Overview
- Smart Play combines a sensor-packed 2x4 Smart Brick with Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags to trigger real-time audio, lights, and behaviors during physical play.
- A custom mixed-signal ASIC smaller than a Lego stud powers features such as accelerometers, light and sound sensing, a miniature synthesizer-driven speaker, wireless charging, and brick-to-brick awareness via a Bluetooth-based “BrickNet.”
- The platform debuts in three Lego Star Wars sets with preorders opening January 9 and retail availability on March 1, with prices ranging roughly from $69 to $160 depending on the set.
- Lego emphasizes an offline design with no cameras, no generative AI, local encryption, and privacy controls, with the microphone used as an input trigger rather than a recorder.
- Coverage notes compatibility with standard Lego elements alongside concerns about sticker shock from launching in a licensed line, the absence of an announced developer kit, and potential risks tied to firmware and update pathways.