Disclaimer: We were sent this Jooki audio player to review free of charge, but words and pictures are mine. This post contains affiliate links, see more information here.
Kids love listening to stories and music, and it’s a great way to encourage screen-free time, but the tapes of my youth no longer exist and CDs are declining in popularity as streaming services like Spotify and Deezer take over.
Having got rid of all our CDs years ago, we use Amazon Echos to play music and listen to the radio. Although they’re great for lots of things, it’s not always easy for the kids to get them to understand what they want with voice commands, and often it’ll play the wrong song – plus it can be hard to restrict what they have access to.
Jooki review
The Jooki is an audio player made just for children.
It’s wireless, with a large rubber carry strap and durable casing which makes it perfect for kids as young as three to use.
It solves the problem of monitoring what your children are listening to as you set up the playlists yourself, then they have the freedom to choose what they want to listen to.
How easy is the Jooki to set up?
When you get your Jooki, you need to charge it with the supplied USB charger. You’ll need your own USB plug.
Download the Jooki app (also available on the App Store for iPhones) and connect it to your home network automatically by following the instructions and connecting it to your phone via Bluetooth.
Once it’s connected, you will need Spotify or Deezer streaming service to work with your Jooki.
Alternatively, you can play audio files via a microSD card which slots into the bottom (you’ll need to unscrew the orange plate to give access to the slot), however I would definitely only recommend purchasing a Jooki if you already subscribe to a music streaming service.
How does it work?
It comes with five character ‘pieces’ called ‘Jooki Stars’ – a blue whale, an orange fox, a green dragon, a whit ghost and a silver knight. Each one can be associated with a different playlist (additional Jooki tokens can be purchased at Amazon).
To add playlists to the characters (‘Jooki Stars’), create or find the playlists on Spotify or Deezer. We have Spotify.
Press the ‘on’ button and wait for your Jooki it to power on (lights will flash) and connect to the network; you’ll know when it is ready because the button lights will stop flashing and it will make a sound.
On the Spotify App, select ‘devices’ and then choose to play the playlist on the Jooki.
It should start playing! If you open the Jooki App, it’ll ask whether you want to associate that playlist with a token; if you select a character then it’ll connect and from then on, that Jooki Star will be associated with the playlist unless it’s replaced.
Previous playlists stay on the list so you don’t have to worry if you overwrite them accidentally.
You can also create playlists from inside the Jooki App and upload your own content directly from your phone or laptop. You can also record voice messages to play. All of these options can be found under the ‘add playlist’ option.
The Jooki is very easy for children to use.
When the speaker is set up and turned on all your child has to do is place the chosen Jooki Star on top of the speaker and it will play music or stories from a playlist.
To stop it playing, all they have to do is remove the character.
They can fast forward to the next song, return to the previous one, and change the volume easily by pressing the buttons on the top.
To power off, press the power button until the lights go off; although it will turn itself off after 15 minutes if not used.
It has a headphone jack and it can also be used as a smart speaker, controlled by your phone – so is unlikely to be outgrown.
Troubleshooting the Jooki
There were a few times when the Jooki could not connect to the network; after powering up the lights flashed blue and it would not play the music when a token was put onto it.
I don’t know whether this was due to the network, the network strength or battery, but charging the unit next to the router seemed to fix the problem. As we have two networks in our house for different areas, I don’t seem able to successfully connect it to the upstairs network so it is currently just used downstairs. This is a bit of a pain, as it would be nice if it was fully portable, but is not an issue that should happen if you do not have a wifi extender in your house.
Apart from that, we didn’t experience any problems and it was easy to set up.
What did the kids think of Jooki?
The kids’ Jooki review is pretty positive. It’s a very intuitive audio player so the kids loved being able to use it in their own rooms without supervision and being able to select their own music without the need for voice commands.
The battery lasts well – up to eight hours of playback on one charge. It’s robust, splash proof and not too big or heavy and because it’s wireless it can be moved around easily; it gets a thumbs up here.
The bright colours of the box and characters really appealed to my son in particular; although it would be nice if it was available in a range of colours as my six year old would prefer something a bit more subdued to fit into her pink bedroom.
How much and where to buy
The Jooki audio player has an RRP of £169.99; this includes the player, charging cable and five Jooki Stars characters.
It can be purchased from Amazon. You can also purchase additional tokens to use with your Jooki which have an RRP of £12.99.
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This is company response on durability:
“However, please note that a few years of constant usage is a significant period for any toy, and Jooki is designed to withstand the playful activities of children to the best of its abilities.“
Less than 4 years? it is simply a bad quality product.