**The Future of Play: Exploring the Latest Trends and Toys**

When it comes to kids' toys, innovation is key to keeping them engaged and entertained. This year has seen some exciting new releases that are pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible. From augmented reality games to zero-gravity cars, there's something on offer for every type of child.

**App-Connected Toys**

One trend that's gaining momentum is app-connected toys. These toys use a combination of physical and digital elements to create an immersive play experience. For example, the **Air Hogs Zero Gravity Laser Race Car** is a sleek and lightweight toy that uses a laser light gun to drive it around on walls and ceilings. The car follows wherever you point the light, making it easy for kids to create their own tracks and challenges. Another app-connected toy worth mentioning is the **Baby Shark Robot**, which sings when it gets wet. This little robot has become a cultural phenomenon among toddlers, who love its catchy tune and interactive features.

**Robot Pets**

For kids who are looking for a more cuddly companion, there's no shortage of options. One popular choice is the **Cubby the Curious Bear**, a soft and expressive toy that responds to sound and touch sensors. Cubby can chat, blink, and even blow kisses, making it a favorite among young children. Another robot pet worth mentioning is the **Droid from the Movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker**, which is a self-balancing wheel droid with a curious personality.

**Miracle Toy of the Year**

When it comes to helping kids wind down at bedtime, there's one toy that stands out from the rest. Introducing **Cubby**, a cuddly bear that sings soft music and nature sounds to help little ones drift off to sleep. With its soothing melodies and adorable animations, Cubby is the perfect solution for parents looking for a way to calm their child down without relying on screens.

**Retro Gaming**

For kids who love gaming, there's no shortage of options when it comes to retro consoles. **Arcade One Up** has released a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle arcade cabinet that brings back the nostalgia of 1989. With its classic designs and gameplay, this cabinet is perfect for kids who want to experience the thrill of old-school gaming without sacrificing modern convenience.

**Fun for Family Game Night**

Finally, for families looking to spend some quality time together, there's one toy that stands out from the rest: **Pictionary Air**. This augmented reality game uses a wand to create digital artwork, with clues floating in front of players as they act them out. With no internet connection needed and no syncing required, Pictionary Air is perfect for family game nights on the go.

As we look to the future of play, it's clear that innovation is key to keeping kids engaged and entertained. From app-connected toys to retro gaming consoles, there's something on offer for every type of child. Whether you're looking for a cuddly robot pet or a high-tech gaming experience, there's never been a better time to explore the world of kids' toys.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you're looking for a toy that's really gonna wow a kid you've come to the right video my friends every year I hunt for toys that incorporate technology in clever ways to level up playtime with new magic it doesn't have to be something complicated sometimes very simple tech can put a refreshing and fun twist on a toy here's my list of favorites from the year let's start with a classic the Hot Wheels racecar Mattel gave it a tech boost by adding an NFC chip this new version is called Hot Wheels ID and these cars keep track of their race stats what's the top speed how many miles has it traveled how many laps has it completed the physics are calculated relative to its 1/64 scale model size it's just a nerdy way for kids to pretend how fast it could be if it was life-size and it connects to an app to show stats with some side games to play to track your speed and victories you need both a special Hot Wheels id race car and a race portal it's this Bluetooth piece of track that can scan a car and it reads the speed it also can be used with normal old tracks and it keeps track of multiple cars at once now if you want to splurge there's also this full smart track set the app knows what shape of track you build there are 25 possible configurations and it records when you complete stunts like loops you have to pump the charger by hand to get it just right to score good lap times and complete challenges the app games are seriously detailed and well done so many types of ways to play on the phone or in combo with the set you complete challenges to level up your car and what I like is that kids can only play the app race game for a little bit before it makes you refuel and refueling means going back to your real-world toy to unlock features this is a new approach to the connected toy something very detailed in an app and it requires you to come back to get creative with your track set in different ways I think it's gonna inspire other companies tackle the balance between digital and physical play but wait you're not into apps with your racecars no problem who needs a racetrack in fact who needs gravity not this car the Air Hogs zero gravity laser race car drives on walls and ceilings you drive it with this laser light gun the car follows wherever you point the light the car is super lightweight in underneath there's a fan that creates the vacuum like suction to drive on a smooth surface it charges with a USB cable so you're not fumbling with batteries you switch the fan off to save power and have a drive on hard floors but the real fun is driving your parents up the wall by driving on the wall it's not heavy enough to make marks or knockdown picture frames but boy did I try it also can survive a fall from many high drops and speaking of crashing into things here is one resilient robot this is do he's the new Droid from the movie Star Wars rise of Skywalker he is a self-balancing wheel droid with the personality of a curious puppy dog he even has a toy ball he can track to chase around he animates on his own and he's also controlled by an app that has a few games do is a cute robot to pup it around but maybe you want something more cuddly hey you don't take it personal you're cute just not bedtime snuggles cute a lot of robot pet friends get sent my way and they have different talents some spin some twerk many come in eggs but the king cuddly this year is cubby the curious bear he is so expressive as he chats and blinks and twitches his ears while his snout and paws play peek-a-boo and he blows kisses it's really cute he also can handle being thrown around by a toddler see doesn't break he reacts to sound and touch sensors but kids won't just fall in love they will fall asleep it worked like a charm with my kid puppy yawns a lot and has a sleep mode to play soft music and nature sounds my daughter puts herself to sleep with cubby all the time which for me makes this the miracle toy of the year good bear nice with this next toy you'll never go in the water again in the toy world YouTube is a powerful force kids want the toys their favorite channels are talking about some personalities even have their own line of toys but nothing compares to baby shark mania we found toddlers are especially fond of this little robot that sings when he goes into the water the cultural phenomenon that is baby shark can be found in almost every form factor there are singing puppets and little puppets you wear on your finger all the goodness you expect from an internet fad how about some fun for family game night what do you say family Mattel's new pictionary air has you drawing in the air instead of drawing on paper using a wand some augmented reality magic and a phone app the clues you draw float in front of you as you act them out the challenge is that you cannot see what you're drawing but everyone else can the app uses image recognition to record the path of light from the pen creating lines that appear on the screen now if you want to mirror the phone to the TV you can but since it's looking for a green light that means if you're too close to the TV and it picks up the green light off the TV it can get a little screwy and you get some weird infinity pictionary effect but otherwise it's pretty simple no internet connection needed no syncing anything just pick up and play anywhere Oh here's one that's a little harder to pick up this is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle arcade cabinet by arcade one up retro gaming is having its moment right now and arcade one up has brought back this bad boy from 1989 but if nostalgia for the Ninja Turtles doesn't have you saying cowabunga they have many other great games and designs it's fun decor and my favorite pick for party dudes and dudettes because cool toys aren't just for little kids they're also for us kids at heart if you have any questions about how any of these toys work hit me up in the comments I'm happy to help just don't ask me to help with your wrappingif you're looking for a toy that's really gonna wow a kid you've come to the right video my friends every year I hunt for toys that incorporate technology in clever ways to level up playtime with new magic it doesn't have to be something complicated sometimes very simple tech can put a refreshing and fun twist on a toy here's my list of favorites from the year let's start with a classic the Hot Wheels racecar Mattel gave it a tech boost by adding an NFC chip this new version is called Hot Wheels ID and these cars keep track of their race stats what's the top speed how many miles has it traveled how many laps has it completed the physics are calculated relative to its 1/64 scale model size it's just a nerdy way for kids to pretend how fast it could be if it was life-size and it connects to an app to show stats with some side games to play to track your speed and victories you need both a special Hot Wheels id race car and a race portal it's this Bluetooth piece of track that can scan a car and it reads the speed it also can be used with normal old tracks and it keeps track of multiple cars at once now if you want to splurge there's also this full smart track set the app knows what shape of track you build there are 25 possible configurations and it records when you complete stunts like loops you have to pump the charger by hand to get it just right to score good lap times and complete challenges the app games are seriously detailed and well done so many types of ways to play on the phone or in combo with the set you complete challenges to level up your car and what I like is that kids can only play the app race game for a little bit before it makes you refuel and refueling means going back to your real-world toy to unlock features this is a new approach to the connected toy something very detailed in an app and it requires you to come back to get creative with your track set in different ways I think it's gonna inspire other companies tackle the balance between digital and physical play but wait you're not into apps with your racecars no problem who needs a racetrack in fact who needs gravity not this car the Air Hogs zero gravity laser race car drives on walls and ceilings you drive it with this laser light gun the car follows wherever you point the light the car is super lightweight in underneath there's a fan that creates the vacuum like suction to drive on a smooth surface it charges with a USB cable so you're not fumbling with batteries you switch the fan off to save power and have a drive on hard floors but the real fun is driving your parents up the wall by driving on the wall it's not heavy enough to make marks or knockdown picture frames but boy did I try it also can survive a fall from many high drops and speaking of crashing into things here is one resilient robot this is do he's the new Droid from the movie Star Wars rise of Skywalker he is a self-balancing wheel droid with the personality of a curious puppy dog he even has a toy ball he can track to chase around he animates on his own and he's also controlled by an app that has a few games do is a cute robot to pup it around but maybe you want something more cuddly hey you don't take it personal you're cute just not bedtime snuggles cute a lot of robot pet friends get sent my way and they have different talents some spin some twerk many come in eggs but the king cuddly this year is cubby the curious bear he is so expressive as he chats and blinks and twitches his ears while his snout and paws play peek-a-boo and he blows kisses it's really cute he also can handle being thrown around by a toddler see doesn't break he reacts to sound and touch sensors but kids won't just fall in love they will fall asleep it worked like a charm with my kid puppy yawns a lot and has a sleep mode to play soft music and nature sounds my daughter puts herself to sleep with cubby all the time which for me makes this the miracle toy of the year good bear nice with this next toy you'll never go in the water again in the toy world YouTube is a powerful force kids want the toys their favorite channels are talking about some personalities even have their own line of toys but nothing compares to baby shark mania we found toddlers are especially fond of this little robot that sings when he goes into the water the cultural phenomenon that is baby shark can be found in almost every form factor there are singing puppets and little puppets you wear on your finger all the goodness you expect from an internet fad how about some fun for family game night what do you say family Mattel's new pictionary air has you drawing in the air instead of drawing on paper using a wand some augmented reality magic and a phone app the clues you draw float in front of you as you act them out the challenge is that you cannot see what you're drawing but everyone else can the app uses image recognition to record the path of light from the pen creating lines that appear on the screen now if you want to mirror the phone to the TV you can but since it's looking for a green light that means if you're too close to the TV and it picks up the green light off the TV it can get a little screwy and you get some weird infinity pictionary effect but otherwise it's pretty simple no internet connection needed no syncing anything just pick up and play anywhere Oh here's one that's a little harder to pick up this is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle arcade cabinet by arcade one up retro gaming is having its moment right now and arcade one up has brought back this bad boy from 1989 but if nostalgia for the Ninja Turtles doesn't have you saying cowabunga they have many other great games and designs it's fun decor and my favorite pick for party dudes and dudettes because cool toys aren't just for little kids they're also for us kids at heart if you have any questions about how any of these toys work hit me up in the comments I'm happy to help just don't ask me to help with your wrapping\n"