As always, we thank you for your continued patience. Throughout this process, we have had delays due to the challenge we had with our manufacturer in China, but greatly appreciate your continued support. The Thinker-Tinker team has been working hard to make improvements on the user experience and making sure nothing is overlooked and are very excited about our release soon!
The past month has been filled with many improvements and updates. We have updated the UI and design of the Octobo App to actively show the status of the Octobo plush. This improves the user’s experience – your experience – with Octobo.
We have introduced a new mode to the final Octobo app that you will be receiving - the Energy Saving/ Sleep mode. We want to make energy saving as easy as possible for you, and to extend the battery life time as long as possible. Now when you get your Octobo, you will see his LED lights showing the following signals that indicates different modes (Image 1):

Image 1.
On screen, you will see the connection status at the bottom of the home scene. If Octobo senses that playtime has ended (when there has been no interaction for 5 minutes), he will enter Sleep mode. To wake him up, you will simply have to press and hold the Star button for 3 seconds. Our development team has been thoroughly testing the app to make sure there are no bugs or issues once it’s in your hands.
We also received the US certificate number for labeling on the plush (Image 2). Our new sample is being made and will be sent for final review and testing this month (Image 3). The team has been working hard to get these final samples and have been revising the final details of the storybooks, instruction sheets, and accessories. Once we sign off on the new sample, we will be able to enter mass production, followed by fulfillment. We are keeping a close eye on our vendors to make sure this is completed in a timely manner that is up to our standards.
As we are getting close to launch, we have been finalizing smaller details of Octobo to ensure you receive the best experience with your child’s new companion. Over the last few weeks, we have been working on adding more contents to our play guide to provide further ways to facilitate play. You can check out a sneak peek below (Image 4). We have partnered with Jessica Livornese (Ed.M., Harvard Graduate School of Education) to create supplemental educational tools and make final improvements to our play guide content. Jess has received her Masters of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and works as a teacher and researcher focusing on early childhood development.
“I believe Octobo can be a powerful learning socio-emotional, STEM, and literacy learning tool for young children. The customization and expansion features of Octobo make it unique and accessible for children of varying developmental stages. It’s so inspiring to see a toy that uses technology to stimulate positive interactions, emotional awareness, and most importantly, play amongst our youngest learners.” – Jessica Livornese
Thanks,
Team Octobo

Image 2.
Image 4.