When Lego first showed me Smart Play in action at CES 2026, my immediate reaction was pretty simple: this feels magical. Not techy. Not attention-grabbing. Just… fun in the way Lego usually is when it’s at its best.
That magic has been a long time coming. According to Tom Donaldson, SVP at Lego’s Creative Play Lab, the idea of Smart Play dates back around eight years. The first concept emerged then, but turning that idea into something kids could actually play with took far longer.
“The really hard technical development probably started about six years ago,” he explains. “Then, a couple of years figuring out what we really wanted to do. Getting to great play isn’t easy.”
And that’s the key point. This wasn’t about building a clever bit of tech and bolting play on afterwards. Quite the opposite. Donaldson is clear that the biggest challenge wasn’t just shrinking electronics to fit inside a Legobrick – though that was no small feat either.
“Not many companies make ASICs. Not many come up with completely new sensor technologies,” he says. “Some of these things can’t even be tested until the chip exists. And on the manufacturing side, the tolerances are… challenged. Put it mildly.”
But the real work came later. Turning that technology into something that actually makes kids want to play.
“It’s easy to make a platform that does clever things in theory,” Donaldson says. “It’s much harder to make one where those clever things result in great play.”
Why launch the Smart Brick now?
So why launch the Smart Brick now? The honest answer is refreshingly unglamorous.
“Quite a lot of the reason is simply that we’re ready,” Donaldson says. “We pride ourselves on quality. Something like this takes time to get to a level you’re happy with.”
That said, the timing feels right. With screens everywhere, Lego is deliberately pushing back towards hands-on play.
“Now is a great moment to be emphasising why physical play is so valuable,” Donaldson adds. “And to create tools for imagination.”
Why Star Wars was first
Lego Star Wars was one of the first themes to adopt the new platform, and Mike Ilacqua, Global Head of Product for Lego Star Wars, says it was an easy decision once they saw it.
“We were brought in about three years ago,” he says. “The platform was already well developed, and we could immediately see the potential. How kids could create their own stories. How it reacted to open-ended play.”
That open-endedness is crucial. The Smart Brick isn’t preloaded with rigid actions or scripts. It reacts to what you build, which minifigure you use, and how you play.
“One of the most reassuring things we saw in testing was how long kids played for,” Ilacqua says. “They’d be running around a room with an X-wing and a TIE fighter, chasing each other, battling. No screens. Just physical play.”
Just as important is discovery. Kids aren’t told every possible interaction upfront.
“There are so many combinations they can discover on their own,” he adds. “That really fuels imagination.”
Not STEM-first. Play-first.
Lego has done robotics and STEM sets before, so what makes Smart Play different? Donaldson is keen to stress that this isn’t a niche tech product.
“We were really deliberate about it being a true extension of the Lego system,” he says. “No power switch, because bricks don’t have power switches. It needs to feel simple.”
Rather than one big central device, Smart Play uses multiple small elements working together. And while it might spark interest in STEM, that’s not the entry point.
“We didn’t want this to be just for kids who already like STEM,” Donaldson explains. “We wanted something expansive, across the portfolio.”
Screens were ruled out early, too. There is a companion app for parents, but play itself is screen-free by design.
“If you take the screen away, you explore a new space of possibility,” Donaldson says. “We fundamentally believe in physical play.”
Built to last
A normal LEGO brick can survive decades. Applying that mindset to technology is harder… but Lego is trying.
“We don’t want a cycle where you have to buy a new smart brick every two years,” Donaldson says. “We hope the bricks you buy today are still being played with in five years, maybe longer.”
That thinking affects everything from software to hardware. Even battery charging has been designed with longevity in mind.
“One reason batteries degrade is charging them to 100% every time,” he explains. “So we never fully charge them. We leave a bit of capacity at the top to extend battery life.”
Repairability isn’t perfect yet, and Lego admits that’s an area it wants to improve. But the intent is clear: this isn’t disposable tech.
A platform, not a one-off
Launching Smart Play at CES is a statement. LEGO sees this as a long-term platform, not a gimmick.
“We believe in this for the long term,” Donaldson says. “It adds a huge amount of opportunity that’s compatible with what we already do.”
And perhaps most importantly, the system is designed to grow. The Smart Brick responds to minifigures and tags, not pre-recorded actions. New characters and sets can slot straight in.
“It gives us so many options for the future,” Ilacqua says, smiling. “And yes, we’re already dreaming up more.”
That’s the feeling Smart Play leaves you with. Not that Lego is chasing tech trends, but that it’s quietly extending what a Lego brick can be, without losing what made it special in the first place.
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