LEGO unveiled a smart brick with a microprocessor, sensors, and LED lighting

At CES 2026, LEGO also captured the attention of attendees with the Smart Brick concept, a new approach to the brand’s classic bricks.

What is a LEGO Smart Brick

The LEGO Smart Brick is the first “smart” brick in LEGO history. While its appearance is identical to a standard 2×4 brick, its interior contains electronics with a processor, sensors, a speaker, and LEDs. This electronics forms the foundation of the new LEGO SMART Play platform, which the company calls its biggest technological upgrade in half a century.

During its demonstration at CES 2026, the Smart Brick was shown as a standalone interactive element capable of responding to movement, tilt, tapping, and interaction with other components. The brick analyzes physical interactions and produces light and sound effects based on the play scenario.

What’s inside a LEGO Smart Brick?

The Smart Brick contains a microprocessor, speaker, LED matrix, accelerometer, and additional sensors, as well as a wireless BrickNet module. This enables communication between system elements without a smartphone or internet connection. This allows the brick to exchange data with other Smart Bricks during play.

The Smart Brick supports interaction with Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags – special tiles with digital identifiers that provide context for events. During the presentation, LEGO showed an example where the brick recognized a helicopter tag and automatically activated lighting effects and a sound simulating the rotor blades.

What can the LEGO Smart Brick do?

The LEGO SMART Play platform is designed as a completely standalone system. It requires no apps, screens, or internet access. All interaction logic is implemented through physical elements with detectors, lights, and sounds. The Smart Brick can be charged wirelessly via a proprietary charging pad.

The first series to receive SMART Play support will be LEGO Star Wars. The company has confirmed the launch of two sets: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing, priced at $69.99, and Darth Vader’s Throne Room Duel A-Wing, priced at $159.99. Both sets will be available for purchase on March 1, 2026, with pre-orders starting on January 9.

LEGO notes that the Smart Brick does not replace traditional bricks, but rather complements the familiar play mechanics. The company plans to gradually expand the Smart Play platform and release new sets throughout the year.