Lego Smart Bricks Have Major Limitations Buyers Should Know About

Lego sets are fun to build and play with, even without any built-in smart features. They’re a great alternative to the tablets and gaming consoles that kids seem to gravitate toward these days. However, Lego made an unusual move in January at CES 2026, when it introduced a Lego brick that features its own tiny computer. Called the Lego Smart Brick, the new technology can revolutionize Lego sets, bringing a new type of experience to fans. Part of the Lego Smart Play platform, the Smart Bricks can play sounds, detect colors, and adapt to the set you might be using. It’s an exciting prospect that can open the door to more interactive play sessions across Lego offerings. However, the first Smart Brick generation has some limitations that buyers should know about.

The most obvious setback that most buyers will run into right away is that you can’t buy the Smart Bricks separately, but only as part of sets. Lego said at CES that Smart Play would launch on March 1 as part of select sets from the “Star Wars” universe, and that limited offering could prevent some fans from discovering the new gadgets. Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures, which are the pieces the Smart Bricks interact with, are also available only as part of bundled sets. It’s unclear if Lego will sell the Smart Bricks and other Smart accessories separately in the future, but for now, buyers won’t be able to purchase only the components they need to turn their existing sets into interactive ones.

Lego unveiled three All-in-One “Star Wars” sets at CES, each of which includes a Smart Brick with a battery charger and at least one Smart Minifigure and Smart Tag. In late January, Lego introduced five new Smart Play sets from the same universe at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, confirming that they’ll be available to buyers on March 1. These five sets feature only Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags. But now that some Lego fans have had time to test the Smart Bricks experiences in these “Star Wars” sets, we’re finding out that the Smart Bricks functionality is more limited than expected.

Smart Bricks can detect colors (red, green, and blue) and uses Near Field Communication (NFC) to communicate with Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures nearby. The gyro and accelerometer also work. However, the first batch of Smart Bricks has several sensors disabled, which can impact the interactive play experience Lego demoed a few months ago.

Lego told The Verge that all the expected sensors are onboard, even in the initial release of Smart Bricks, but that some are not enabled. Lego does have a Smart Assist app to manage the Smart Brick, including downloading updates, so it’s possible there will be some unlocks in the future. Meanwhile, Lego Smart Brick sound designer Elysha Zaide confirmed recently that future products will have more of their sensors enabled from the start.

In how-to videos explaining the technology, Lego advises users to charge the built-in Smart Brick batteries as soon as they take the unit out of the box and when not in use. The Smart Brick uses a wireless charger made by Lego that can accommodate two Smart Bricks at the same time. You need about 2.5 hours to charge one Smart Brick, which will then last for about 45 minutes of continuous play. The brick goes into sleep mode after three minutes of inactivity, which should prolong its battery life. If the Smart Brick sleeps for more than 13 hours, you’ll need to place it on the Smart Charger to nudge it back to life.

YouTuber JerryRigEverything, famous for his phone durability videos, has dismantled a Smart Brick to see what’s inside. While showing the internal components, JerryRigEverything made it clear that the battery can’t be replaced by users. He also explained that the Smart Brick battery energizes the Smart Minifigs and Smart Tags wirelessly. This allows the Smart Brick’s computer to figure out which sounds to play.

There may come a time when battery health will degrade, but Lego has yet to provide information about how to handle that situation. Since the Smart Bricks are available only as sets, and the batteries are not replaceable, power drain could become another limitation as Lego turns on more of the sensors in newer batches of Smart Bricks.