Lego Unveils New Smart Bricks

Lego has revealed a new generation of tech-filled blocks designed to add sound, light and movement to its classic builds, but the launch has triggered a lively debate about whether digital features belong in one of the world’s most hands-on toys.

Unveiled at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, Lego’s new Smart Bricks look like standard 2x4 blocks but are packed with sensors, lights, speakers and a custom-made chip. They can detect motion, position and nearby pieces, allowing models to react as children play with them. The system will launch in March, starting with Star Wars sets.

Lego says the technology is its biggest innovation in decades and insists it enhances, rather than replaces, traditional play. Federico Begher, Lego’s senior vice president of product, stressed that the company is not abandoning its roots. “This is an addition, a complementary evolution,” he said. “We will still very much nurture and innovate and keep doing our core experience.”

The Smart Bricks work alongside Smart Minifigures and Smart Tiles, which trigger different responses when they interact. In demos, an X-wing fighter made engine noises based on how fast it was moved, while dogfights between ships produced laser sounds and battle reactions. Lego executives say everything remains screen-free, with a parental control app used only for updates.

Julia Goldin, Lego’s chief product and marketing officer, has previously said the company sees technology as a way to “expand physical play and physical building,” adding: “We don't look at the digital world as a threat.”

Not everyone is convinced. Some play experts worry that adding built-in effects risks dulling children’s creativity. Josh Golin, from the children’s wellbeing group Fairplay, said Smart Bricks could “undermine what was once great about Legos,” arguing that children already supply sound and movement through imagination alone. He added: “As anyone who has ever watched a child play with old-school Legos knows, children's Lego creations already do move and make noises through the power of children's imaginations.”

University of Edinburgh professor Andrew Manches echoed that concern, saying Lego’s strength has always been “the freedom to create, re-create, and adapt simple blocks into endless stories powered by children's imagination.” Still, he welcomed attempts to blend digital responses with physical play, while warning that privacy and security issues around smart toys should not be overlooked.

Online reactions have been mixed too. Some fans joked about the need for tech at all, with one Reddit user writing: “I can go ‘swoosh’ and ‘pew-pew’ too,” while others were more enthusiastic about where the idea could lead.

Lego executives say the system has been shaped by lessons from earlier experiments, including interactive Super Mario figures and augmented reality projects. Begher said Smart Play is designed to be flexible, not prescriptive. “At the end of the day, kids need to play with it however they want,” he said, adding that the sets should still work as great Lego builds even without the Smart Brick.

For now, the company is starting small, but hints that more complex uses are on the way. As Begher put it, the current release is “the tip of iceberg,” with future updates already being planned.