The Yoto Player is an internet-connected audio device for children that uses physical cards. Introduced in 2018, it is available in two sizes with a larger device (the Yoto Player) incorporating a night light for home use, and a Yoto Mini for portable use. Although it needs initial set up via a smartphone to connect it to Wi-Fi, once done it is designed to be simple to operate for children and promotes itself as having no camera, microphone or adverts.
Both devices have a screen that displays pixel art when a card is playing to indicate the track and when no card is inserted shows the time.
A range of cards are available including stories, educational titles and a handful of music releases. There are also blank cards (‘Make Your Own’ cards) available for adding content to via the app. The cards operate by NFC (near-field communication) so can be inserted into the device any way – the first time they are inserted, content is downloaded from the cloud and stored in the devices memory so that the next time the card is used access is immediate. The content is not stored on the cards themselves which simply tell the device what to download and play.
As well as physical cards, Yoto now also produce digital-only cards. These can be linked to a ‘Make Your Own’ card (so children can still put them in the player) or they can be played directly from the app. As of 2024 Yoto have indicated that they have no plans to stop selling physical cards.