The iconic LEGO bricks plug into the digital age (and are now interactive)

LEGO has invested more than six years of development in the new interactive SMART Play technology, which began to take shape eight years ago.

Although LEGO has occasionally dabbled in technology, the renowned Danish toy brand has remained largely faithful to its analog roots (from which it has never strayed too far). However, last Monday at CES in Las Vegas, LEGO unveiled a new product that fully embraces the digital age (without, however, betraying its brand’s DNA).

The Scandinavian multinational’s new product is SMART Play, a cutting-edge interactive technology that allows creations built with the brand’s iconic bricks to respond to the player’s actions with customized sounds and lights, for example. With this technology, LEGO aims to adapt to the needs of a new generation of children who are 100% digital natives, but whom it also doesn’t want to expose to more screens.

LEGO’s foray into the technology sector is in no way related to a drop in sales, which have been remarkably strong in recent years in a sector—the toy industry—that is definitely not going through its best period. 2024 was, not surprisingly, a record year for LEGO, with revenues reaching a staggering $10.8 billion. And during the first half of 2025, the Danish toy company also posted truly enviable sales figures.

SMART Play, LEGO’s commitment to technology, stays true to the brand’s DNA.

LEGO is, however, aware that the battle for the attention of young children is fierce, and by leveraging the new SMART Play technology, it hopes to strengthen its appeal to its target audience.

«Everything we do is driven by our passion for innovation,» explains Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer at LEGO. «It took us a long time to develop a technology that was also ultimately based on learning,» Goldin emphasizes.

The first three LEGO products featuring SMART Play technology will be released on March 1st and will be themed around the Star Wars universe. These three sets are Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter (473 pieces), Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing (584 pieces), and the Throne Room Duel with A-Wing (962 pieces).

At CES Las Vegas, LEGO tested the new SMART Play technology in a series of fictional scenarios. And as in the demos conducted by the company in Las Vegas, the Star Wars-inspired products to be released next March will likely delight fans of the famous film franchise with sounds similar to those they already know from the big screen.

Pre-orders for the new Star Wars sets with SMART Play technology will begin on June 9th at the LEGO online store and physical retail locations. While SMART Play is a technology initially focused on children, the company also hopes to integrate it into adult sets in the future.

LEGO has invested more than six years in developing the new interactive SMART Play technology, which began eight years ago. The final result is a system comprised of three different interactive elements: SMART Tags, SMART Bricks, and SMART Minifigures.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com