LAS VEGAS, NV – In a move that makes your old bucket of bricks look positively prehistoric, The LEGO Group pulled the curtain back on LEGO® SMART Play™ at CES 2026. The new platform embeds technology directly into the bricks, allowing creations to react with light and sound based on how they’re handled—all blissfully without a screen in sight. The company is hailing it as the most significant evolution in its “System-in-Play” since the minifigure debuted in 1978.
The magic is centered around the LEGO SMART Brick, a deceptively normal-looking brick packed with a custom chip smaller than a standard LEGO stud. This tiny powerhouse includes sensors, an accelerometer, light and sound detection, a miniature speaker, and wireless charging. The system is rounded out by LEGO SMART Tags and LEGO SMART Minifigures, which communicate with the brick to provide context. Plop a SMART Darth Vader minifigure onto a build, and you might just hear the Imperial March.
To kick things off, LEGO is partnering with Lucasfilm for a trip to a galaxy far, far away. The first wave of SMART Play sets will be three LEGO® Star Wars™ kits, launching on March 1st, 2026, with pre-orders starting January 9th. The lineup includes:
- Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter™ (75421): A 473-piece set for $69.99.
- Luke’s Red Five X-Wing™ (75423): A 584-piece set for $89.99.
- Throne Room Duel & A-Wing™ (75427): A 962-piece set for a cool $159.99.
Why is this important?
LEGO is making a calculated and frankly brilliant move. While competitors have chased screen-based augmented reality, LEGO is doubling down on the tactile joy of physical bricks, subtly embedding the “smart” tech so it enhances, rather than hijacks, the play experience. This is the Internet of Things for the toy chest—a direct response to parental concerns about screen time, wrapped in the galaxy’s most beloved IP. By making the technology invisible and intuitive, LEGO isn’t just selling smart toys; it’s future-proofing the very concept of the humble plastic brick.
