card (one is included with your Yoto Mini) or record your own audio, or add whatever audio files you want (such as music to create a playlist of your kid’s favourite songs).
- Change the button shortcuts on the device.
- Browse the Yoto store to buy new cards.
- Have more than one Yoto device? Control them all from just one app on your phone, switching between devices easily.
- Adjust display brightness
Once you open the Yoto app you have the option to check out News from Yoto, changing settings of the player or players you own, see what cards are in your Library, and shop the Yoto store.
These screenshots give you an idea of the layout of the Yoto app and how specific the controls are.
Does the Yoto Mini need to be connected to WiFi?
The Yoto Mini needs to be connected to WiFi when you first use it and when you first play any Yoto Card. This is because the Card content needs to stream to the device.
Once a card has downloaded to your player (you can check whether it has in the Yoto App) then you can play that card without the player needing to be online.
You also need a Wifi connection to play Yoto Daily and Yoto Radio.
Your Yoto Mini does not have unlimited memory – so if you exceed the size of your library then lesser played cards will be replaced by the most popular cards.
There’s enough space in your Yoto Mini for 350 hours of audio (based on spoken word content, music may take up more space).
What age is the Yoto Mini for?
Yoto says this product is suitable for kids aged three to 12+. There’s certainly content to satisfy that broad age range.
I would add that the Yoto Mini could be very useful and enjoyed by a toddler and babies as well, as the player can play white noise and sleep music.
Yoto Mini pros and cons
Pros
- Easy for little hands to pick up and carry around
- Perfect compact size for travelling
- Does the same key stuff as Yoto Player
- Cheaper than Yoto Player
- All your Yoto cards work with Yoto Mini
- No microphone – therefore no concerns about privacy unlike other audio devices such as Alexa
- No general internet access – you can be reassured your child is safe using the device
- Yoto Cards are very durable
- Battery life is good – up to 20 hours
- Includes an alarm function which you can set from the app
- If you lose a Yoto Card simply play content by using your phone app to control the player, or make a copy to a Make Your Own card
Cons
- Screen is very small
- No nightlight feature like the Yoto original player
- Charging cable doesn’t come with a plug which may be less convenient than the magnetic dock that comes with the Yoto original
- Yoto Cards can be quite expensive (£6.99 to £20+)
What if I lose a Yoto Card?
No need to panic! If you lose a Yoto Card you can either play the content from the Yoto app on your phone or upload it to a Make Your Own Yoto Card.
This only works if the Yoto Card you’ve lost has been played at least once on your player. That way the content is stored in the library of the parents’ Yoto app.
This is so reassuring, as the Yoto Cards could get knocked down the back of the bed or chest of drawers. This way you know you won’t lose your child’s favourite story!
What is the Yoto Cards content like?
My kids have absolutely adored listening to the range of Yoto Cards we own.
We’ve got a wide variety including Disney classics, Roald Dahl books (Matilda is a particular favourite) and some sweet magical fairy stories.
As well as fiction book content, you can also get exciting non-fiction cards, such as cards about the solar system, history and the natural world around us.
A few people have asked me on my YouTube reviews of the Yoto range whether the Disney cards, such as Frozen, are audio from the actual movie and include the songs.
The answer to this is no you don’t get the original move audio, you get an audiobook recording with the story adapted from the original move. None of the cards we have had include songs from those hit movies.
But it’s a lovely way for kids to engage with some of their favourite classic stories.
How does the Yoto Mini compare to the Yoto Player?
There are a few key differences between the Yoto Mini and Yoto Player.
One is the physical size of the player and the size of the screen – the Yoto Player has a much bigger screen and has a nightlight function that will appeal a lot to some parents.
The price is also different, with the Yoto Mini coming in £40 cheaper than the Yoto Player.
Which one you will prefer really depends on how important the nightlight function is to you and whether you prefer the larger screen.
To be honest with you the nightlight is pretty low level, I wouldn’t buy the larger Yoto on the basis of this alone as it gives off a glow rather than a light that will satisfy a child with serious issues with the dark.
The Yoto Mini is perfect if you want to be able to travel with the toy, whereas the Yoto Player is better as a permanent fixture on your kid’s nightstand that can also be carried around the house as needed.
How does Yoto Mini compare to Toniebox
There are a few key differences between Yoto and Toniebox – you can read my full Toniebox review here.
The Yoto uses cards instead of figures and Toniebox does not have any screen or clock.
Other differences include the size – Yoto Mini is significantly smaller – and Toniebox is padded so it’s quite cuddly for kids.
Let’s not forget a big difference – cost. Yoto Mini is £20 cheaper than the Toniebox, and the Tonies figures (starting at £14.99) generally cost more than Yoto Cards (starting at £6.99).
Finally there’s free content. Toniebox does offer some free content from its app, but it’s largely aimed at younger kids, for example nursery rhymes.
Yoto has a free daily podcast that’s great fun for younger and older kids, plus radio station that plays lullabies at night. Perfect for getting kids to nod off.
And I have to mention another great feature of Yoto’s range, which is what you can do if you lose a card!
Whereas with Toniebox if you lose a Tonie figure then you can’t play that content, with Yoto once you’ve played a card it is stored in the app on your phone.
If you lost a Yoto Card you can either play the content from your Yoto app, or upload it to a Make Your Own Yoto Card. So useful!
If you are trying to decide between going with Yoto or Tonies, I would suggest the Yoto will last them far longer due to the design and the content available.
It also may come down to how appealing you find the Tonies characters, which are great for younger kids. And also how important the screen feature on Yoto is to you.
The clock and small screen on the Yoto Mini is a fantastic feature, because it means your child can use this as a clock.
Having tried both, I think the screen and free content gives Yoto the edge and both of my kids use their Yoto every single day.
| YOTO MINI | YOTO PLAYER | TONIEBOX |
|---|---|---|
| Small pixel graphics display | Larger pixel graphics display | Screen-free |
| 16GB storage space | 32GB storage space | Space for 90 mins of audio |
| Audio content played using cards | Audio content played using cards | Audio content played using character figures |
| 7x7x4cm | 11x11x10cm | 12x12x12cm |
| Up to 20 hours battery life | Up to 24 hours battery life | Up to 7 hours battery life |
| Controlled with 2 dials/buttons | Controlled with 2 dials/buttons | Controlled with 2 buttons and by tilting/tapping the box |
| Variety of educational and storybook content including classic tales | Variety of educational and storybook content including classic tales | Variety of educational and storybook content including classic tales |
| Free daily podcast, radio and selection of audio content via Yoto app | Free daily podcast, radio and selection of audio content via Yoto app | Some free content via Tonies app |
| Retails at £59.99 | Retails at £99.99 | Retails at £79.95 |
| Yoto Cards cost from £6.99 | Yoto Cards cost from £6.99 | Tonies cost from £14.99 |
| App stores Card content and you can make copies to Make Your Own Cards | App stores Card content and you can make copies to Make Your Own Cards | No option for making copies, so if you lose a Tonie figure you’ve lost the content |
Yoto Mini review verdict
The second I opened the Yoto Mini I knew it was something myself and the kids were going to love using.
It looks super cute and the size is so perfect for small hands and for travel.
Ever since we bought it, they have used it every single day!
Given the quality of modern graphics and proliferation of screens for kids you would think the pixel display on the Mini would be a turn off. But I actually think it’s retro and pretty charming.
Controlling the Yoto Mini with the dials isn’t immediately intuitive – you have to figure out which dial does what – but it’s very simple to operate once you know what dial does what.
My kids love listening to audio books on the Yoto Mini and I think it’s a great way to add to the story times they already have with us. I feel much better about them entertaining themselves with the Yoto than on their tablets playing games.
The screen is much smaller than the original Yoto Player – unsurprisingly as this is the mini version – but it’s still big enough to see the images and my kids love having a clock on their bedside table.
If you want all of the key features of a Yoto Player but in a smaller size that can be easily taken away for travel then the Yoto Mini is perfect, and cheaper!
Want to get 5% off your Yoto Mini?
Shop for your Yoto here and use this code at checkout AFF-MUMMYBUBBLE5
