The latest version of Barbie is a hologram that lives in a box, dances, talks and reports on the weather.
But what it doesn’t do is just as important.
Unlike 2015’s highly controversial Wi-Fi-enabled Hello Barbie, which was met with protests by parents groups concerned about privacy, Hello Barbie Hologram does not connect to the internet and it does not collect data about the children who own it, said Mattel spokeswoman Marissa Beck.
The toymaker unveiled the hologram version at ToyFair on Saturday.
The hologram version will debut in stores in November and will cost less than $300, Mattel said.
Mattel has discontinued the $75 Hello Barbie line, which generated more buzz about the then-56-year-old doll than in decades — not all of it good.
ToyTalk, the tech company that supports Hello Barbie, is no longer updating the app associated with the 2015 Barbie, Beck said.
“That was last year’s toy and there are no smart features with the hologram,” she added.
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