LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 05: Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer, the LEGO Group on stage during the LEGO SMART Play launch event at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on January 05, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for The LEGO Group)

The Lego company has not made any major redesigns to its brick since the debut of the modern brick in 1958, so this is pretty big news. But what does it mean? In a continuation of screenless play, Lego is not trying to make the brick something it isn't, in this case, but simply offers an elevated experience for all ages.

Lego’s new Smart Brick launched at CES, adding light, sound, and sensors to classic sets—without screens—starting with Star Wars.

The brand-new, jaw-dropping Lego smart brick tech can recognize other bricks, activate effects and play music. They're debuting in Star Wars Lego sets this spring and we got an early look at CES 2026.

The Smart Brick looks very similar to a normal 2x4 Lego brick, but it contains a custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip which is smaller than one of the studs on the brick itself. It’s joined by an accelerometer and a copper coil, and Lego has created its own Play Engine and Neighbor Position Measurement (NPM) system.