Growing up in the 80s and 90s was undoubtedly awesome; we had Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and cool toys such as Pogs, but what we didn't have was smart technology, which means we missed out on the toys kids have today.
Consider reliving your youth and find yourself some new smartphone-controlled toys!
These days there is no shortage of smart toys. In fact, they are becoming increasingly popular, with many of them even being designed for adults to enjoy as well as children.
Here are the best smartphone-controlled toys available today.
The Sphero R2D2 smartphone-controlled toy is the ultimate toy for fans of the Star Wars movie franchise, with authentic movement that changes between tripod and bipod stances and even does the iconic R2D2 waddle.
It is the attention to detail that has gone into making the Sphero R2D2 that is the most impressive part of this smartphone-controlled toy, from the retractable third leg to the hydraulic cables, you can see that a lot of time and effort has gone into making this is a good of a replica as possible.
Sphero's R2D2 can also watch the Star Wars movies with you, reacting to pivotal moments in the movie, and immersing you even further into the epic adventure.
- Droid to droid interaction
- Watch with me mode
- Speakers and LEDs
- Brand: Sphero
- Color: White / blue
- Battery: 2 CR123A batteries
- Weight: 13.1oz
- Dimensions: 5.31 x 4.25 x 6.69 inches
- Incredible level of detail
- Watch with me is great fun
- Great app
- Expensive compared to other droids
The Holy Stone HS110D drone comes packed full of features, not only to make flying easier, but more fun too, such as the altitude hold function, which makes the drone hover on the spot, or the amazing trajectory flight mode, where users can draw out the drones flight path on their device, and the drone will follow that route.
With a built-in 1080p camera, you can take advantage of gesture controls making taking mid-air photos much easier, simply make a scissor shape to take a photo or paper to start recording video, it honestly couldn't be easier.
The Holy Stone HS110D drone comes with a spare modular battery, allowing you to simply swap them out and carry on the fun as soon as the first battery dies, you can even buy more spare batteries to keep the drone going for even longer.
- Auto hover
- Voice control
- Headless mode
- Brand: Holy Stone
- Camera: 1080p
- App: HS GPS PRO
- Speed: 22mph
- Weight: 145g
- Range: 328 ft
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi
- Battery: 20 minutes
- First-Person View (FPV): Yes
- Tons of features
- Affordable price
- Easy to use
- Battery could be improved
Everyone has made or at least tried to make a paper airplane at some point in their lives, but the Powerup 4.0 takes paper airplanes to the next level by adding a motor, as well as smartphone controls that actually let you pilot your paper airplane.
The Powerup 4.0 also has plenty of addons that make it even better, including a takeoff and landing addon, and even a night mode that makes flying at night incredible.
With extra spare paper templates and tons of resources that allow you to make extra airplanes, and even learn how to make different designs, you can keep practicing and making new designs to see if you can improve your aerodynamic design.
- 10-minute flight
- Multiple plane designs
- Gyro stabilization
- Brand: POWERUP
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Color: Black
- Weight: 0.67oz
- Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.71 x 1.5 inches
- Flies very well
- Cool addons, including night flying
- Cool addons, including night flying
- Spare parts are expensive
4. DEERC DE36W
The DEERC DE36W remote-controlled car is an awesome way to enjoy your remote-controlled car without needing to be next to it at all times. Simply connect to it via your phone or mobile device and enjoy the drive, while watching the footage through the camera.
With two 30-minute batteries that can be swapped out quickly, you get an impressive one-hour total playtime with the DEERC DE36W, with speeds up to 20 km/h.
The DEERC DE36W has been built to perform well and withstand daily use, with anti-skid tires, shock absorbers, and an anti-collision beam, and with variable speeds, you have complete control over the DEERC DE36W without any worries or issues.
- 720p camera
- Anti-skid tires
- Anti-collision beam
- Dimensions: 12.4 x 7.6 x 5.3 inches
- Max. Speed: 15-20 Km/h
- Playing Time: 30 Minutes
- Brand: DEERC
- Spare battery to double play time
- Solid design and build quality
- Easy to use
- Connection lags sometimes
5. Robotic xArm 6DOF
The Robotic xArm 6DOF is an awesome way to enjoy programming, it can be programmed on both PC or via the impressive app, and even using the offline manual programming mode which allows you to program the robotic arm without needing to use the app or a computer.
As well as having several modes for programming, the Robotic xArm 6DOF also has four control modes, app, PC software, PS2 controller, and mouse, giving you plenty of ways to enjoy controlling the robotic arm.
The Robotic xArm 6DOF feels solid in its design and comes with four strong suction cups to keep it in place, and just uses a simple USB cable to keep the wiring to a minimum.
- Free Android/iOS app
- PC and mobile programming
- Offline programming mode
- Brand: LewanSoul
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Color: Blue
- Weight: 0.9kg
- Dimensions: 6.1 x 5.5 x 9.68 inches
- Multiple programming options
- Solid design
- Detailed tutorials
- Learning curve
6. SJ Smart Globe
While this toy is clearly aimed at children, it has some features that adults will love too, such as the built-in LEDs that display star constellations that look incredible at night and features 88 constellations and 12 signs of the zodiac.
The SJ Smart Globe comes with over a thousand educational facts, to test your knowledge of the world, as well as hand-painted animations and artwork and even awesome quizzes to test your knowledge.
It's one of the most simple smartphone-controlled toys around but offers hours of fun learning for all the family.
- Built-in LED
- Constellations
- Interactive App
- 720-degree rotation
- Brand: SJSMARTGLOBE
- Weight: 2.8lbs
- Dimensions: 17 x 10.75 x 10.75 inches
- LED constellations look incredible
- Fascinating facts included
- Fun quizzes included
- Power cord can be intrusive when rotating
7. Ruko Smart Robot
The Ruko Smart Robot comes with 48 emojis that are designed to give it a more human look, as well as using nine powerful motors to ensure the robot can perform human-like actions and stances, and even interactions.
With Bluetooth built-in, the Ruko Smart Robot can read stories and even play music, as well as dance and even make recordings, making it an extremely fun toy to have around the house.
The impressive companion app for the Ruko Smart Robot allows you to program the robot, with 102 actions that you can program via the app, you can even preview groups of actions and save them, before running them.
- Voice commands
- Bluetooth pairing to phone
- LED face
- Brand: Ruko
- Battery: Lithium ion
- Weight: 4.29lbs
- Dimensions: 4.7 x 4.7 x 15.8 inches
- Unlimited stories and songs
- STEM learning
- Tons of commands
- Rechargeable battery cannot be replaced
FAQ
Q: How Do I Connect to a Smart Device?
To connect to a smart device, the device must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your phone, or the device you plan to control your smart device from.
Most smart devices have their own apps that will walk you through the setup process and then allow you to control your new smart device.
Q: What Is a Smartphone Controlled Toy?
A smartphone-controlled toy, or smart toy, is a toy that can be fully controlled with a smartphone. Many of these toys come with their own companion apps that help improve the overall functionality of the toy or even offer integration with other smart devices.