{"id":624111,"date":"2026-01-06T08:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=624111"},"modified":"2026-01-06T08:53:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:53:03","slug":"lego-unveils-new-brick-that-is-a-tiny-computer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/gadgets\/624111-lego-unveils-new-brick-that-is-a-tiny-computer.html","title":{"rendered":"Lego unveils new brick that is a tiny computer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Lego Group has unveiled its Smart Play system, which uses &#8220;Smart Bricks&#8221; and &#8220;Smart Tags&#8221; to bring Lego sets to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Smart Bricks are powered by a custom ASIC chip that is smaller than one standard Lego stud and is highly specialised for the features of the Lego Smart Play system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the Smart Play product page, Lego describes the new system as its &#8220;biggest innovation&#8230; ever!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Introducing the Lego Smart Play system, a new platform made of endlessly interactive Smart Bricks, Smart Tags, and Smart Minifigures, all connected to bring play to life like never before,&#8221; said Lego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bricks are wirelessly charged, and Lego will sell a wireless charger that can charge multiple bricks simultaneously. It also claims that the battery will continue to perform even &#8220;after years of inactivity&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This tech all fits into a standard 2&#215;4 Lego brick, making the Smart Brick capable of recognising Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures. The firmware is updatable through a smartphone app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It also has a built-in accelerometer which knows how it is being moved through the air, and brings play to life in incredible ways,&#8221; says Lego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bricks also feature light, sound, and light sensors, and they form a Bluetooth mesh network with other Smart Bricks, allowing them to determine each other&#8217;s position and orientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means the Smart Play system can play specific sounds when certain minifigures are put in various positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a Smart Brick built into a Lego car can determine which car crosses the finish line first. It can also play engine sounds and change to crashing sound effects if the vehicle flips over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lego unveiled <em>Star Wars<\/em> Smart Play building sets in its announcement, with three all-in-one <em>Star Wars<\/em> sets shipping with a Smart Brick and charger, and at least one Smart Minifigure and Smart Tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lego will start selling the Smart Play system and related building sets on 1 March 2026, and the first sets to ship will all be Lego <em>Star Wars<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>For $70 (R1,143 excl. VAT and duties)<\/strong> \u2014 the 473-piece Darth Vader&#8217;s TIE Fighter set, including one Smart Brick, on TIE Fighter Smart Tag, and one Darth Vader Smart Minifigure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>For $100 (R1,634 excl. VAT and duties)<\/strong> \u2014 the 584-piece Luke&#8217;s Red Five X-Wing set, including one Smart Brick, five Smart Tags, and Luke and Leia Smart Minifigures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>For $160 (R2,614 excl. VAT and duties) <\/strong> \u2014 the 962-piece Darth Vader&#8217;s Throne Room Duel &amp; A-Wing set, including two Smart Bricks, five Smart Tages, and Luke, Emperor Palpatine, and Darth Vader Smart Minifigures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Lego Smart Play will continue to expand through new updates, launches, and technology,&#8221; says Lego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lego-Star-Was-set-example.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-624140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lego-Star-Was-set-example.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lego-Star-Was-set-example-600x350.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lego-Star-Was-set-example-768x447.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lego has unveiled the Smart Play system, which it says brings entire Lego sets to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341076,"featured_media":624142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[23406,102759,102761,102763,102760,102762],"class_list":["post-624111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets","tag-lego","tag-lego-group","tag-lego-smart-brick","tag-lego-smart-minifigure","tag-lego-smart-play","tag-lego-smart-tag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624111"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341076"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624111"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":624150,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624111\/revisions\/624150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}