Lego says its new tech-enabled products are its "most revolutionary innovation" since it launched its mini-figurines in 1978.

LEGO introduces revolutionary screen-free SMART Play technology at CES 2026, bringing interactive sounds and lights to physical builds.

The new Smart Play system centers around a new Lego Smart Brick that can play sounds, light up, and interact with other bricks.

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)

After days of intense secrecy Lego has finally unveiled its Smart Play System which it says will allow toys to come alive in children's hands.

The LEGO Group says it will introduce a new “SMART Play" system in 2026 designed to make brick-built creations respond to how children move, hold and imagine with their toys.

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.

The humble Lego brick is having a dramatic technological makeover that could transform how kids – and a fair few adults – play with the iconic toy.

The development of the Smart Play System began in 2017, when Lego researchers studied how children want to play. They found that kids were looking for three things in a toy: the ability to play with their friends, a sense their actions mattered and received feedback, and a play experience that could evolve over time.

Lego's construction sets have been a fantastic choice for analog play for several decades now. These interlocking building blocks are set to get way more interesting with the inventive toy company's new Smart Play system that features electronics-packed bricks and minifigures for more