Grown up tech is becoming more infantalised, thanks to AI's ability to transcend traditional skill sets. For example, Meta’s decision to imbue the design and delivery of its new Muse Charm pocket AI device with child-friendly avatars is an 'interesting' decision at a time when tech’s relationship with childhood is under more scrutiny than ever before.
Nex Playground console in use
Should kids get ahead with tech or should the online world be off limits until they’re able to better process the pitfalls and dark alleys of the digital world? These gadgets want to serve as introductions and solutions to complex modern problems.
YAPA Phone
YAPA Phone
The new YAPA phone solves the screen time argument by doing away with the seductive charms of an OLED display and stepping back in time to something a little more fundamental. Described as the ‘UK’s first home phone designed for kids,’ YAPA is pitched at 5-14 year olds and intended solely as a way to connect with friends without opening up the realm of social media.
Designed by product design consultancy Aetha, the YAPA’s aesthetic is certainly designed to tickle the nostalgia buds of parents, with its chunky keys, bold colours and traditional coiled cord. It’s toy-like, yet fully functional, thanks to a WiFi-driven operating system that puts parents in control (via an app), allowing contacts and call time to be monitored.
YAPA Phone
According to Aetha’s Tom Parsons, YAPA is ‘built around what children actually need to communicate with family and friends, and what a parent needs to trust a device. We didn't want to make another toy, or a scaled-down smartphone, we wanted an object with real material quality, that a child is proud of, happy to see on the kitchen counter and excited to tell their friends they use.’
YAPA Phone, pre-sale orders from £99.99 via YapaClub.com, @YAPA.Phone
AethaDesign.com, @Aetha.Design
Nex Playground
Nex Playground
Already a trusted brand in this space, the Playground games console from Nex has been around for a few years, allowing its eco-system to grow and evolve. An ultra-compact device with a playful, pastel-coded form factor, the little console has a focus on activity, collaboration and co-operation.
Nex arrives with five games, while a Play Pass subscription unlocks over seventy more, with constant updates over the year. The primary means of interaction is via a motion sensor on the box, one which makes dynamic action games the focus, for both one and two players.
Nex Playground with travel case
Slice through citrus cascades with the evergreen Fruit Ninja, play a variety of sports from basketball to archery, dance, keep fit and engage with licensed content from the likes of Barbie, Sesame Street and Dreamworks.
Nex Playground Console
It’s an intuitive set-up, similar in spirit to the old Kinect system for the Xbox and even Sky Glass’s Sky Live system (both now discontinued). Bright, colourful graphics and smooth animations naturally draw in young eyes, while the system also has an integral camera cover and only keeps motion-tracking data on the device.
Nex Playground, £215, One-year Play Pass, £90, NexPlayground.com, @NexPlayground
Yoto Player
The fourth generation Yoto Mini and Yoto Player
A tried and tested child-friendly device with legions of happy users, the Yoto Player was recently given a substantial design update. The classic Yoto Player and the compact Yoto Mini are a gateway to audio stories, daily podcasts and classic books, with a chunky, easy-to-manage form factor and an ultra-simple interface designed for engagement not obsession.
Yoto Player 4th Gen, £119.99, UK.YotoPlay.com, Yoto Mini 4th Gen, £89.99, UK.YotoPlay.com, @YotoPlay
Karri Messenger 2
Another entrant into the safe communications category, the Karri Messenger 2 is a modern update of the traditional walkie-talkie. The latter was a much-coveted gadget for younger Gen Xers, even if very few children actually had access to real, functional units. The Messenger 2 doesn’t actually enable real-time talk but serves instead as a voice messaging service with a rudimentary screen for accessing the (parentally approved) contact list.
Karri Messenger 2
The company suggests the device is best used as a way of keeping in touch with your kid, including a GPS tracker and SOS alerts in the limited function set. There’s also a helpful torch, splash and drop resistance and two days of battery life. You can of course leave a message with another Karri, but most adult interaction will be through the app. A subscription service is required to enable mobile network access, although the compact, colourful device also works on WiFi.
Karri Messenger 2, £89.99, Karri.io, @Karri_io
Polaroid Go (Gen 3)
A firm favourite amongst adults and children alike, Polaroid’s smallest instant camera, the Go, is well suited to small hands. Colourful, creative, and compact, the third generation of the Go uses Polaroid’s Go film to produce dainty, pocketable pictures. A powerful flash and inbuilt ‘selfie mirror’ add to the Go’s charms.
Polaroid Go Instant Camera Generation 3, £79.99, Polaroid.com, @Polaroid
Loog Piano
Loog Piano
Loog specialises in making small guitars for small hands, teaming up with established brands like Fender and Gibson to shrink familiar instruments down to a more wieldable size. The new Loog Piano follows the same playbook, shrinking the size but not the capability. In addition to pro-grade piano sounds, there are velocity sensitive keys, in-built speakers and battery and an accompanying learning app.
On top of all this, the Loog Piano offers MIDI over USB, so it can be used as controller, further adding to the longevity and practicality of an instrument that’ll grow with your child.
Loog Piano, €269, LoogGuitars.com, @LoogGuitars
Freckle Phone
Freckle Phone
Designed to evoke the spirit of an old-school walkie-talkie, with parental safeguards baked in, the upcoming Freckle phone wants kids to have their cake and eat it – wandering off into the wilderness yet also discretely tracked every step of the way. The company’s own ClayOS is underpinned by the inevitable AI; as well as allowing parents to set challenges and treasure hunts it also provides AI-driven explications and descriptions.
Freckle Phone
The Freckle Phone also highlights the inherent contradictions involved in child-specific technology. In the quest to go back to an untrammelled, open world childhood, gadgets like this inadvertently introduce a layer of AI and tech dependence that feels contrary to the lost authenticity and simplicity.
Freckle Phone, pre-order details at Freckle.tech, @Frecklehq