Toniebox review

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• Best Tonies bundle: Toniebox + 5 Tonies, £154.90 £134.99

What were your first impressions of the Toniebox?

The first thing you'll notice about the Toniebox is how fun it looks. The design is soft and playful, with a cushioned fabric body and satisfyingly squishy rubber volume buttons.

It also comes in a range of colours including red, blue, pink, purple, grey and green for that added level of personalisation with the green colourway we tested being a particular favourite. That being said, compared with other audio players on the market like the Yoto, the Toniebox is a little on the basic side in terms of features.

The lack of a screen is very much a feature of the Toniebox, offering a unique experience, however, the player does also lack a few features present in its similarly priced competitor. For example, it uses a proprietary charging stand unlike the Yoto Gen 3 which uses USB-C, so you'll want to make sure you never lose or forget to bring the charger when you're out of the house.

Despite this, what really stands out about the Toniebox is just how well-tailored it is to children, with every aspect of the design centred around providing an independent listening experience for a range of ages.

How easy is the Toniebox to set up?

The box is simple to set up, and it only took me a few minutes to download the app and get it connected to the home Wi-Fi and ready to go. It is worth pointing out that the setup requires WiFi, so you'll need to either be at home or somewhere with an internet connection.

Each box comes with one Creative Tonie (ours was green) which will explain to you and your child how the box works. Just pop it on the top of the box (it’s gently magnetic and very satisfying to use) and you’re good to go.

"At 3, my son was a bit small to appreciate having to listen to the “rules”," noted MFM Gemma, "but he got the hang of how it worked pretty quickly and was soon swapping out the different Tonies by himself."

How do you control the Toniebox?

The Toniebox has a “tap and tilt” operation for skipping and rewinding/fast-forwarding that’s designed to be easy and intuitive for kids to use.

You tilt the box left or right to fast-forward/rewind, and you “tap” each side to skip between chapters. This was the feature I liked the least. In fact, I was convinced our Toniebox was faulty as I just couldn’t get the “tap” to work leading to some frustrating attempts to navigate The Jungle Book.

"Tonies customer service advised me that this kind of functionality is “new, especially for us adults” and that I had to “calmly ‘slap’ my way to the right amount of force," added Gemma. "I did eventually master it, but my son still hasn’t worked this bit out, so I’m not 100% convinced this “fun” idea is quite as good in practice as it is in theory. It also means the box often ends up on the floor, having been “slapped” off the bedside table."

New stories are controlled using Tonies figurines, which you pop on top of the box to start the story or song. They’re definitely appealing to children: each one is a little toy itself.

There’s a huge variety of recognisable characters from Disney, Julia Donaldson, Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Octonauts, Gabby’s Dollhouse, DC and Paddington to name but a few. You can also buy Creative Tonies to record your own content onto through the Toniebox app.

Some of our parent testers also found issues with the tilt controls. As parent tester Jessica, who also tested the Toniebox with her 3-year-old son (pictured), also struggled with the 'tilt' controls, though she did say how her son "loved how he was able to control the toy all by himself and swap between different stories and songs by changing the characters over."

How much do the Tonies figurines cost?

Tonies are around £14.99 each, with a few exceptions. You can also buy bundles and save a few pounds each time. Value for money varies depending on the figurine: some have a running time of as little as 20 minutes (Zog, for example) while others have hours of content (A Bear Called Paddington is 155 mins in total). It’s a shame they can’t be sorted by running time on the Tonies website as this would be really useful when choosing new ones to purchase.

"My son was so taken with the Rotten Romans he has listened to that Tonie pretty much non-stop for two weeks," noted parent tester Sarah, who tested the Toniebox with her 3-year-old son. "He has learnt so much from it and talks about the different Emperors and some of the myths. We live near Hadrian's Wall so have been visiting the Roman Forts - Toniebox in tow - to explore some of the sites."

Although the longer ones offer more content for your money, the short ones can be useful: and younger kids with short attention spans will benefit from the simple story-and-a-song format and setting a limit to “just one Tonie” is helpful if they’re around 30 mins or so. For older kids, things like the Horrible Histories and Diary of a Wimpy Kid Tonies give you a bit more bang for your buck.

"Before we tested both this and the Yoto player I wasn’t convinced these players have longevity or real application in daily life," said MFM Gemma. "We’ve always read a lot of books with our son, and I didn’t really think he also needed a box to do that as well. But there are times when this really comes in handy, and we use it to supplement family storytime rather than to replace it."

How does the app work?

Overall, the Toniebox app is fairly intuitive if a little basic. It allows you to set volume limits on the device - including separate limits for listening via the speaker or via headphones - and you can, in theory, control the LED that sits just below the Tonies figurines when they are attached, though this didn't work 100% of the time during our testing.

During my testing, I also noticed that my Toniebox disconnected from the app and had to be set up again, which I found particularly frustrating.

That being said, given that the app is only something that parents will use, it does what it needs to do including allowing you to name the box, manage the tilt controls as well as changing the household. You can also see what Tonies are connected to the player when it is in use.

Can the Toniebox be used as a nightlight?

Unlike the Yoto Player, the Toniebox doesn't have a built-in nightlight. The LED that surrounds the magnetic attachment point for the Tonies figurines is purposefully quite dim so I wouldn't rely on it as a nightlight. They have recently released an adorable - if expensive - Sleepy Sheep Nightlight which combines 90 minutes of soothing sleep sounds with a gentle glow to help aid with sleep.

Though it is frustrating that this is an additional cost on top of the player, the thought and care that has gone into designing the Sleepy Sheep does make the experience even more fun for younger children. You can also record special sleep messages to play when the Sleepy Sheep is connected, which is a nice touch.

"We also tested the sleepy sheep night light which plays soothing music when you place it on the box," added parent tester Jessica. "He wasn’t so sure to begin with as he usually goes to sleep with the light off but he has been a little unsettled since we returned from our holiday and it has really seemed to help settle and reassure him at bedtime. The music is just lovely too."

How long does the battery last?

The Toniebox has an advertised battery life of up to 7 hours and during our testing, it more or less lived up to this promise. While it's not as long as some other players on the market, it should provide ample entertainment for a flight or long car journey and the added headphone port will save you from having to listen to Horrible Histories for the 100th time.

Is there any free content available?

Unlike other players on the market, free content included with the Toniebox is limited. You do get the included Creative Tonie, which comes preloaded with a range of audio including stories and songs.

The Toniebox app also includes a range of free audio, which can be uploaded to the Creative Tonie alongside your own messages and personalised audio. Unlike something like the Yoto Player, there is no always-on free radio station or free podcast available on the Toniebox, however, you can purchase the podcast Tonie figurine, which will give you access to the daily Tonies podcast.

What's in the box?

With the Toniebox starter set, you get a charging station and the Creative Tonie figurine in a colour that matches your player.

Are there any accessories available for the Toniebox?

The Toniebox has a range of fantastic, colourful accessories available including travel cases designed to store the player and Tonies figurines, separate figurine storage and a set of fun, magnetic shelves you can use to display Tonies. You can also get a range of wired or wireless headphones in a variety of colourways.

• Best Toniebox travel case: Tonies Listen & Play Bag - Enchanted Forest, £27.99
• Best Toniebox case for listening on the go: Carry case, £15.99
• Best headphones for the Toniebox: Tonies Foldable Headphones, £24.99
• Best for displaying Tonies figures: Tonies Shelves, £47.99

How does it compare to the Yoto?

This is the question we get asked the most whenever we talk about the Toniebox or the Yoto Player. Which is best and which one should I buy? Ultimately, the answer will come down to what you're looking for from an audio player.

If you have older children and you're looking for more of a gadget that has a range of features including a display then the Yoto is the best buy for you. However, if you have younger children and are more keen to buy something that more closely resembles a toy, complete with fun, collectable figurines, then the Toniebox is the best option.

Overall, both are fantastic value for money given the hours of listening time you can enjoy but the Yoto does probably end up being the better deal overall. Combining the fact that the cards are slightly cheaper at £7.99 compared to the £14.99 Tonies figurines, with the range of free audio content available on the Yoto, it does end up being slightly cheaper.

However, with the Toniesbox you are getting an extra 'wow' factor, collectability and play potential with the figures that will last even when they're not connected to the Toniebox.

For a more detailed comparison, check out our Yoto vs Tonies article to see which is best for you and for a more in-depth look at the Yoto, check out our Yoto Player review.

Is the Toniebox worth the money?

Overall, we'd definitely say the Toniebox is worth the money. While it's not a cheap product, the fact that it offers a screen-free way for your child to engage with a range of audio all wrapped in a child-friendly and fun design makes it great value.

The figurines make for great birthday and Christmas presents and the wide variety of audio on offer means that there'll almost always be something for your child.

"I think it’s worth the price tag if you buy whilst the child is quite young as it should last a good few years," said parent tester Jessica. "It's great as a main birthday or Christmas present. The box and characters do appear to be well made and robust and sturdy for little hands."

Where can I buy the Toniebox?

The Toniebox is available from Amazon and Tonies for £79.95.

MadeForMums verdict:

The Toniebox is a really great way to introduce children to a world of books and audio, all while encouraging independent play. It's not perfect, there are definitely some features like the 'tilt' controls we'd like to see tweaked in a future model, and the lack of free audio content is disappointing but it's hard not to love such a fun, well-designed device.