It’s hard to find a toy these days that doesn’t have some kind of tech or “smart” feature. While some of these features are unnecessary (or just downright silly), some are really quite cool. Here are some of the best toys of 2019 that use technology to really enhance the play and learning experience.

Best High End Robot Toy

On the not so cheap end of the robot toy spectrum is the new UBTECH Marvel Avengers: Endgame Iron Man Mk50 Robot. There are way too many features to list here; just check out this video. You can code him, play AR games with him, and even upload your own face to appear under his helmet. And he just looks really cool sitting on your desk (I mean in your kids’ room…).

My 7 year old just got this and loves it–the AR games are especially fun!

MSRP: $250 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $187

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Best Budget Robot Toy

There are a ton of educational robot toys designed to teach kids STEM skills, but if you’ve got a younger kid that just wants a robot to play with, the Really Rad Robots Turbo Bot looks like a fun (er, rad) one. It rolls around, responds to voice commands, records and plays back conversations, tell jokes, and even has a “gross mode.” 5 year old boys should be thrilled! Best of all, it’s pretty cheap (we’ve already seen it as low as $31).

MSRP: $50 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $31

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Best Coding Toy

For the past several years, Kano comes out with a new coding kit tied to some popular movie franchise. Last year it was Harry Potter and this year it’s, you guessed it, Star Wars! The Kano Star Wars The Force Coding Kit comes with a a build-it-yourself Bluetooth motion sensor that allows you to wield virtual lightsabers and complete Jedi challenges via a free app. My son got the Harry Potter version for Christmas last year and has had a lot of fun with it.

For more advanced coders in training, Kano’s Computer Kit Touch ($170) allows kids to build and code a working tablet, and it’s getting excellent reviews.

MSRP: $80 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $60

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Best Invention Toy

Building off the success of their popular Star Wars Droid Inventor’s Kit (2017) and the Marvel Avengers Hero Inventor Kit (2018), littleBits has released yet another STEM invention set: the littleBits Space Rover Inventor Kit. If you’ve got a space lover or aspiring astronaut, this looks pretty awesome. Kids can build, customize, and drive an app-controlled “planetary space rover”, and complete NASA-inspired astronaut training and interplanetary missions with it.

Reviews are great, with one writing, “Could be the best Little Bits set yet!” and another hilariously saying, “Not sure how the cat feels about the Rover traversing the living room carpet in search of alien lifeforms but I think she’ll get used to it.”

MSRP: $100 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Tech Twist on a Classic Family Game

Everything is going “paperless” these days, and you can now add Pictionary to the list! Pictionary Air replaces pen and paper with a Pictionary Air Pen and your TV. Using their free app, the person illustrating draws in the air and magically appears, along with their drawing, on the screen of your smart TV. Check out this CNET video review. Looks fun!

MSRP: $20 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Drone

Ok so maybe this doesn’t qualify as a true drone, but the POWERUP 3.0 Original Smartphone Controlled Paper Airplane Conversion Kit turns paper airplanes into, essentially, drones, so I’m counting it. Attach the Bluetooth module to almost any paper airplane and control it with your phone. The fact that you can make an endless variety of planes to play around with makes this set much more likely to keep kids’ interested.

Note that the 4.0 version is currently in the funding stage on Kickstarter and will ship in the spring of 2020.

MSRP: $50 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $37

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Best Gaming Tech Toy

This really falls under gaming more than toys, but that line is getting harder and harder to define! The new Ring Fit Adventure Game for Nintendo Switch takes what they tried to accomplish with the old Wii Fit balance board games and really takes it to a new level (pun intended). In this virtual adventure game, you must run, squat, lunge and press your way through levels and defeat an “evil bodybuilding dragon.” Most kids aren’t going to be interested in a “fitness” game, but this one looks fun enough that they’ll want to play it for the adventure part.

I beg of you, check out the official trailer Nintendo put out. It’s a great overview of the game, sure, but the presenters are… something else. If you need a good laugh, scroll down to comments, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

MSRP: $80 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Shooting Tech Toy

Hey! Here’s a blaster set that encourages kids to shoot at targets that are not their siblings! The new ProjeX Image Projecting Arcade Game comes with two laser gun style blasters and projects moving targets on any light-colored wall. There are 5 built-in games included with 3 different skill levels, though reviews do note that this is probably better for younger kids and not advanced gamers (who might find it boring).

If your kids really just want to shoot at their siblings, any of the Laser X laser tag sets are awesome. The Laser X Two Player Double Morph Laser Tag Gaming Set is their new one for this year, and we’ve already seen it as low as $26.

MSRP: $50 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $26

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Best Design/Architecture Tech Toy

A lot of the educational tech toys out there teach coding/programming skills, but the the SmartLab Archi-Tech Electronic Smart House Set is geared more for young architects. This modular building system allows kids to configure their house however they like, then complete circuitry projects to add features like a working garage door, flickering fireplace, elevator, and more.

If you have a kid (like mine) that wants to play LEGOs and Minecraft all day, this looks like a great toy to help them develop those natural building skills and put a real-world spin on it all.

MSRP: $50 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Old School Tech Toy

When my 7 year old asked to buy an old Sony digital camcorder at Goodwill a couple summers ago, I said yes mostly because it was only $6.99, and didn’t expect him to do much with it. But it’s been one of his most played with “toys” ever! Yes, there are cameras made specifically for kids (the Vtech Kiddiezoom is probably the most popular), but compact digital video cameras have gotten so inexpensive, you might as well get your kid something that can capture quality videos/images.

The Sony Handycam HDRCX240/L 1080p Digital Video Camera is currently around $130 refurbished from Amazon, but there are tons of similar non-brand name cameras for as low as $50 now, too.

Not only do kids love playing around with a video camera, you’ll be surprised how entertaining and fun the footage they end up with is! Having the world documented from their point of view will be well worth the price of the camera.

MSRP: $199 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best iPad Add-On/Kids’ Tablet Alternative

If you don’t want to get your child their own “kids’ tablet”, the Osmo Genius Starter Kit will turn your existing iPad into a hands-on learning device. This highly rated set includes five games that teach math, spelling, visual thinking, problem solving, and creative drawing skills through a unique mix of on-screen tech and physical pieces.

Perhaps the best part is that this kit is designed to grow with your child, adjusting to their skill level through the age of 5 all the way up to 12.

Once you have the Starter Kit, there are tons of additional games you can purchase, like the pretty cool looking Osmo Detective Agency: A Search & Find Mystery Game ($40).

MSRP: $100 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $59

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2019 Holiday Gift Guide: Tech Toys Worth Buying

We’ve reached the point where everything under the sun must be “smart” or have Bluetooth or connect with an app. Sometimes these features seem pointless, sometimes they are just straight laughable (smart egg carton, really?). But other times the tech components are actually pretty cool. Here are some of the best toys of 2018 that use technology to really enhance the play and learning experience.

Best Coding Toy

Kano is known for making some of best STEM toys available today, the most popular being their Kano Computer Kit ($250). So when my 6 year old started asking about some “real Harry Potter wand” he wanted, and I found out it was made by this brand, I got really excited! The Kano Harry Potter Wand Coding Kit is basically a wand that kids can program to respond to their movements, and make stuff happen on a tablet or computer screen.

There’s a lot of Harry Potter stuff out right now (it was the 20th anniversary this year!), but this toy looks like it really got it right. So far it has almost perfect reviews on Amazon (4.8/5 stars); “Magical meets educational!” says one.

MSRP: $100 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $75

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Best Invention Toy

Building off the success of their popular Star Wars Droid Inventor’s Kit from last season, littlebits has released the new littleBits Marvel Avengers Hero Inventor Kit, and it looks pretty cool.  Kids can build and customize an interactive electronic super hero gauntlet, then use the free app to “train” with it.

If you’re more Star Wars than superheroes, the Droid Inventor’s Kit mentioned above has dropped in price (currently $70 at Amazon) and continues to get great reviews.

• MSRP: $150 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $105

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Best Budget Robot Toy

There are about a million robot toys to choose from right now, and the quality seems to be all over the place. The Boxer Interactive A.I. Robot makes the list because he (she?) is priced right, isn’t overly complicated, and is getting super solid reviews. There’s no programming component on this one, but Boxer boasts “personality and emotions”, and comes with 10 activity cards that allow you to play games like bot bowling, paddle bot or go kart. There’s also a free app that unlocks additional games.

For younger kids who aren’t quite ready to build or code their own bot, this one looks like it’s a lot of fun to play with right out of the box.

MSRP: $80 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $54

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Best High End Robot Toy

On the not so cheap end of the robot toy spectrum is the new Anki Vector Voice-Controlled Robot, which raised an astonishing $1.8 million on Kickstarter last year. Billed as “a robot sidekick for your home,” it’s part smart home device, part adorable tiny bot. It can answer questions, take photos, set timers, give you a weather report, and navigates and self-charges independently.

While reviews are saying Vector hasn’t quite brought The Jetsons to life, yet, it looks like a lot of fun for adults and kids alike.

MSRP: $250 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $175

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Best Smart Speaker for Kids

You may be reading this thinking, “wait, what? Why does a kid need a smart speaker?” And I kind of thought the same thing until I read more about the new Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition. The kids’ edition basically does all the same things as the regular Amazon Echo Dot, but the special thing worth mentioning here is that it comes with a year of Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited service. FreeTime gives your kids access to tons of apps and games, kid-friendly radio stations, Alexa Skills lessons, customizable alarms, plus over 1000 Audible books for kids.

There’s also a parent dashboard that allows you to set daily time limits, see what content your kids have accessed, and even use the speaker as a two-way intercom when you don’t feel like shouting up the stairs when it’s time for dinner.

They retail for $70, but you can currently get $30 off if you buy two, making it $110 for a pair.

MSRP: $70 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Old School Tech Toy

When my 6 year old asked to buy an old Sony digital camcorder at Goodwill last summer, I said yes mostly because it was only $6.99, and didn’t expect him to do much with it. But it’s been one of his most played with “toys” ever! Yes, there are cameras made specifically for kids (the Vtech Kiddiezoom is probably the most popular), but compact digital video cameras have gotten so inexpensive, you might as well get your kid something that can capture quality videos/images.

The Sony Handycam HDRCX240/L 1080p Digital Video Camera is currently around $120 refurbished from Amazon, but you should be able to find even cheaper models on eBay, or if you don’t mind used, Craigslist.

Not only do kids love playing around with a video camera, you’ll be surprised how entertaining and fun the footage they end up with is! Having the world documented from their point of view will be well worth the price of the camera.

MSRP: $199 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

Best Hybrid Building/Tech Toy

With their LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox Building and Coding Kit, LEGO is branching out from their popular Mindstorms robotics line, and has made a tech/building combo toy that is more accessible, and much less expensive. While Mindstorms has a focus on the coding and programming side of robots, LEGO Boost looks like it’s mostly about the building. It also costs almost $200 less!

With LEGO Boost, kids (7 to 12) can build multiple robots, and use the “LEGO Move Hub” and an app to make them come to life. The kit is compatible with regular old LEGO pieces, so there’s the option to really get creative and make the robots their own.

Now in it’s second holiday season, you might be able to find it for under $100 by the time Christmas rolls around.

• MSRP: $160 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $103

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Best Gaming Tech Toy

Nintendo is having a good couple of years! The Switch has really taken off, and one of the cooler concepts to come out in the wave of new game releases is their Nintendo Labo crafting/gaming hybrid. Kids can make physical projects, then “bring them to life” on the screen. The popular Nintendo Labo Variety Kit has everything needed to create two RC cars, a fishing rod, a house, a  motorbike, and a piano. You can even use the motorbike in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!

• MSRP: $70 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $45

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Best iPad Add-On/Kids’ Tablet Alternative

If you don’t want to get your child their own “kids’ tablet”, the Osmo Genius Starter Kit will turn your existing iPad into a hands-on learning device. This highly rated set includes five games that teach math, spelling, visual thinking, problem solving, and creative drawing skills through a unique mix of on-screen tech and physical pieces.

Perhaps the best part is that this kit is designed to grow with your child, adjusting to their skill level through the age of 5 all the way up to 12.

Once you have the Starter Kit, there are tons of additional games you can purchase, like the newly released Osmo Super Studio Incredibles 2 Drawing Game ($20).

MSRP: $100 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $70

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Best STEM Board Game

I don’t know if this one really qualifies as a “tech toy”, but I’m including it anyway because I think it looks really interesting. Circuit Maze Board Game has budding electrical engineers (8 years old and up) arranging tokens to create real circuits and win challenges. Looks a lot like the popular Snap Circuits toys, but in game form. Reviews are mostly positive, and the price is very affordable compared to a lot of STEM toys out there.

• MSRP: $30 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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2018 Holiday Gift Guide: Tech Toys Worth Buying