The Sphero BB-8 Droid takes most of the things you love about Star Wars, from the environments to Obi-Wan walking you through set-up, and brings it directly to you in this BB-8 toy. It’s expensive, sure, but this will be the droid you are looking for. Check out our list of robot toys for kids to find even more fun toys!
Why We Like It – Sphero BB-8
As they say, the Devil is in the details, and Sphero got the details spot-on with their BB-8 Droid. It beeps, boops, zooms, and moves just like the movie BB-8, only smaller. Its ability to react to its environment and watch Star Wars movies with you is nothing short of outstanding and a dream come true for many Star Wars fans.
- Behaves exactly like the film version
- Augmented Reality let’s you traverse recognizable Star Wars locals
- iOS and Android Support
- Horrendous Battery Life
- Voice features don’t work when on patrol
- Expensive for a toy
Performance
One of the coolest things about the Sphero BB-8 droid is the ability to enter augmented reality mode and explore a multitude of environments from the Star Wars universe. Childhood dreams realized, anyone? The little droid can also watch the new Star Wars films with you. Just load up any of the new movies, perhaps Force Awakens or Rogue One, and the accompanying BB-8 app, and watch, amazed, as your little BB-8 Droid beeps and boops when a familiar face appears on screen. If your childhood dreams haven’t been realized by this point, try the Really RAD Robot Toy for Kids instead.
Design
The BB-8 App opens with the familiar Star Wars theme while paring with the droid via bluetooth. The menu screen features drive, message, and patrol mode. Patrol mode lets BB-8 have a mind of its own. It’s fun watching it zip and zoom and beep and boop around your house without a care in the world. You can also use voice commands to wake BB-8 up from a long slumber, or if you want it to do something specific. A list of commands is available in the settings menu. Unfortunately, you can’t use voice commands when BB-8 is on patrol. The Top Race Robot Dog for Kids also has excellent voice features if your child isn’t quite old enough to appreciate Star Wars yet. For a small robot that weighs less than 10g, check the Ozobot worlds smallest smart robot review.
Value
The Sphero BB-8 Droid retails on Amazon for $148.00 which is not that bad considering all the features it has available. However, if you are on a budget but still want a robot toy, consider the Sikaye RC Robot Toy for Kids. The Sphero BB-8 Droid comes with its own Star Wars themed charging dock which is realy cool, and BB-8 will even beep in the dock giving you the sense that it wants to be free to move around. Unfortunately, you will be charging it more than you’ll be playing with it. Three hours of charge will give you one hour of play, which is just a sad ratio. Interested in a programmable robot ball that inspires curiosity and creativity through play and coding is described in our Sphero sprk review.
Sphero BB-8 Wrap Up
While there may be a few bumps along the way, from purchasing to only being able to play with it for an hour, the Sphero BB-8 Droid qualifies as a valuable addition to your Star Wars toy collection. Whether getting it to collect or play with (and we recommend playing with it), you’ll have a blast.
