Give the Gift of an AI powered Friend this holiday season with a Miko Mini

Technology never ceases to amaze me. I think children these days are especially lucky. Some of the toys available for kids are so cool that I wish I was a kid again just so I can enjoy them myself. My own children are in their 20’s and today’s toys are much cooler than the ones they had growing up. The most techie thing they had was a Tamagotchi and a Video Now hand held video player.

The only downside I see to techie toys is that they often take away from a child using their imagination and creativity. However, if a toy has a learning component to it, or can be useful in a positive way, then it’s certainly something a child should have.

I received to review several weeks ago a toy called a Miko Mini.

The Miko Mini is a compact, AI-powered companion robot for kids that uses voice interaction to teach STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Math) subjects through games, stories, and music, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and social-emotional skills. It offers personalized learning, dancing, singing, and daily activities, all managed via a parent app with safety features, though some advanced content requires a subscription (Miko Max). 

Just by reading the box, this looks like a fabulous toy that any child would love. It’s recommended for children ages 4-10.

The Miko Mini is available in different colors. I received the review the blue one.

First let me tell you about the set up. You need to get the toy on your home’s WIFI. I guess for some people that it pretty easy, but if you have a very secure internet set up (such as a firewall), and you require a MAC address, you won’t be able to connect the toy directly. There is no MAC address available. I even contacted tech support about it.

It took a while, including emails and phone calls, but I was finally able to get it connected. I had to use a hot spot in order to connect, but that was no very convenient to do. For the sake of the review I was able to connect long enough to play around with the toy and see what it can do.

The Miko Mini really does have a cute face, just like the one pictured.

The sweet face is sure to appeal to children. In addition, the face is able to express emotions (happy, sad…) which is essential for children to learn social-emotional skills.

I am not a videographer by any means. My videos are not always the best, but I made two brief videos of me interreacting with the Miko Mini. In one video (first one) I was asking the Miko Mini some questions that children might ask it, including math and science questions. Check it out.

In the next video, Miko was telling me about not having a good day. To cheer up, Miko wants to dance. The Miko Mini LOVES to dance. My mistake was I had the robot on the coffee table. He almost danced off of it.

In the above video, Miko even addresses me by name. You can program it to address your child personally.

A few times I had a hard time getting Miko to hear me, but in all fairness, I’ve had that happen with our Amazon Alexa too.

There is an app you’ll need to download to use the Miko Mini fully. It’s available in both the Apple and Google Play app stores (free to download).

Here is a break down of what you can do with the Miko Mini as well as the app.

It’s great to have parental control.

There is even an option on the robot it’s self to make it listen or NOT listen. I think that is a great idea. I’m not sure if something like this is “hackable,” but it’s comforting to know it can be turned off like that.

To fully access all that you can do with the Miko Mini you’ll need to subscribe to their service, Miko Max. By subscribing you get full access to iHeart Radio, Dance Master, Disney and Paramount Stories, DaVinci Games & Shows, Mattel Shows, Story Maker, Lingo and much more. You CAN use it without a subscription, you just won’t be able to use the toy to it’s full potential.

Currently you can access one month for $14.99, or a full year for $99.

When I first received the toy I had a month free access to the service, providing I gave them my credit card to bill at the end of the trial. Due to surgery, and other “life” things, I had other things on my mind. I was not given any notice that the free trial was about to expire. The service went ahead and charged my card for one year’s service, which I didn’t appreciate AT ALL. Why the company never bothered to send out reminders that the trial was about to end, like pretty much all free trials I have ever used over the years, they just went ahead and charged me $99. Ugh! Thankfully I was able to get a refund. It wasn’t easy to get the refund either. SO… if you do get a free trial, make sure you set MANY reminders to cancel before the end of the trial period or you’ll get fully charged too and have a hard time getting a refund.

Overall I think this is a terrific toy companion for kids. I love that it’s educational (STEAM). It’s great for answering questions (homework help) and I’m sure kids will love when it plays music and dances.

Currently the toy is on sale for the holidays.

If you would like to learn more visit Miko.ai. Notice it’s .ai and not .com. There you can also check out other holiday deals they are having.

You can purchase the Miko Mini from the brand’s website. It’s also available at Walmart, Target, Kohls and Nordstrom.

You can also find the brand on social media.

What do you think about the Miko Mini? Do you think your child would love to find one waiting for him/her under the Christmas tree?

Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.

Kimberly

*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.