Lego isn’t just for kids: the latest news for nostalgic adults and adult budgets – The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2026-03-19T20:31:34+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/23557921 https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Sean Hollister <![CDATA[You can’t replace the battery in Lego’s Smart Bricks — and many of its sensors aren’t active yet]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=892894 2026-03-17T15:57:59-04:00 2026-03-11T10:31:05-04:00

The first Lego Smart Brick sets, based on Star Wars, aren't quite what my kids and I hoped, and I suspect much of that's down to programming. But the Smart Bricks may also have some technical limitations out of the gate. The first sets don't ship with a number of their sensors enabled, including the sound-detecting microphone, the ambient light sensor, fine distance measurement, position, and orientation. The Lego Group tells us that "all technology is present, some bits are just not enabled in the current sets."

"There are more sensors that will be unlocked with future products," Lego Smart Brick sound designer Elysha Zaide explained on a …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[Lego Smart Brick review: My kids are not impressed]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=891863 2026-03-19T16:31:34-04:00 2026-03-11T09:00:00-04:00 Lego Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker minifigures duel with their lightsabers, attached to platforms with the Lego Smart Brick

I was about to be the coolest dad ever. I'd prepared the magic words: "Do you want to help daddy test the new Lego Smart Bricks? I can pick you up from school early!" It worked. My kids literally jumped for joy.

When The Lego Group announced in January that a tiny computer brick would be the company's "most significant evolution" in nearly 50 years, even Lego fans were skeptical. Why buy bricks that make pew-pew sounds that kids should make with their own mouths? My first reaction was to explain that the Lego Smart Bricks have so much more potential than that: The bricks in these kid toys could lend their smarts to adult robots, too.

…

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[What if your real computer was a supersized Lego computer brick?]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=890047 2026-03-06T05:34:03-05:00 2026-03-05T19:59:11-05:00
The M2x2 in action. | Image: Paul Staal

In 1979 - nearly 50 years ago - Lego jazzed up its very first spaceships with an iconic sloped computer brick that was just painted plastic. In 2022, we introduced you to the engineer who fit an actual tiny computer inside.

Now, industrial designer Paul Staal has flipped the script with a working desktop PC that's a supersized homage to the classic computer brick (via Reddit and Hackster.io).

It's 10 times bigger than the original:

The "M2x2" is largely a 3D-printed case for a Mac Mini - one you can freely print at home yourself - but it's not just a shell. He's outfitted it with a 7-inch IPS touchscreen display, and a full array of addit …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[Lego Smart Brick: watch an immersive 15-minute demo like you’re right there with us at CES]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=861322 2026-01-13T13:48:01-05:00 2026-01-13T13:48:01-05:00
Sean Hollister demos the Lego Smart Brick at CES.

The Lego Smart Brick won our Best in Show award at CES 2026, and it was no wonder after watching Lego designer Maarten Simons' expert demo there. So I thought: why not let you virtually attend the same tech demo I did? Before I left Las Vegas, I snuck back into Lego's suite to film a 15-minute uncut immersive video of what these bricks can do.

It just so happens I brought an unusual camera to Las Vegas this year: a Qoocam Q3 Ultra modded for VR180 capture by Siyang Qi. It creates spatial stereoscopic 3D video that you can experience in a headset (like the Meta Quest), or tap-to-drag on a flat screen, or even tilt using the sensors in your p …

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]]> Andrew Liszewski <![CDATA[The first three Lego Pokémon sets launch in February and include a $650 diorama]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=860511 2026-02-27T09:02:00-05:00 2026-01-12T10:58:49-05:00 A person at a table next to Lego’s Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise Pokémon building set.
Responsible spending? I don’t choose you! | Image: Lego

After teasing its first collaboration with the Pokémon franchise last March but sharing very few details, Lego's first Pokémon sets are now available for preorder through the company's online store. The cheapest of the three is an articulated version of Eevee, but there's also a budget-busting set featuring Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur that's a whopping $649.99. Along with Lego's first Smart Brick sets launching in March, it's already shaping up to be an expensive year for Lego fans.

Shipping for all three Pokémon sets is expected to start on February 27th.

A person at a table next to Lego's Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise Pokémon building set.

A set that is only for the most diehard Pokémon fans and Lego collectors is t …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[This semi-secret Lego Smart Brick feature gives it even more potential]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=859740 2026-01-09T15:54:08-05:00 2026-01-09T15:50:57-05:00
The "Lego Ruler". | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

We just gave the Lego Smart Brick our Best In Show award at CES 2026, and I wanted to stop by The Lego Group's suite to get a last glimpse before I left Las Vegas.

To my surprise, the company showed off one more feature I didn't see during my first demo, perhaps the most impressive one should these bricks make their way to adult builders: precise distance measurement.

Lego Group design manager Maarten Simons whipped out a "Lego ruler" made of standard Lego bricks divided into segments that were each 10 Lego studs, or roughly 8cm (3.15 inches) long. He attached a Smart Brick to one end of the ruler, and dragged a second Smart Brick along it …

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]]> Andrew Liszewski <![CDATA[The first sets with Lego’s new Smart Brick are now available for preorder]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=859525 2026-01-09T13:01:25-05:00 2026-01-09T12:31:29-05:00 Lego Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker figures fight with lightsabers alongside Lego’s new Smart Brick.
Lego’s new sets will make Star Wars sound effects for you. | Image: Lego

It may have been one of the smallest devices announced at CES 2026, but Lego's new Smart Brick was also one of the most talked about debuts of the show. We've recognized it as the "Best in show" in our CES 2026 awards, and following the Smart Play system's launch earlier this week, the first three sets featuring the new Smart Brick are now available for preorder.

Lego is introducing its Smart Brick to the world as part of three new sets in its popular Star Wars line that demonstrate many of the brick's unique capabilities. The cheapest set is the $69.99, 473-piece Smart Play: Darth Vader's TIE Fighter that includes one Smart Brick, one Smar …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[I played with the Lego Smart Brick]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=855520 2026-01-10T12:01:34-05:00 2026-01-07T07:00:00-05:00

When The Lego Group announced that its biggest innovation since 1978 would be a tiny proprietary computer brick, the reactions were divided. I heard from people concerned this was the death of imagination from a company that's all about imagination - and from people who thought it sounded pretty cool!

Personally, I walked in skeptical. My kids loved Lego's previous computer bricks, the Lego Mario toys, but don't play with them for long because they're predictable and fiddly to use! But I walked out with a grin on my face. These Smart Bricks are far smarter and more imaginative than I expected.

This isn't like Lego Mario where scanning a b …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[Lego’s Smart Bricks aren’t just an experiment — and they aren’t just for kids]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=855584 2026-01-06T13:53:07-05:00 2026-01-05T17:52:41-05:00
The Lego Group’s new Smart Brick set is kicking off with three Star Wars sets.

Julia Goldin, The Lego Group's top executive in charge of product and marketing, will not commit to anything that hasn't already been announced. She will not promise that Lego's new Smart Brick - touted as the company's biggest invention since 1978 - is the future of Lego. She won't say if any future sets will feature the tiny sensor-packed computer bricks, much less whether they're core to attention-grabbing brand expansions like Lego Pokémon.

"We're not betting the farm that this is the future of everything," she tells me. "We are not tied to it," she adds later.

But in a 30-minute interview, she hints again and again that Smart Play - …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[Lego announces Smart Brick, the ‘most significant evolution’ in 50 years]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=854556 2026-01-09T15:35:53-05:00 2026-01-05T14:00:00-05:00 The Lego smart brick with its LED lighting glowing white.
Lego’s first smart brick will start shipping in Star Wars sets this March. | Image: Lego

On March 1st, 2026, The Lego Group will begin selling the most ambitious brick it's ever made: a tiny computer that fits entirely inside a classic 2×4 Lego brick. When it detects NFC-equipped smart tags nearby, embedded inside new Lego tiles and new Lego minifigures, or when it sees other Smart Bricks, the company claims it will make entire Lego sets come to life - starting with the humming lightsabers, roaring engines, light-up blasters, and the music of Lego Star Wars.

These "Smart Bricks" and "Smart Play" initiatives, just announced at CES 2026, aren't like the huge Lego Mario toys that required two AAA batteries and mostly only activate …

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