Lego introduces Smart Bricks, causing experts’ unease

Lego has unveiled Smart Bricks – tech-filled versions of its small building blocks – which it says will bring sets to life with sound, light and reaction to movement, the BBC writes.

However, the new product range has got a mixed reaction from play experts, who say it risks undermining what makes Lego distinct for children in an increasingly digital world.

Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 in Las Vegas, the Danish toymaker’s Smart Play system introduces new electronic components to the classic plastic blocks.

Lego says its new tech-enabled products, launching in March with a new Star Wars set, are its “most revolutionary innovation” in nearly 50 years.

But Josh Golin, executive director of children’s wellbeing group Fairplay, believes Smart Bricks could “undermine what was once great about Legos” – harnessing children’s own imagination during play.

“As anyone who has ever watched a child play with old-school Legos knows, children’s Lego creations already do move and make noises through the power of children’s imaginations,” he told the BBC. ”

Andrew Manches, professor of children and technology at the University of Edinburgh, agreed the beauty of Lego lay in “the freedom to create, re-create, and adapt simple blocks into endless stories powered by children’s imagination.”