robotindex WowWee Fingerlings
A finger-perching robotic baby monkey from WowWee, the Hong Kong-based robotic-toy maker behind Robosapien and MiP. Fingerlings grip on with wraparound hands and a curled tail, then react to touch, clapping, kissing sounds, and being turned upside down with blinking eyes, head movement, and dozens of built-in sounds. The original 2017 monkey became one of that year's defining "hot toy" phenomena, with real shortages and scalped resale prices.
fingerlingsbrand.com — Fingerlings →
Image: WowWee (official)
Specs
Battery
4× LR44/AG13replaceable per WowWee's own support docs, though fiddly
Dimensions
~4–5 inno official spec sheet found; approximate
Sensors
Touch, mic, motion, tiltdetects claps, kisses, rocking, upside-down
Grip
Wraparound hands/tailperches on a single finger
Sounds
40+ (original)current "next-gen" models marketed at 70+, plus a light-up heart
Materials
Faux fur + plasticone independent review notes painted details may peel
App
None for controlseparate, unrelated Fingerlings emoji/sticker apps exist
Collectibility
Not blind-boxedyou choose the character; Fingerlings Minis spin-off is blind-boxed
Reference Price
The original 2017 monkey launched at $14.99, while current "next-gen" interactive monkeys, with an upgraded 70+ sounds and a light-up heart feature, retail for around $24.99 at major retailers today. That $24.99 reflects a genuinely upgraded product rather than the same 2017 toy at a higher price.
Insights
The 2017 shortage led to a real legal action: WowWee filed suit against 165 counterfeit sellers of the toy by October 2017. One popular belief worth correcting: original Fingerlings monkeys use small LR44/AG13 batteries that are replaceable per WowWee's own documentation, not sealed and disposable as commonly assumed, though the fiddly tiny-cell compartment likely led many owners to treat them as disposable anyway.
Firmware & Community
Closed platform — dev program covers other lines
WowWee has not released a public SDK or developer API for Fingerlings; its WowWee Labs developer program covers other product lines (MiP, CHIP, R.E.V.) but not Fingerlings. Not currently listed in Builds & Mods.
Verified against Wikipedia (WowWee, Fingerlings), WowWee's own official sites (wowwee.com, fingerlingsbrand.com, and its support/instruction-manual pages), an SEC-filed 2007 acquisition press release, and press coverage from CNBC, the Seattle Times, Time magazine, the Houston Chronicle, Today.com, and CNNMoney. WowWee's founding year/location, a claimed 1998 Hasbro acquisition, exact device dimensions, and products called "Fingerlings Seal" or "Fingerlings Bigfoot" are inconsistently reported, unverified, or not found at all, and are flagged accordingly rather than stated as fact. Battery replaceability is corrected here against a common online assumption, based on WowWee's own support documentation. No recall was found for this product line.