Lego Smart Bricks in Star Wars sets
Jan 23, 2026
Lego announced the Smart Play system with interactive bricks on January 5, 2026 at CES. Senior editor and co-founder of The Verge magazine Sean Hollister tested the technology and showed how it would work.
A “smart” cube is a module with motion, light and sound sensors. Each minifigure is programmed to perform specific actions. For example, for Star Wars characters, the dice will reproduce the sound of a lightsaber battle, Darth Vader's breathing, or the "Imperial March" (works if Palpatine is seated on the throne).
The cubes match with Smart Tags. These are multi-colored tiles that the system reads and reproduces one of the programmed scenarios. For example, blue activates the “spaceship refueling” sounds. They also read the position of the figures and respond to touches, such as stroking animals.
“Smart” cubes interact with each other. If you place two different dice on spaceships, you can start a shootout - they will signal "hit the target" with explosion sounds.
Cubes can work autonomously for up to 45 minutes. Lego has released wireless charging for them. Without interaction, Smart Bricks go into sleep mode, but then have to be “reintroduced to the marks and shapes,” Hollister shared.
The Smart Play system will be launched on March 1, 2026. Three Star Wars sets will be released first. According to the company, the smart cubes took about six years to develop.
The announcement caused a mixed reaction - some believe that children will no longer develop their imagination while playing, notes The Verge.The company may also produce smaller, less detailed kits to include the Smart Brick for the same price.
