LEGO’s new 'SMART brick' is designed for interactive play without screens

‘smart brick’ brings a high-tech layer to the LEGO system

At CES 2026, The LEGO Group signaled a shift in how analogue toys might behave in the years ahead. The company introduced LEGO SMART Play, a new platform built around a ‘smart’ LEGO brick that allows builds to respond to touch, movement, and interaction without relying on screens.

If that premise sounds ambitious, it is meant to be. According to LEGO, this is its most consequential addition to the LEGO System-in-Play since the Minifigure debuted in 1978. Rather than adding apps or displays, LEGO SMART Play embeds sensing and sound directly into a brick that remains fully compatible with existing LEGO elements.

LEGO introduces SMART Play as a screen-free, interactive play platform | images courtesy LEGO Group

Inside the responsive Brick

At the center of the system is the LEGO SMART Brick, which contains a custom-made chip smaller than a standard LEGO stud. Inside are sensors, accelerometers, light detection, and a sound sensor, along with a miniature speaker powered by an onboard synthesizer. The brick charges wirelessly and is designed to disappear into builds, functioning less like a gadget and more like infrastructure.

The platform also includes LEGO SMART Tags and LEGO SMART Minifigures, which pair with the brick to trigger responses during play. Move a figure, adjust a structure, or interact with a tagged element, and the build reacts in real time with sound or behavior. The emphasis, LEGO says, is on open-ended play rather than predefined outcomes.

‘All of this is about keeping play physical,’ says Julia Goldin, Chief Product and Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group, during the CES presentation. ‘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.’

LEGO® Star Wars™ SMART Play™: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter™ building set

A screen-free storytelling platform

Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President and Head of Creative Play Lab, frames the LEGO SMART Play platform as a way to extend storytelling without pulling children toward screens. ‘The launch of LEGO SMART Play brings creativity, technology, and storytelling together… all without a screen,’ he said, adding that the team sees it as ‘setting a new standard for interactive, imaginative experiences.’

The first test of that ambition will come through a familiar universe. LEGO confirmed that the initial SMART Play–enabled sets will launch under the Star Wars banner, with three ‘All-In-One’ sets scheduled to arrive in select markets on March 1st, 2026. Each will include a SMART Brick, charger, at least one SMART Minifigure, and a SMART Tag.

What LEGO did not dwell on, at least publicly, is just how far SMART Play might eventually go. The company says the platform includes more than twenty patented ‘world-first’ technologies and will continue to expand with future updates and releases. For now, LEGO appears intent on keeping the system modular, optional, and backward-compatible, traits that have historically helped it avoid alienating its core audience.

LEGO® Star Wars™ SMART Play™: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter™ building set