I tried out LEGO’s smart bricks and you can pre-order your first set now

One of the most unexpected announcements CES 2026 This is arguably the biggest change LEGO has made to its bricks in decades. Add a whole new dimension creative gamesLEGO’s so-called smart bricks can sense motion, position and distance, bringing sets to life in ways fans have never seen before.

The company’s smart bricks have a chip inside that is as small as a single Lego stud. It’s equipped with multiple sensors, including light and sound, as well as an accelerometer and a tiny speaker, capable of producing vintage synthesizer sounds for more dynamic playing.

Smart Bricks are at the heart of LEGO’s new Smart Play ecosystem and only work when paired with Smart Tags or Smart Minifigures. Smart tags are small chips built into the pack that issue a set of instructions when they are placed near a smart block. Smart minifigures are basically standard LEGO figures with embedded identifiers. Essentially, they let the smart brick know what the suit or minifigure is and how it should respond.

Each smart brick comes with its own wireless charging pad. A single charge is expected to last 45 minutes and take a few hours to fully charge. Smart Bricks automatically power down when not in use to avoid draining the battery.

I had the opportunity to play with all three LEGO Star Wars models at CES 2026. Fight evil in a galaxy not so far away. From Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader having a speed shootout across the room, to lightsaber duels, I can recreate some of the most iconic scenes from the movies. The sound effects brought the action to life, and my fighter even took a hit when being shot at.

LEGO also showed me the endless possibilities of its new Smart Play ecosystem. Attaching smart bricks to a simple duck structure will cause it to quack loudly, or quack when a birthday-themed dinosaur approaches. When you blow out the candles on your LEGO birthday cake, the dinosaur plays “Happy Birthday” and reacts. I also watched basic racing, as well as action scenes like police chases.

Currently, the only smart toy sets available are Lego Star Wars bundle, and you can’t buy the Smart Brick separately – you need to Star Wars put up. You can pre-order all three LEGO models Star Wars Smart gaming setup now.

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The Darth Vader set contains 473 bricks, including a smart brick and a smart tag with TIE Fighter. It’s really interesting, a starship with twin ion engines that actually roars. You can pre-order it now and it will ship on March 1st.

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This 584-piece set includes a Smart Label version of Luke Skywalker’s iconic X-Wing, plus four Smart Label pieces in the form of an Imperial turret, transporter, command center and R2-D2. You also get two LEGO smart minifigures – Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. I had a blast shooting from the X-Wing, and after a failed battle with Darth Vader, I was able to refuel the fighter (complete with refueling sound effect) and go off again. The chirping R2-D2 is also super cute. The set is available for pre-order now and will be released on March 1st.

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ultimate set Star Wars It has a massive 962 pieces and comes with two LEGO smart bricks, three smart minifigures of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, as well as an A-wing, throne, Death Star turret and two lightsaber smart tags. This one was a lot of fun – I had an intense duel with a LEGO lightsaber and the sound effects brought it to life in a way I’d never seen before. The set is available for pre-order now and will ship on March 1st.

Senior technology critic Alex Lee is in Las Vegas for CES 2026. The Independent will be on hand to cover the latest announcements and will get our hands on the latest products, picking out the coolest (and weirdest) ones.

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