The report card
- Content & free listening25% of score6.6
Good authors and narrators, but audiobooks only and a smaller catalogue.
- Cost of ownership20% of score7.2
A cheap player; books cost from about £6 to £14 each.
- Easy for small hands20% of score8.8
Big tactile buttons, and it remembers where you stopped.
- Parental controls & privacy15% of score6.2
No app means no remote controls, but also nothing to connect; bedtime mode and a travel lock.
- Sound, battery & build20% of score7.2
Up to 14 hours, a speaker and a wired headphone jack, but no Bluetooth.
The full review
Voxblock takes the opposite approach to Yoto and Tonies: no app, no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth and no downloads. Each audiobook is a chunky block made from layers of recycled cardboard, with a connector built in. Slot it in and it plays; take it out and put it back later and it picks up where you left off.
The Independent made it its best budget audio player, praising the big, intuitive buttons and a catalogue that includes Roald Dahl, Julia Donaldson and Terry Pratchett. There's a 20-minute bedtime mode and a travel lock, and the battery is rated at up to 14 hours.
The trade-offs are real. There's no free content, no music or podcasts, and no Bluetooth headphones (a wired jack only). The book blocks take far more room than Yoto cards, and MadeForMums found the library for younger listeners limited. Without an app you also can't cap the volume from your phone or see what's being played, though for some parents that's exactly the point.
Pros and cons
What I like
- No app, Wi-Fi or account to set up
- Resumes where you left off
- Bedtime mode and travel lock
- Low player price
What I don't
- Audiobooks only, no free content
- Bulky book blocks
- No Bluetooth headphones
- Smaller library for very young children
Key specs
- Age
- 3 to 14+
- Battery
- Up to 14 hours
- Connectivity
- None (no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)
- Audio
- Built-in speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Charging
- USB-C
- Bedtime mode
- 20 minutes, then standby
Head-to-heads
What I read
This is a research-led review. These are the main sources behind the scores, alongside patterns in verified owner reviews. How I review.