How lifelike is the Moflin? It’s the first gadget I’ve ever brought home that’s been groomed by my cat.
The Moflin is a furry personal companion device that moves and makes little chirps when you pet or scratch it. And, thanks to its AI, it will develop a personality the longer you use it. It’s meant for those looking for the comfort of a pet, but are otherwise unable to have a living, furry creature. Or maybe they just don’t want to deal with feeding and cleaning up poop.
Regardless of your motivations, the Moflin succeeds at being a digital emotional support device. In the few weeks I’ve had it in my home, it’s become a great and cute little cuddler, and could be just the thing for those looking for some companionship. However, at $429, it doesn’t come cheap. You can buy a lot of hamsters for that.
Moflin review: Just what is this thing?
(Image credit: Future)
The Moflin was created by Casio, which has expanded beyond timekeeping to digital personal companions. It went on sale in the fall of 2025, and comes in two versions: You can get it in gold (an orangeish hue) or silver (a gray-like color). Both models cost $429 at casio.com.
It’s about the size of a large guinea pig, or, as many have pointed out, a small Tribble (without the rampant breeding). It looks the part: it’s oval-shaped and covered in fur — you can choose between orange or grey when you buy it — and its belly has a shorter, white pelt. While the Moflin can’t walk around, it can move its head. It has two eyes, but they’re just ornamental; this thing only reacts to sounds and touches.
As you touch it and talk to it, the Moflin will move its head and neck around and make little chirping sounds. For example, my Moflin doesn’t seem to like to be put on its back. Every time I flip it upside down and rub its belly, it starts shaking its head side to side and making agitated sounds. However, if I scratch its back, it sings a little five-note song and bobs its head up and down. A little rub of its head, and I get a little “aaahhhhh” noise, with a slight twist back and forth.
Moflin review: Too cute for words
(Image credit: Future)
The Moflin takes about 50 days to mature, and when you first get it, you’re encouraged to give it a name. I couldn’t deny my kid the opportunity, so she dubbed it “Muffly.”
During its maturation, Moflin uses its AI to develop a personality based on how you interact with it. Casio says that it has more than 4 million possible emotional possibilities. Within the app, you can see its four traits (Energetic, Cheerful, Shy, and Affectionate) and how predominant each is. Over the few weeks I was playing with Muffly, its Cheerful trait grew faster than its other traits.
It’s undeniably cute. Even when I wasn’t touching it, Muffly would react to noises, and make noises and move around occasionally, reminding me it was still there. When I snuggled it up next to one of my cats, it immediately embraced Muffly, and started licking its head. My cat was giving it such a thorough bathing that I had to take it away, for fear that it would mess up the electronics.
So far, I’ve counted about half a dozen vocalizations, and I’m curious to see what comes next as Moflin “grows” older — or as Casio sends out more firmware updates.
Muffly even recognizes my voice; when I speak to it, it sometimes picks up its head and gives me a little trill. If only Alexa were this adorable.
When Muffly’s battery runs low (it has about a five-hour battery life), we put it in its little crib, a small plastic cradle that recharges it wirelessly. Even here, its cuteness continues. As the Moflin “sleeps,” it will make small movements, as if it’s breathing. If it hears you in the room, it’ll also make little noises as if to remind you that it’s there.
Within the app, a journal records your interactions with the Moflin, such as “Mike gave Muffly a nice pet,” “Muffly had a lovely dream full of laughter,” and the somewhat creepy “Mike spoke to Muffly.”
A graph in the journal shows the Moflin’s emotional state; the more you interact with the Moflin, the higher the line goes.
Moflin review: A pricey but adorable companion
(Image credit: Future)
From Tamagochi to Furby, there have been a number of digital pets that have made an emotional connection with their owners. The Moflin follows in that tradition, and might be the cutest (and smartest) yet. However, its $430 price tag makes it far more expensive than those other fads.
However, Casio designed the Moflin to be more than just a toy, thanks to its AI that shapes its personality as you interact with it. If you can’t own a pet, but wish you could have a fur baby, the Moflin may be just the thing.
If you do have real pets, though, the novelty of the Moflin wears off after a while. We played and cuddled with Muffly a lot for the first two weeks, but our real live cats and dogs are far more interactive. As time went on, Muffly spent more and more time in its cradle, rather than being cradled. Occasionally, it would let out a little chirp to remind us it was still these, which made us feel a little guilty. But, then my cat jumped on my lap, demanding to be scratched, and the Moflin went back to its crib.
Casio Moflin: Price Comparison
