Norwegian Screen-Free Kids Speaker awarded Calm Tech Pre-Certification
We're glad to share that HiRO, an Oslo-based company, is now Calm Tech Pre-Certified™.
Children deserve calm technology most of all. HiRO is a screen-free speaker for kids. Instead of navigating a screen, kids use printed NFC cards: they pick a card, tap it on the speaker, and the music or story starts playing. The speaker asks for as little attention as possible and uses only the technology needed to do its job, so the child's focus stays on the story, not the device. It's something a two-year-old can use alone, without a parent's phone anywhere in the room.
For kids, the timing of technology matters. Research increasingly links heavy early screen exposure to weaker language development and attention, and audio is one of the few media young children can control entirely on their own. HiRO leans into that: the cards are physical objects the child actually owns, can collect, and can give away, and the creators behind the content are paid fairly for every card sold. It's not nostalgia for the cassette player, it's calm technology by design, built for the people who deserve it most.
At Calm Tech Institute, we evaluate products against our standard for calm technology: how a product uses attention, periphery, light, sound, and materials. We deeply respect products made for young children, and it's encouraging to see a team that designed with that responsibility in mind from the start.
Congratulations to Silje Gabrielsen and the whole HiRO team in Oslo!
How to Buy:
You can purchase the Norwegian kids audio player at: https://hiro.no/
HiRO høyttaler from 1.699,00 kr
HiRO pakke 1-3 år from 2.499,00 kr
