LEGO is touting the Smart Play system as the biggest evolution of its system since the invention of the minifigure in 1978. It’s a claim worth testing. A rechargeable 2×4 smart brick, packed with sensors, which reacts to movements, recognizes magnetic labels and triggers sounds and lights without a smartphone, on paper, it’s ambitious. In the box, it’s another story, and this story is told differently depending on the age of the person playing.
We were able to test the sets because buying the AT-ST alone means buying a classic LEGO set with two Smart Tags which are useless due to the lack of a brick to read them.
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An important clarification before going any further since these sets have nothing to do with the adult collectible sets that LEGO produces in parallel. No advanced building techniques, no rare parts, no model intended for a shelf. We are talking about toys designed for children, with simple instructions, short sub-assemblies and immediate handling. Comparing it to a UCS Millennium Falcon or an Architecture set would make no sense. The right question is not “is this a good LEGO?” but rather “is this a good interactive toy for a child?”.
Acheter un set LEGO Smart Play
What is Smart Brick?
The Smart Brick looks like a standard 2×4 LEGO brick, transparent, with four light-up pins. It fits into any model like a regular part. Inside is an ASIC chip measuring 4.1 mm, smaller than a standard LEGO stud, accompanied by a substantial set of sensors: accelerometer, color and light sensor, sound sensor (microphone), RGB LED array, miniature speaker driven by an on-board synthesizer, magnetic field sensors for proximity and orientation detection, and a Bluetooth 5.4 chip for communication between bricks via the BrickNet protocol. An induction rechargeable battery completes the package.
Here, no connection to the cloud to play because the system works entirely locally, with no mandatory application. The brick has no user memory and does not connect to any external networks, meaning it does not collect any data about the child playing. Today, connected toys regularly raise questions about privacy, so it’s a design choice worth highlighting.
All of these sensors are present in the brick, but not all of them are yet activated in this first generation. LEGO has confirmed that future software updates may unlock some of them (updating via Bluetooth). It is both a promise of evolution and an admission because today we are buying a brick whose full potential is not yet accessible.
Smart Tags are 2×2 tiles printed with a symbol, readable by the brick’s color sensor. When the brick approaches a tag, because you place the X-Wing on its refueling station or place a minifigure in front of the cockpit, it triggers a sound specific to this interaction. The Smart Minifigurines communicate with the brick via a digital identifier read by a nearby magnetic field, which allows the brick to recognize which character is present and trigger the corresponding sounds. This is the system in all its simplicity with magnetic recognition, motion detection, and a speaker that links the two.
The X-Wing is the most complete demonstration
Set 75423 is the most representative of what the platform can do. The construction is organized into distinct modules: the X-Wing itself, a service transporter, an Imperial turret, a command center. Each module can be used with the Smart Brick as soon as it is finished, without waiting for the entire box to finish. This is a good design decision because the interactivity rewards the builder throughout the build rather than at the very end.
A point to note for LEGO Star Wars fans used to classic sets is that the models in the Smart Play range feature empty spaces and unusual mechanisms intended to accommodate the Smart Brick. The X-Wing is not the most beautiful X-Wing LEGO has ever produced. It is an assumed compromise between aesthetics and functionality since the cockpit must be able to receive the brick, the structures must allow access to the tags. For a child who is playing, it does not bother. For an adult comparing with Star Wars UCS sets or even classic playsets, the difference is visible.
In game, the result is convincing in terms of movement effects. The X-Wing held in hand and piloted in the air emits an engine roar that adapts to the intensity of the movement: stable horizontal flight, regular sound; abrupt dive, immediate sound change. Upon landing, the engines gradually shut down, with a rolling effect. It’s not magic, it’s a well-calibrated accelerometer. It’s effective, and it really transforms the gaming experience for a child. Laser shots, triggered by approaching the brick of the Imperial turret, work in the same way, the sound comes when you think about it, not with a two second delay.
On interactions with tags and minifigures, the behavior is more nuanced. Each tag triggers its own sounds, but the brick selects several randomly from an associated repertoire, which avoids identical repetition and maintains a minimum of surprise. The Smart Minifigurines also emit sounds, but not real vocal replies, they are vocalizations, grunts, generic exclamations which evoke the character without ever uttering an identifiable word. Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia “react”, but do not speak. For a child, the effect is sufficient. For a Star Wars fan who was expecting cult replicas, this is an obvious disappointment!
The main downside is the sound quality. The sounds are recognizable: engine roar, proton torpedoes, R2-D2 beeping. But the brick’s speaker produces a clearly limited audio output, comparable to that of an entry-level electronic toy from the 2000s. It’s not prohibitive, but at 89.99 euros, we have the right to expect a little more. The technical choice of generating sounds in real time rather than storing them in memory guarantees infinite theoretical scalability because new tags can be added without updating the brick. But this is at the expense of audio fidelity. A compromise that makes sense in the long term, less obvious to the ear today.
Finally, the autonomy keeps its promises since in a normal gaming session, there are no unpleasant surprises. The induction charging station is provided, and the brick does not require special attention on this point. Note that the brick goes to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity, and you must give it time to wake up before playing again. A slow movement is enough, no need to shake it vigorously. Furthermore, it is important to point out that the internal battery is non-replaceable, which poses a real question of lifespan because when the cells are dead, the brick will be too, and you will have to Buy a complete set.
The AT-ST: a good LEGO set but an incomplete Smart experience
The 75424 is a classic quality set. The AT-ST is well proportioned, the head rotates, the double stud shooter works, and the speeder bike commandeered by the Ewoks is a tasty detail for Return of the Jedi fans. Wicket the Ewok in Smart Minifigure, the AT-ST pilot and the Scout Trooper form a coherent trio of characters. For 49.99 euros, the LEGO set itself is honest.
But the promise of the Smart Play range is conditional on the AT-ST. Without Smart Brick, the two Smart Tags included, the AT-ST and the speeder bike, are absolutely useless. The engine sounds, mechanical running noises and laser shots that the box promises do not exist if you have not spent 89.99 euros on set 75423 or one of its equivalents. This is not clearly explained on the packaging: the words “Smart Brick not included” appear in English in small print, but the visual experience of the box suggests that we are buying an interactive product. It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not entirely honest either.
Once the X-Wing Smart Brick is inserted into the AT-ST, the interactions work correctly: walker engine noises, speeder bike sounds, laser shots activated by the tags. The experience is less rich than on the X-Wing, with only two tags instead of five, but it is coherent, without forgetting the Ewok minifigures and their little grunts. For families entering the ecosystem through 75423, the AT-ST is a legitimate addition at 49.99 euros. For those who take it on its own, it’s a slightly overpriced classic LEGO set.
A divide between adults and children
If you are an adult LEGO fan this is clearly not a product for you, and you will be more frustrated than anything else, however for children it is a different story and it becomes much more fun to add sound to the LEGO experience. And this is normal, because the Smart Play range is not intended for adult collectors, and judging it like this is like criticizing a Duplo for not having enough technical parts. These sets are designed to be quickly assembled, held in the hand and made to make noise. That’s exactly what they do.
An argument that parents of young children already equipped with LEGO should not neglect is that the Smart Brick is compatible with the entire existing LEGO system. If you retrieve a tag from a Smart Play set to place it on an old model, the brick will read it and trigger the corresponding sounds. It’s a concrete way of giving a second life to sets that were sleeping in a cupboard, and it changes the calculation a little since at 89.99 euros for the X-Wing, you’re not just buying a set, you’re buying a brick that can potentially interact with the entire family collection.
In this specific context, the concept works. The assembly of both sets was carried out by a 10 year old child without assistance, and this is undoubtedly the best indicator of the accessibility of the system. The richness of the tags is a pleasant surprise; the X-Wing alone offers enough interactions to maintain interest well beyond the first session. The sound is correct, the autonomy keeps its promises. The only concrete regret is having only one brick for two sets. Transferring it from one to the other works, but it breaks the rhythm of the game. To take full advantage of both sets simultaneously, you will have to buy a second All-in-One set, which quickly increases the bill! Unless LEGO decides to market its smart brick alone?
Availability
The LEGO Star Wars Smart Play 75423 Luke’s X-Wing Red Five is available for €89.99 (Smart Brick included). The LEGO Star Wars Smart Play 75424 AT-ST Attack on Endor is priced at €49.99 (Smart Brick not included).
Acheter un set LEGO Smart Play
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