The Best Educational Apps That Work With AI Toys in 2026

In an ever-evolving world driven by technology, nurturing a child's interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields has become more crucial than ever. AI toys and coding robots are at the forefront of this educational revolution, transforming abstract concepts into tangible, interactive learning experiences. However, the true magic often lies not just in the physical toy, but in the sophisticated companion apps that unlock their full potential.

These apps aren't mere remote controls; they are dynamic educational platforms designed to engage, instruct, and inspire young minds. From drag-and-drop block coding interfaces that teach foundational logic to advanced text-based programming environments, these applications bridge the gap between playful exploration and serious skill development. They allow children to program their robot companions, create personalised experiences, and grasp complex computational thinking in an intuitive, fun-filled manner.

For parents in the UK looking to invest in their child's future, understanding which apps complement which AI toys, and what educational benefits they offer, is key. This comprehensive guide will navigate you through the best educational apps that integrate seamlessly with popular AI toys and coding robots in 2026, helping you make informed decisions to maximise your child's learning journey. We'll delve into age ranges, platforms, costs, and the specific skills each app helps to cultivate, along with practical tips for getting the most out of these innovative educational tools.

Sphero Edu (for Sphero BOLT and other Sphero robots)

Age Range: 8+ years Free vs Paid: Free app; requires Sphero robot (paid) Platforms: iOS, Android, Amazon Fire OS, macOS, Windows, Chrome OS Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Highly rated by educators and users for its comprehensive features and educational value.

What Kids Learn: Sphero Edu is more than just an app; it's a powerful and versatile platform designed to teach coding and STEM principles. It offers a progressive learning pathway, starting with drawing simple paths for the robot to follow, which introduces basic sequencing. Children then advance to block-based coding (inspired by Scratch), where they learn fundamental programming concepts such as loops, conditionals, and variables. For advanced learners, the app seamlessly transitions to text-based programming using JavaScript and Python, providing a genuine introduction to professional coding languages. Beyond coding, Sphero Edu fosters problem-solving, computational thinking, creativity, and collaboration through community challenges and shared projects. It's a robust ecosystem that grows with the child's abilities, making it an excellent long-term educational investment.

Best for: Children ready to progress from visual to text-based coding. Check out our Sphero BOLT review for the full hardware breakdown.

Ozobot App (for Ozobot Evo)

Age Range: 6+ years Free vs Paid: Free app; requires Ozobot Evo robot (paid) Platforms: iOS, Android Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Approximately 3.7/5 on the App Store and 4.1/5 on Google Play.

What Kids Learn: The Ozobot App is the digital gateway to the world of Ozobot Evo, a tiny robot that blends screen-free coding with app-based programming. While Ozobot Evo is famous for its 'colour codes' – lines drawn on paper that the robot reads and follows – the companion app significantly expands its educational scope. The app introduces children to OzoBlockly, a visual block-based programming language (similar to Google's Blockly) that allows them to program complex behaviours for their Ozobot. Kids learn sequencing, logic, functions, and various programming concepts by snapping together code blocks. The app also features challenges, games, and a remote-control mode that enhances engagement. Ozobot's unique blend of physical and digital coding makes abstract concepts more concrete, developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills interactively.

Best for: Children who enjoy arts and crafts alongside technology. See our Ozobot Evo review for the full verdict.

Miko App + Parent App (for Miko robots)

Age Range: 5-12 years Free vs Paid: Free to download; premium content requires a Miko Max subscription. Parent App is free. Platforms: iOS, Android Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ — Approximately 4.6/5 stars on Android.

What Kids Learn: Miko robots are AI-powered companions designed to engage children in educational play, and their associated apps are central to this experience. The main Miko app provides a vast library of age-appropriate educational content, including games, stories, puzzles, quizzes, and activities across subjects like language arts, maths, science, and coding. Miko interacts verbally, encouraging conversation and active learning. The separate Miko Parent App offers valuable monitoring tools, allowing parents to track their child's engagement, view learning progress, manage content access, and set screen time limits for the robot. This dual-app approach provides a rich, interactive learning experience for children while giving parents peace of mind and control over the educational content.

Best for: Younger children who benefit from conversational AI learning. See our Miko review for the full breakdown.

Osmo (Multiple Apps — Coding Awbie, Coding Jam, Coding Duo)

Age Range: 5-12 years Free vs Paid: Apps are free to download but require an Osmo Base and physical coding blocks (paid kits). Platforms: iPad, Amazon Fire Tablet Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Consistently 4.5/5 stars or higher. Common Sense Education highly recommends Osmo.

What Kids Learn: Osmo revolutionises screen time by blending physical play with digital interaction using a unique reflective camera system. For coding, Osmo offers a suite of apps like Coding Awbie, Coding Jam, and Coding Duo. Coding Awbie introduces children to fundamental coding concepts like sequencing, loops, and conditional statements as they guide the character Awbie through a digital world using tangible coding blocks. Coding Jam takes this further by allowing children to compose musical patterns through code, teaching algorithmic thinking in a creative context. Coding Duo expands on these concepts by introducing collaborative and competitive coding challenges. The hands-on nature of placing physical blocks to control on-screen actions makes coding incredibly intuitive and engaging for young learners.

Best for: Tactile learners who struggle with pure screen-based coding. Check out our Osmo Coding Starter Kit review.

Wonder Workshop (Dash) — Blockly, Path, Go Apps

Age Range: 6-11 years Free vs Paid: Free apps; require Dash or Dot robots (paid) Platforms: iOS, Android, Amazon Fire OS, Chrome OS Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ — Generally 4.5/5 stars by parents and educators.

What Kids Learn: Wonder Workshop's Dash and Dot robots are brought to life through a suite of intuitive apps:

• Go: The foundational app — drive Dash, make it light up, play sounds, and react to surroundings. Introduces basic control.
• Path: Draw routes on the screen and Dash follows them. Teaches sequencing, angles, and spatial reasoning.
• Blockly: Drag-and-drop block-based coding interface. Teaches events, loops, conditionals, variables, and functions.
• Wonder: Open-ended coding environment for creative problem-solving and invention.

Together, these apps provide a layered learning experience that progresses with the child, teaching computational thinking, problem-solving, and design thinking in a highly engaging manner.

Best for: Children who want a physical robot that responds instantly to their code. See our Dash Robot review.

Makeblock App (for mBot2) — mBlock, Scratch-based

Age Range: 10+ years Free vs Paid: Free app; requires Makeblock robot (paid) Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Chrome OS Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Widely recognised for educational value in the STEM community.

What Kids Learn: The Makeblock app, primarily featuring the mBlock programming environment, is a powerful tool for coding robots like the mBot2. mBlock is a block-based visual programming language heavily inspired by Scratch, making it intuitive for beginners. What sets mBlock apart is its seamless transition feature, allowing students to convert their block-based code into Python. This bridges the gap between visual programming and text-based coding, preparing them for more advanced computer science studies. The mBlock platform also supports IoT (Internet of Things) and AI functionalities, introducing students to cutting-edge technologies.

Best for: Older children ready for the jump to Python. See our mBot2 review.

Tinkercad + Arduino IDE (for Petoi Bittle and similar programmable robots)

Age Range: Tinkercad: 5-18+; Arduino IDE: 9+ to adult Free vs Paid: Both are free. Platforms: Tinkercad: Web-based; Arduino IDE: Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Industry-standard tools highly regarded by educators and makers globally.

What Kids Learn: For the more advanced aspiring roboticist working with open-source AI toys like the Petoi Bittle, Tinkercad and the Arduino IDE form an indispensable toolkit.

• Tinkercad: Features a robust Circuits editor where children can design and simulate electronic circuits, including Arduino microcontrollers. Experiment with components, understand electrical concepts, and write block-based or text-based code virtually before implementing on physical hardware.
• Arduino IDE: The integrated development environment for writing and uploading code (C/C++) to Arduino-compatible microcontrollers. Learning Arduino introduces children to text-based programming, teaching them to control hardware directly, read sensor data, and implement complex robotic behaviours.

Best for: Ambitious older children who want to understand robotics at a deeper level. See our Petoi Bittle review.

Kano App (for Harry Potter Coding Kit)

Age Range: 6+ years Free vs Paid: Free app; requires Kano coding kits (paid) Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Highly rated for engaging content and user-friendly coding interface.

What Kids Learn: The Kano App transforms abstract coding into an enchanting, hands-on experience. With the Harry Potter kit, children first build a magic wand, then use the app to learn coding through over 70 creative challenges set in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World. They learn to code by snapping together colourful blocks, making feathers float, pumpkins grow, and spells appear on screen. The app introduces core programming concepts like loops, variables, and logic in a context that is incredibly motivating for young fans.

Best for: Harry Potter fans who haven't shown interest in 'traditional' coding. See our Kano Harry Potter review.

ScratchJr (standalone)

Age Range: 5-8 years Free vs Paid: Free Platforms: iOS, Android Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Rated 5/5 by Common Sense Media for its effectiveness with young learners.

What Kids Learn: ScratchJr is a simplified version of the popular Scratch programming language, specifically designed for younger children. While not directly controlling specific AI toys, it lays a crucial computational thinking foundation that benefits interaction with any programmable device. Children snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing, creating their own interactive stories and games. Through this process, they learn sequencing, problem-solving, cause and effect, and how to debug their creations. These foundational skills are entirely transferable to controlling robots and other AI toys as they grow older.

Best for: The absolute starting point — perfect for reception and Year 1 children.

Swift Playgrounds (iPad)

Age Range: 9+ years to adult Free vs Paid: Free Platforms: iPad only Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Praised by Common Sense Media with a 5/5 rating for educational depth.

What Kids Learn: Swift Playgrounds, developed by Apple, teaches Swift — Apple's powerful programming language — in a fun and interactive way. It features a gamified learning environment where users solve puzzles and complete challenges by writing real Swift code. For AI toys, Swift Playgrounds becomes incredibly powerful through its integration capabilities. It allows users to write code that interacts directly with compatible robots, including Sphero, Lego Mindstorms, and Dash. This means children can move past block-based coding and control their physical devices using actual text-based programming.

Best for: iPad-owning families with children ready for real programming languages.

Tips for Maximising Educational Value

Simply providing children with an AI toy and its companion app is a great start, but to truly maximise the educational impact, consider these practical tips:

• Engage Actively Together: Don't just hand over the tablet. Sit with your child, explore the app together, and ask open-ended questions about what they're doing and why.
• Encourage Experimentation: Let children freely experiment with code blocks. Mistakes are valuable learning opportunities.
• Connect to Real-World Concepts: Discuss how coding concepts relate to technology they use every day — sequencing is like following a recipe, loops make animations repeatable.
• Promote Problem-Solving: When they get stuck, guide with questions rather than giving direct answers.
• Foster Creativity: Once they master guided activities, challenge them to create their own projects.
• Utilise Parent Resources: Many platforms offer lesson plans, community forums, and troubleshooting guides.
• Progress Gradually: Start with block-based coding and move to text-based languages when ready. Pushing too quickly leads to frustration.
• Vary the Tools: Expose your child to different coding apps and robots to broaden their understanding.
• Emphasise Debugging: Teach children that fixing bugs is a natural and important part of coding. This builds resilience.
• Balance Screen Time: Ensure a healthy balance with other activities. Encourage applying computational thinking in off-screen play too.

Conclusion

The landscape of educational AI toys and their companion apps has never been more vibrant. From the beginner-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces of ScratchJr and Sphero Edu to the advanced text-based programming environments of Arduino IDE and Swift Playgrounds, there's an option for every age and skill level.

These apps are pivotal in transforming passive screen time into active learning, equipping children with essential 21st-century skills like computational thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.

By carefully considering the age range, learning objectives, and platform compatibility of each app, parents can make informed choices that best suit their child's needs. Moreover, by actively engaging with children and fostering an environment of curiosity and experimentation, the educational value of these remarkable AI toys can be truly harnessed.

The future of learning is interactive, personalised, and powered by intelligent play. Embrace these incredible tools, and watch your child's potential unfold.

Prices and availability correct as of February 2026. Some links in this article are affiliate links — if you make a purchase through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.