LEGO Brings Creations to Life With Its New High-Tech SMART Play System

Published: 5th January 2026

Reading Time: 6 minutes

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Table of Contents

LEGO SMART Play brings brick-built creations to life with responsive lights, sounds and behaviours
The system combines SMART Bricks, SMART Tags and SMART Minifigures that react to how you move and play
SMART Play keeps the experience screen-free and remains compatible with the existing LEGO System-in-Play
LEGO Star Wars became the first range to use SMART Play, with the system launching on March 1, 2026

LEGO has spent more than 90 years proving that you don’t need much technology to keep people entertained — give someone a box of colourful bricks and their imagination usually does the rest. But for 2026, the Danish toy giant has decided to make those familiar little bricks considerably smarter.

Unveiled at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, LEGO SMART Play is a new interactive system that makes brick-built creations react to what’s happening around them. Lights can flash, engines can roar, characters can trigger their own sounds, and a spaceship can respond as you swoosh it through the air — all while keeping the physical LEGO experience at the centre of play. LEGO describes SMART Play as one of the biggest evolutions of its System-in-Play since the Mini-figure arrived in 1978.

And perhaps the smartest part is that LEGO hasn’t added a screen just yet. You don’t need a phone or tablet sitting beside you while you play. Instead, LEGO has packed the technology directly into three new components — the SMART Brick, SMART Tags and SMART Minifigures — allowing the creation itself to react in real time.

The SMART Brick Is Where Everything Comes to Life

The core of the system is the LEGO SMART Brick, and it packs a surprising amount of technology into something so small. It’s powered by a custom-made chip smaller than a standard LEGO stud and packed with sensors, accelerometers, light sensing, and a sound sensor, plus a miniature speaker driven by an onboard synthesizer. There’s even wireless charging built in.

All of that allows the brick to understand how a creation is being played with and respond accordingly. Move a spacecraft around, and it can produce engine noises and lighting effects; interact with different objects and the reaction can change. LEGO says the wider SMART Play platform includes more than 20 patented world-first technologies, with much of the clever stuff deliberately hidden away so the experience still feels like playing with LEGO rather than operating a gadget.

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The SMART Tags tell the brick what an object represents and how it should behave, while SMART Minifigures introduce their own personalities, sounds and moods when they’re brought close to a SMART Brick. Together,d LEGO creations can recognize what’s happening in a scene and respond as the story unfolds.

Importantly, these new pieces aren’t meant to replace the LEGO collection already sitting in your cupboard. SMART Play remains compatible with the existing LEGO System-in-Play, meaning the technology can become another ingredient in a traditional build rather than creating an entirely separate type of LEGO.

Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter

Set number: #75421
Age: 8+
Pieces: 473
Dimensions: The set measures over 4 in. (10 cm) high, 4 in. (11 cm) long and 5.5 in. (15 cm) wide
Smart Play Components:
- 1x LEGO SMART Brick
- 1x LEGO SMART MINIFIGURE featuring Darth Vader
- 1x SMART TAG featuring the TIE Fighter
Price: USD $69.99

Luke’s Red Five X-wing™ building set

Set number: #75423
Age: 6+
Pieces: 584
Dimensions: The set measures over 2 in. (6 cm) high, 8.5 in. (22 cm) long and 7.5 in. (19 cm) wide
Smart Play Components:
- 1x LEGO SMART Brick
- 2x LEGO SMART MINIFIGURES featuring Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia
- 5x SMART TAGS featuring the X-wing, Imperial turret, transporter, command center and R2-D2 accessories
Price: USD $89.99

Throne Room Duel & A-Wing

Set number: #75427
Age: 9+
Pieces: 962
Dimensions: The set measures over 5.5 in. (14 cm) high, 11.5 in. (29 cm) long and 19 in. (49 cm) wide
Smart Play Components:
- 2x LEGO SMART Brick
- 3x LEGO® SMART MINIFIGURES featuring Luke Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader
- 5x SMART TAGS featuring an A-wing, throne, Death Star turret and Lightsaber™ duels (2x tags)
Price: USD $159.99

Availability: Pre-orders open 9 January 2026, on sale from 1 March 2026

LEGO Star Wars Smart Play Sets

If you’re going to show off LEGO creations suddenly reacting with lights, sounds and movement, Star Wars is about as perfect a starting point as you could ask for. SMART Play officially launched on March 1, 2026, with three All-in-One Star Wars sets — Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, Luke’s Red Five X-Wing and Throne Room Duel & A-Wing — each including a SMART Brick alongside SMART Tags and Minifigures. LEGO then expanded the range with familiar builds including the Millennium Falcon, Luke’s Landspeeder, Yoda’s Hut, an AT-ST and the Mos Eisley Cantina.

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And this is where all that technology starts to feel less like a list of sensors and more like something you’d actually want to play with. Luke’s X-Wing can fire up engine and laser sounds as you fly it around, Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter responds with roaring engines and battle effects, while the Throne Room set can even play the Imperial March when Emperor Palpatine takes his seat. Compatible sets take things further again — the Millennium Falcon, for example, can unlock hyperspace, laser, holochess and lightsaber interactions when paired with a SMART Brick.

Star Wars is only the beginning. LEGO says SMART Play will continue to grow through new sets, updates and technology, and the current range has already expanded beyond a galaxy far, far away into Pokémon. That’s what makes SMART Play such an interesting direction for LEGO — it isn’t trying to replace the classic brick or turn play into another excuse to stare at a screen. It’s simply giving the things you build a way to respond to you. The LEGO brick isn’t going anywhere — now, it can play along too.

Discover More About LEGO SMART Play™

CES LEGO

About the Author

Elias Al Bay

Elias Albay is the Founder and Director of Many Men Magazine, a Toronto-based digital publication dedicated to promoting modern masculinity through style, culture, and self-improvement. What started as a personal turning point became a purposeful platform. — born from Elias’ desire to create something meaningful after completing his studies and finding no career path that truly matched his ambitions. With a background in Civil Engineering from York University and experience in Commercial Flight Operations at CAE, he applied skills, and resilience from both fields to forge a new path.

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Patrick Dempsey Becomes The New Face Of TAG Heuer Eyewear

Elias Al Bay

Published: 25th May 2025

Reading Time: 5 minutes

When you look at TAG Heuer’s world, Patrick Dempsey feels less like a surprise and more like the obvious choice. At 59, the American actor has built a reputation that stretches far beyond film and television, pairing his Hollywood career with a longstanding dedication to motorsport and philanthropy. These qualities — precision, discipline, and a genuine passion for performance — have connected him to TAG Heuer for over a decade. This year, that relationship enters a new chapter as Dempsey becomes the face of TAG Heuer Eyewear, created in partnership with Thélios, LVMH’s eyewear division.

The role itself feels like a natural extension rather than a rebrand. Announced recently, the appointment sees Dempsey contributing a creative perspective to key eyewear lines, including the Jack Heuer and Mini Vingt-Sept collections. It also firmly places him within TAG Heuer’s cultural heritage, alongside figures like Steve McQueen. Like McQueen before him, Dempsey embodies a sense of ease and adventure that doesn’t feel manufactured — an approach to style shaped as much by life off-camera as by the spotlight.

Patrick Dempsey Becomes The New Face Of TAG Heuer Eyewear | Image: TAG Heuer

Away from film sets and red carpets, Dempsey has dedicated recent years to building a solid reputation in endurance racing. He’s become a familiar face at the 24 Hours of Le Mans — one of motorsport’s most unforgiving stages — and his multiple podium finishes in the GTE Am category highlight that this isn’t just a casual passion project. For Dempsey, racing is about preparation, focus, and endurance.

That commitment mirrors the values TAG Heuer has long stood for. Performance, after all, is not something the brand treats as a marketing slogan. It’s a central part of its identity, and that’s where the connection with Dempsey feels most authentic. As the brand itself has stated, “Patrick Dempsey’s alignment with TAG Heuer runs deep. He shares the brand’s core values: designed to win, elegance in motion, and the pursuit of excellence with no shortcuts.”

Patrick Dempsey becomes the new ambassador for TAG Heuer Eyewear | Image: TAG Heuer

What gives the partnership significance is that those values go beyond racing alone. TAG Heuer has emphasized that the same principles apply to Dempsey’s work on screen, where discipline and precision are just as important. The relationship isn’t presented as a one-dimensional endorsement but as a shared mindset built on consistency and craft.

That thinking extends to the eyewear collaboration itself. According to the brand, “with the new collection, Patrick Dempsey brings his passion for performance and refined style contributing to its evolution, offering creative input and a vision rooted in both style and function.” It’s a subtle but important distinction — positioning Dempsey as a contributor rather than a figurehead.

The rollout of the partnership was paired with a campaign that focuses more on symbolism than spectacle. In the visuals, Dempsey is positioned in a way that deliberately echoes TAG Heuer’s past, appearing with a chronograph timer in hand — a clear reference to the brand’s strong ties to racing and a subtle nod to an iconic image of Jack Heuer himself. It’s a restrained gesture, but one that reinforces continuity rather than reinvention.

TAG Heuer Eyewear 2025 collection – Jack Heuer Line | Image: TAG Heuer

Throughout the campaign, Dempsey is seen wearing two standout models from the 2025 TAG Heuer Eyewear collection. The Jack Heuer and Mini Vingt-Sept frames take centre stage, emphasizing the dual narrative of heritage and modernity that runs through the partnership.

The Jack Heuer model, in particular, carries weight beyond just its name. After studying electrical engineering in Zurich, Jack Heuer joined the family business in 1958 and quickly reshaped its direction. His influence is still felt today — from revitalizing the Autavia to launching the Carrera and securing TAG Heuer’s first Formula 1 partnership in 1971, moves that permanently anchored the brand within motorsport culture.

The Jack Heuer frames draw inspiration from 1960s pilot silhouettes and are crafted using ultra-light Japanese titanium paired with Chroma-fade lenses, blending vintage cues with modern engineering, which is why the legacy is reflected in the eyewear itself.

The Mini Vingt-Sept adopts a more modern approach. Precisely crafted, it features a sleek steel hinge and bio-nylon temples, anchored by TAG Heuer’s signature 27-degree hinge. Motorsport influences are still evident, but the design is sharper and more progressive, aiming to feel performance-focused without relying too much on nostalgia.

Patrick Dempsey is the New Face of TAG Heuer Eyewear | Image: TAG Heuer

Completing the collection is the Shield Pro line, which firmly establishes TAG Heuer eyewear in performance territory. With a futuristic design, the frames are crafted from flexible bio-nylon and feature interchangeable lenses, making them ideal for athletes, riders, and those working in demanding conditions. This is the most overtly technical expression of the brand’s eyewear vision to date.

The complete TAG Heuer Eyewear collection is now available at TAG Heuer boutiques and online. Prices start at $850 USD for the Jack Heuer line, from $490 USD for the Mini Vingt-Sept, and $490 USD for the Shield Pro range.

Check Out TAG Heuer Eyewear Collection