The report card
- Content & free listening25% of score9.3
Same library and free content, plus Green Button playlists of up to 20 favourites.
- Cost of ownership20% of score6.8
£30 more than the 3rd Gen for the same cards and Club.
- Easy for small hands20% of score8.2
On paper, the Green Button ends the card hunt for pre-readers.
- Parental controls & privacy15% of score9.1
The same Yoto app controls, plus routines that change content through the day.
- Sound, battery & build20% of score8.5
Wi-Fi 6, 64GB and wireless charging, but the battery claim drops to 14 hours.
The full review
Yoto announced the 4th Gen Player on 10 September 2026. It's on pre-order now, with dispatch expected from 15 October, and it plays exactly the same cards, so an existing collection carries straight over.
The headline change is the Green Button. You set up day and night playlists of up to 20 titles in the app, including free audio such as soundscapes and toothbrush timers, and your child twists and presses to play them without finding a card. For pre-readers who want the same five stories on repeat, that could be genuinely useful. Routines can also shift the content, night light and clock cues through the day.
Under the skin it gets Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 6.1, 64GB of storage (Yoto says more than 1,000 hours offline), USB-C and wireless charging, a full-panel night light and a wired headphone jack. The Independent reports the battery is replaceable, with a replacement kit planned for 2027, which is good news for longevity. The claimed battery life is up to 14 hours, a little less than the 3rd Gen's 16.
The honest caveat: no one has lived with it yet, so my scores lean on Yoto's spec sheet and the track record of a platform that hasn't changed. If you can wait until it ships, I'd read the first independent reviews before spending £120.
Pros and cons
What I like
- Green Button plays up to 20 favourites without cards
- Double the storage and faster Wi-Fi
- Wireless charging and a replaceable battery
- Works with every existing Yoto card
What I don't
- £30 more than the 3rd Gen
- Shorter claimed battery life (14 hours)
- No independent testing yet
Key specs
- Age
- 3+
- Speaker
- 5W stereo
- Battery
- Up to 14 hours (Yoto figure)
- Storage
- 64GB, 1,000+ hours offline
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 6.1, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Charging
- USB-C and wireless
- Size and weight
- 11.5 x 11.5 x 11cm, about 763g
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.