How LEGO is Bringing Bricks to Life with SMART Play

The LEGO Group has introduced LEGO SMART Play at CES 2026.

LEGO SMART Play, the Group says, is a groundbreaking new platform designed to bring brick creations to life through advanced, invisible technology. 

LEGO Chief Product & Marketing Officer Julia Goldin and Senior Vice President & Head of Creative Play Lab Tom Donaldson announced the news in Las Vegas, billing SMART Play as one of the company’s most significant innovations since the arrival of the LEGO Minifigure in 1978.

“For over 90 years, the LEGO Group has sparked imagination and creativity in children around the globe,” Julia says. 

“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.”

What is LEGO SMART Play?

The LEGO SMART Brick is at the centre of LEGO SMART PLAY. 

World-first technology supports these bricks and features a custom chip smaller than a single LEGO stud, the company states. 

They integrate sensors, accelerometers, light sensing, sound detection, a miniature speaker, a synthesiser and wireless charging.

The LEGO Creative Play Lab team behind the system has secured more than 20 patents around SMART Play technologies, which together enable LEGO builds to react, respond and engage in new ways.

Complemented by LEGO SMART Tags and SMART Minifigures, these components allow creations to respond to movements and gestures with appropriate sounds and behaviours – all with seamless compatibility across the existing LEGO System-in-Play.

Tom says: “The launch of LEGO SMART Play brings creativity, technology and storytelling together to make building worlds and stories even more engaging, and all without a screen. 

“We truly believe we are setting a new standard for interactive, imaginative experiences and can’t wait to see this innovation in the hands of kids when we launch this year.”

STAR WARS: Part of the SMART Play galaxy

Launching the new platform, LEGO has – once again – joined forces with Lucasfilm and Disney. 

Asad Ayaz, Chief Brand Officer of The Walt Disney Company and President of Disney Entertainment Marketing, and Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm, appeared alongside LEGO executives at CES to unveil the first SMART Play-enabled universe: LEGO Star Wars.

“Our teams work hand-in-hand with best-in-class licensees to bring technology and innovation to products that continue our storytelling in new and unexpected ways," says Paul Gitter, Executive Vice President of Global Brand Commercialization at Disney Consumer Products.

“This milestone in our long-time collaboration with the LEGO Group adds a new dimension to this legacy, continuing to help fans express their creativity and imagination by extending the Star Wars story through play."

Julia adds: “We’ve worked with our incredible friends at Lucasfilm for over 25 years and our focus has always remained on creating original, unique experiences for the fan community through our sets. 

“With LEGO SMART Play, legendary stories and characters of the Star Wars galaxy will come to life like never before.”

The tech powering LEGO SMART Play

So, how does it all work?

The SMART Brick’s custom low-energy microchips work with the integrated array of sensors, meaning the bricks can recognise motion, orientation and interaction, allowing creations to respond in real time.

Connected SMART Tags and SMART Minifigures communicate with the brick via a secure, low-latency wireless system, creating seamless play without Bluetooth pairing or screens. 

The built-in miniature synthesiser and speaker generate adaptive sounds – so engines roar louder, lasers pulse faster and lightsabers hum dynamically as builders play.

Charging is handled through wireless inductive pads, with firmware updates delivered over the air to keep play evolving. 

Technologists and designers at LEGO’s Creative Play Lab have spent years embedding micro-electronics invisibly into the LEGO System-in-Play. 

Backward compatibility ensures any builder can add interactivity to existing models, marking SMART Play not as a new line, but as a living technological layer that merges engineering precision with imagination and storytelling.

Balancing innovation with real-world concerns

While LEGO SMART Play has been praised for its imaginative leap, some observers note that introducing advanced electronics into traditional playsets brings new challenges.

Analysts point out that incorporating microchips and charging systems could raise questions around durability, repairability and component cost, especially for families used to the near-indestructible nature of conventional LEGO bricks.

Sustainability concerns have also come to light, since embedding sensors and speakers introduces materials more difficult to recycle than standard ABS plastic. 

LEGO, which has made strong public commitments to environmental responsibility, is expected to address these questions as SMART Play scales over the coming years.

To this point, supply chain and repairability concerns have also arisen, particularly given the inclusion of custom chips, sensors and speakers.

Unlike standard bricks that last for decades, SMART components may eventually require software updates or replacement parts to maintain compatibility within the LEGO System-in-Play.

For now, though, SMART Play marks a forward step into tactile, tech-augmented creativity for LEGO – one that it hopes will complement its signature simplicity and timeless appeal.

“It's the perfect playground for epic storytelling, unforgettable characters and endless brick-built adventures,” Julia says from Vegas on LinkedIn.