At CES 2026, LEGO introduced the Smart Brick. This new brick responds to movement and reproduces light and sound effects without screens or mobile apps. LEGO calls this development the biggest update to the designer in the last ten years.
The Smart Brick is a key element of the new Smart Play gaming platform. Together with it, the company introduced Smart Tag tiles and Smart Minifigures. All these components interact with each other during physical play and respond to user actions without digital interfaces.
Externally, the Smart Brick is a complete replica of the classic 2×4 LEGO brick. At the same time, inside it is equipped with its own ASIC chip, motion sensors, LEDs, and a compact speaker. The system works thanks to Smart Tag – special tiles with unique digital identifiers that determine the behavior of elements in a specific game scenario.
In practical use, this looks like this: in a helicopter set, a brick activates the backlight and the sound of propeller rotation, and the accelerometer synchronizes the effects with the model’s movements, depending on how the player holds or moves it.
To enable interaction among several “smart” elements, LEGO has developed its own Bluetooth protocol, BrickNet. It enables Smart Bricks to exchange data and work synchronously. At the same time, the system remains completely autonomous: it does not require smartphones, installing applications, or manually connecting components. Charging the bricks is done wirelessly.
The launch of the Smart Play platform is scheduled for March 1, 2026. The first to receive it will be the LEGO Star Wars sets. In total, three interactive sets will go on sale, with pre-orders opening on January 9.