Lego’s new Smart Play platform introduces a sensor‑equipped “Smart Brick” that adds lights, sound, and interactivity to traditional sets, exciting some adult fans while worrying others about higher prices and creeping “tech-ification” of play.Lego introduced the Smart Brick at CES, earlier this month.
The Smart Brick is the size of a classic 2×4 Lego piece but embeds sensors, lights, and a small speaker to create responsive effects such as humming lightsabers, vehicle engine sounds, and interactive lighting. Multiple Smart Bricks can detect light, motion, and proximity and communicate wirelessly so sets can react in coordinated ways without requiring AI, constant internet, or disposable batteries, instead using wireless charging and pre-programmed sounds.
Lego will debut Smart Play in three “Star Wars” sets: a $70 Darth Vader build with 473 pieces, a $100 Luke’s Red Five X‑Wing with 584 pieces, and a $160 Darth Vader’s Throne Room Duel & A‑Wing set with 962 pieces, all launching March 1. The company frames Smart Play as one of its most significant evolutions since minifigures in 1978 and emphasizes that the familiar brick remains central while technology is used to “make play more magical” and align with how kids engage today.
Adult fans and experts express concern that Smart Bricks will push already expensive Lego sets even higher in price, exacerbating perceptions that the brand has become too costly. Toy expert Bob Friedland, who owns 115 sets, says he prefers a $28 analog DeLorean set and warns that high-end launches, like a recent 9,000‑piece $999 Star Wars build, risk alienating inflation‑strained customers.
Some adult fans appreciate Lego’s creativity but feel core enjoyment still comes from building and sharing the process with children rather than from electronics. Some parents expect kids to enjoy the novelty of lights, sounds, and interactivity at first, but think the appeal may fade, leaving fundamental Lego play largely unchanged.
Smart Play follows earlier tech experiments such as Lego Mindstorms robotics in 1998 and the interactive Lego Super Mario line launched in 2020. While critics link broader anxieties about AI‑infused toys to the debate—citing AI Barbies and unsafe AI plushies—others see Smart Bricks as a more acceptable, offline tech alternative to screens, making Legos Smart Bricks a potentially healthier tech disruption for children’s play.
More information is available here.
Image above courtesy of Legos.com.
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