Kiiroo Keon review: for those who are particularly keen on interactivity

If it's an interactive sex toy for men, Kiiroo has probably had something to do with it. It makes devices for Fleshlight – the Launch range, for example – and has a long list of its own robo-toys, many of which could be considered amongst the best sex toys for men. The company even competes directly with Fleshlight: its realistic star-branded Feel strokers are Fleshlight-shaped, Fleshlight-sized, and fit into the Keon.

But if you're considering an automatic masturbator like the Kiiroo Keon, there's a big spend involved once you've considered the device itself and something to put in it – let alone the fees you'll be charged for compatible content. Is it really worth the investment? Let's find out.

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Kiiroo Keon review: design & features

We're talking about two devices in this review, really: Kiiroo supplied us with two Feel strokers (the Skyler Lo and Reya Sunshine signature models) with which to test it, so let's get those out of the way before we get to the main event. 

They're very decent and very much fit the traditional formula of a Fleshlight-like stroker. They're black devices shaped like a massive torch, and their inners are made of flesh-coloured, flesh-feeling material recreating upsettingly realistic lady parts at their entrances. Both feel fine. We couldn't honestly tell you much about what was different between them, apart from their specific anatomical recreation: the Skyler Lo model is perhaps a little more snug, and they do have different textures inside, but the difference is psychological more than anything.

And then there's the Keon. It's a heavy, smart, black plastic unit with enough length to hold a whole Feel stroker neatly inside. There's a twist-lock arrangement to attach said stroker to a floating band inside, and this is what moves up and down to give the stroker some thrust. Its base gets a rubbery layer, not what we'd call padding but at least softer than bare plastic.

There are a number of buttons on the Keon. They're marked up with plus, minus, up and down, but as far as we can tell, they don't actually do anything. This is Bluetooth only: all control is done through Kiiroo's Feelconnect app, which gives you access to a bunch of different options.

Manual control moves the stroker up and down at your chosen frequency, and you can adjust its amplitude by toggling three potential zones on and off. You can sync it up with clapping, attach it to other toys online, and program your own patterns – but the main event for solo play, we'd argue, is synchronisation with adult material online. You'll need to follow a little roundabout route to get it going – leaving the app open, signing up for a compatible site, scanning QR codes and such forth – but once you have, it'll bob up and down in time with the action.

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Kiiroo Keon review: does it work?

Standard disclaimer before we go any further: whether a sex toy of any kind 'works' is always going to be down to the user, not the toy. In terms of its core functionality, there's no arguing that the Keon doesn't perform its function. It moves a stroker up and down. It's far less noisy and smooth than we would have expected, although there's no getting away from the slight servo screech which accompanies its virtual thrusts; frequency and amplitude control means it can be subtle or extremely unsubtle, depending on what you want or the content you're watching. A lot of the work is still down to you, at least if you don't plump for any of Kiiroo's mounting options: you're going to have to hold the notably chunky main unit in place while it's performing its task.

But whether it works? There's something a bit uncomfortable about trusting one's precious parts to a machine, and even though we feel this is highly unlikely to do you any damage, that lingering concern makes it somewhat tricky to get in the mood.

The process of starting and stopping a session is also hilariously awkward. You'll need to get fully situated (and, er, ready) before kicking things off, which demands a little juggling, but it's nothing compared to the aftermath: there's no auto stop, and the power button is tricky to locate, which means you'll find yourself fumbling around trying to quiet a lurching machine at just the kind of moment that sort of activity is least required. The battery is large enough for a solid session, but doesn't seem to last too long – you'll want to plug it in every time, and for something as chunky as this, it might not be so easy to tuck away while recharging.

All those caveats aside, though: yes, it works. It's not over-rough, has enough travel length to suit most people's hardware, and never gets too aggressively jerky – though we would, perhaps, have appreciated a way to scale back the intensity of pre-programmed movement patterns.

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Kiiroo Keon review: extra costs

There's an aspect of the Keon which doesn't relate to its hardware: it's the cost of its solo-use ecosystem. Kiiroo offers a brief free trial to one compatible site; its synchronisation with the Keon is, shall we say, sometimes just slightly out of whack, and the quality of the material varies wildly.

There are a few other sites which support the Keon, but they're paid sites only, and you'll often have to pay an extra subscription fee to get Keon versions of videos. And then there are folks out there cooking up their own scripts for the Keon and other compatible toys, but they're generally pay-per-video, and not cheap with it.

Bear in mind, too, that Kiiroo's Feel strokers don't come bundled with the Keon unit by default - to get one, you'll need to spend a little more.

Kiiroo Keon review: verdict

The Keon has its downsides. It's awkward, it can be unsettling, and it's definitely expensive. The battery isn't brilliant. The software works, but we'd appreciate if it offered finer control. OK, it sounds like it has a lot of downsides. But there's no denying that it does its job – whether that's connecting with a partner online or just enjoying some time alone.

Kiiroo Keon review: Alternatives to consider

Kiiroo, as we've said, makes a number of other devices – the key alternative highlight from its own-brand canon is the Onyx, which is more designed as a blowjob machine. It has a special inner which adds waves of pressure all the way up its canal, and can apparently use AI to turn non-interactive content into something which works with its motors. Consider partner toys, too: Kiiroo's Fuse and Cliona vibrators can be tied up with the Keon for a little telepresent fun.

If you're after something more mechanical, the Arcwave Ion is a great choice. It's a lot louder than the Keon, and does its thing in a very different way, but it's absolutely worth your time and money.