The new smart bricks will launch in March with three Lego Star Wars sets.
By
Timothy Beck Werth
Tech Editor
Timothy Beck Werth is the Tech Editor at Mashable, where he leads coverage and assignments for the Tech and Shopping verticals. Tim has over 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor, and he has particular experience covering and testing consumer technology, smart home gadgets, and men’s grooming and style products. Previously, he was the Managing Editor and then Site Director of SPY.com, a men's product review and lifestyle website. As a writer for GQ, he covered everything from bull-riding competitions to the best Legos for adults, and he’s also contributed to publications such as The Daily Beast, Gear Patrol, and The Awl.
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Credit: Lego
At CES 2026, Lego has announced the upcoming launch of the Lego Smart Play system, an interactive technology the company is calling the biggest evolution to Lego bricks since the introduction of the Minifigure almost 50 years ago.
The new interactive platform will respond to players' actions with appropriate sounds, lights, and behavior, creating a responsive and screen-free play experience.
Available for pre-order starting Jan. 9 in select markets, the Lego Smart Play system includes three interactive elements that react as you build and play — Lego Smart Tags, Lego Smart Bricks, and Lego Smart Minifigures. At a keynote event ahead of CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Lego leaders showed off the smart bricks for the first time, promising that the new play system "brings Lego creations to life like never before."
“For over 90 years, the Lego Group has sparked imagination and creativity in children around the globe. As the world evolves, so do we — innovating to meet the play needs of each new generation. Lego Smart Play is the next exciting chapter in our Lego System in Play and something we are super excited about being able to bring to the world at this scale,” said Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group, according to a Lego press release.
The new Lego Smart Play system will launch on March 1 with three Lego Star Wars sets, and Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm, joined Lego for the announcement to preview the upcoming building kits.
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What is the Lego Smart Play System?
Developed by the Lego Group’s Creative Play Lab, the Lego Smart Play system will make sounds and activate lights based on player movements and builds. Lego says the new platform "features more than twenty patented world-firsts," including a new custom-made chip that's smaller than a standard Lego connector stud.
Credit: Lego
The Lego Smart Bricks and Minifigures are the same size and shape as standard Lego pieces, but contain a variety of sensors, such as accelerometers, light sensors, and sound sensors. They also contain a miniature speaker with an onboard synthesiser and a wireless charging system.
The upcoming Lego Smart Play Star Wars Sets include:
Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing building set — This 584-piece set comes with two Smart Minifigures (Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia), a Lego Smart Brick, and five Lego Smart Tags.
Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter building set — This 473-piece set comes with "a brick-built Rebel Outpost and an Imperial Fueling Station, as well as a SMART Minifigure featuring Darth Vader and a Rebel Fleet Trooper Minifigure." Interactive features include engine sounds.
Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Throne Room Duel & A-Wing building set — This 962-piece set will let players "re-enact and re-imagine one of the most memorable moments from the original Star Wars trilogy, the final lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. It comes with three Smart Minifigures (Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Jedi Luke Skywalker) and a Smart Tag-enabled cannon turret.
You can learn more about the upcoming platform at the Lego Smart Play website.
Timothy Beck Werth is the Tech Editor at Mashable, where he leads coverage and assignments for the Tech and Shopping verticals. Tim has over 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor, and he has particular experience covering and testing consumer technology, smart home gadgets, and men’s grooming and style products. Previously, he was the Managing Editor and then Site Director of SPY.com, a men's product review and lifestyle website. As a writer for GQ, he covered everything from bull-riding competitions to the best Legos for adults, and he’s also contributed to publications such as The Daily Beast, Gear Patrol, and The Awl.
Tim studied print journalism at the University of Southern California. He currently splits his time between Brooklyn, NY and Charleston, SC. He's currently working on his second novel, a science-fiction book.
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