Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video

StoryPhones let kids pick their own Disney bedtime stories

By

Most companies that make kids’ headphones have focused on making these devices durable, affordable, and safe for exposure to volume levels. But Onanoff is taking a new approach with its $100 StoryPhones, by letting kids listen to their favorite audiobooks simply by swapping out a magnetic disc on the outside of the earcup. The StoryPhones will debut at CES 2022 and you’ll be able to buy them from onanoff.com and several retailers in January.

The StoryPhones are just like other wireless headphones for kids — they support both Bluetooth and wired connections — and when in wireless mode, they get a claimed 20 hours of battery life. But the disc-based story system is a clever and unique twist. To access the stories, the headphones must be initially set up via an adult’s phone using Bluetooth. After that, the StoryPhones can access your home Wi-Fi network on their own.

StoryPhones with Disney StoryShields.
Onanoff

The first time a child attaches a story disc (known as a StoryShield), the headphones connect to Wi-Fi, download the relevant story, save it to their onboard memory, and then disconnect from Wi-Fi. With 16GB of memory, the headphones can store about 100 stories and once a story has been loaded, a child can access it at any time just by putting the story’s disc on the earcup, no Bluetooth or internet connection needed.

Recommended Videos

For the launch of the StoryPhones, Onanoff has partnered with Disney to create the initial run of downloadable content. Each StoryPhones comes with one Disney StoryShield, but additional StoryShields can be purchased for $8-$15. And we’re not just talking classic Disney fairytales — modern favorites like Frozen, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc., are available too.

StoryPhones with Disney StoryShields.
Onanoff

Stories won’t be limited to Disney, and in fact, they won’t be limited to professional audiobooks. Friends and family will be able to download the StoryPhones app and record their own voices reading stories. These recordings are then uploaded to the cloud and the child gets a special “PlayShield” mailed to them so that they can listen to the personalized recordings whenever they like. PlayShields are expected to cost $15.

There’s also an available “ZenShield” which can load the StoryPhones up with a variety of relaxing sounds like rainfall, forest, and waves. A non-Disney-themed version of the StoryPhones, available in white and grey, come packaged with the ZenShield for $100. Like Onanoff’s other kid-friendly headphones, both editions of the StoryPhones will offer volume limiting at 75 and 85dB. Parents can override these levels up to 94dB with a password.

For parents who are concerned about exposure to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the StoryPhones have been designed to keep that radioactivity to a minimum. Wi-Fi is only used while downloading stories — usually, a one-time procedure — and Bluetooth is turned off by default. To turn it on, you must hold the multi-function button for five seconds.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…
You have until June 9 to save $500 off an 85-inch Samsung The Frame TV
A painting being displayed on a Samsung The Frame QLED.

Looking for great TV deals? You still have time to save $500 on the Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED TV when you head over to Samsung. It usually costs $4,300, but right now the popular and stylish TV is down to $3,800, making it more affordable than before. If you’re keen to invest in a large TV but love to save money too, this is a good opportunity. Here’s what you need to know about the TV before you decide to buy.

Why you should buy the Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED TV
One of the best QLED TVs around, the Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED TV is a delight in so many ways. At its core, it’s a fantastic QLED TV with 100% Color Volume with Quantum Dot technology saturating the screen with a billion colors. QLED adds a layer of quantum dots to a TV’s LED backlight with these dots, once exposed to light, emitting their own light with a high level of efficiency to provide great picture quality.

Read more
It’s your last chance to get up to $1,900 off a Samsung OLED TV
The Samsung S90C in a living room environment.

There’s still a little time left to snap up one of the best TV deals available today, with Samsung still selling the 83-inch S90C OLED TV for $3,500 instead of $5,400. The $1,900 discount is a pretty vast one and one that you certainly don’t want to skip. If you’re looking for a great new TV for your large living space, you’re going to love this deal. Let’s take a look at how great the Samsung S90C OLED TV is.

Why you should buy the Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV
Samsung makes some of the best TVs around and we’re huge fans of the Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV. It has an OLED panel so you get self-lit pixels which can light up independently of each other. That means that you can enjoy the deepest blacks and the brightest colors all on the same scene, ensuring you never miss a detail. The Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV uses a Neural Quantum Processor with 4K upscaling so its AI-powered processor can transform whatever you’re watching. There’s also HDR OLED which uses AI deep learning to analyze each scene, detecting areas that need to brighter, darker, or simply richer in color.

Read more
This Sonos Bluetooth speaker has a discount in time for beach weather
Sonos Roam SL in black on a rainy rock outdoors.

A day out at the beach. Cooking outside using a discounted grill or smoker. Pool party madness. What do they all three have in common? A lot of fun, but also a great chance to get any sound equipment ruined by a sudden downpour or a splash of inevitable water. That's why there are models of waterproof Bluetooth speakers, of which the Sonos Roam SL is one. And the good news is that you can get yours at a discounted rate before summer officially gets here. Right now, the Sonos Roam SL is just $127, which is $33 down from its typical price of $160. To get yours, all you need to do is tap the button below. Consider also reading below, as we examine the speaker and see why it is considered an easy pick up.

Why you should buy the Sonos Roam SL
The Sonos Roam SL is an easy-to-use, compact speaker for wherever you roam. Connect to it easily over Wi-Fi at home or Bluetooth on the go, giving you easy options to control the sound in a way that makes sense for you and your location. If you're at home and connected to your Wi-Fi system and have other Sonos speakers, you can even get the Sonos multi-room experience, which syncs everything in a nice way. So, you can keep the Sonos Roam SL out on the patio (where it might get rained upon) and keep the best Sonos speakers indoors and have a really cool, worry-free party experience that not many others will be able to replicate.

Read more