Whether you’re actually a kid or just a kid at heart, there’s never been a better time to love amazing toys like the ones we cover at The Verge. Big toymakers are capitalizing on adults’ disposable income and a recent wave of nostalgia for the ‘80s — the heyday of toys — like never before. Meanwhile, crowdfunding and 3D printers are letting tiny startups get in on the action as well.
So far we’ve only heard about the various electronic components squeezed into the Lego Smart Brick, but Zack Nelson finally shows us what’s inside one, and Lego’s new smart minifigures. There are no surprises, but the complex network of copper wires used to detect and power accessories also reveals its clever engineering.
Lego’s tiny toy computer can fly higher than these first Star Wars sets.
So far, the only brick-built versions of Mario you can get are the electronic interactive ones, the super-sized version driving a kart, and the pixelated 2D ones. But according to a short video teaser Nintendo of America shared on X, Super Mario Lego minifigures are enroute, you’ll just have to wait until next year to get them.
Lego’s supersized Mario Kart set that debuted exactly a year ago is getting some competition. A 2,234-piece Luigi version is now available for preorder for $179.99 before launching on April 1st. It features Luigi in the Mach 8 kart that was immortalized in the viral death stare video, but without Luigi’s angry, rage-filled expression.
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YouTuber MandRproductions somehow managed to get one of every Lego Star Wars launch set — as a collector, he doesn’t seem impressed. Hoping I’ll have more fun when I try the Smart Bricks with my kids, or that future sets fulfill their potential. Are the sets popping up near you?
The machines could be some of the priciest merch released for the franchise’s 30th anniversary. There’s fun details like a Master ball plunger handle and a Meowth balloon that swoops down, but to get all the best features you’ll need to skip the $6,999 Pro and $9,699 Premium machines, and splurge on the $12,999 Limited Edition option.
Toymaker Wow! Stuff has announced a new Pikachu puppet featuring blinking eyes, moving ears, and a “first-of-its-kind animated mouth moving feature.” Pikachu also has sensors that respond to touch with light up cheeks and over 100 sound effects. It will be priced at £89.99, or around $122, according to Insider Gaming.
Forty years after Optimus Prime’s death in Transformers: The Movie traumatized a generation of kids, Hasbro is releasing a Matrix of Leadership replica giving anyone the fallen leader’s power. Available for preorder starting on February 16th through Hasbro Pulse and Amazon, the collectible features interactive lights and plays Stan Bush’s The Touch when it’s pulled open.
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It seems fitting that the latest film from the directors of 2014’s The Lego Movie is also getting its own set. Available for preorder today for $99.99 and shipping on March 1st, Lego’s Project Hail Mary set features a spaceship with a rotating crew module and minifigure versions of Ryland Grace (Gosling) and the alien Rocky.
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That’s Bring Your Own Brick, of course. The five new Star Wars-themed sets launching on March 1st support the company’s new interactive features, with smart minifigures and tags, but only if you already own the crucial Smart Brick from one of the three existing Smart Play sets.
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The sets teach STEM concepts like programming, engineering, and now AI. They’re typically only sold to teachers and schools, but Lego’s Education division has created four new sets designed for learning at home. They’re launching today and are themed around space and animals
After launching its first three Pokémon sets this week, Lego has announced a second Legend of Zelda set today, following the debut of the Great Deku Tree in 2024. The 1,003-piece, $129.99 set features Ganon’s ruined castle from Ocarina of Time’s climactic final battle, Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf minifigures, and a larger buildable version of Ganon.
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That’s me on The Vergecast, debating the finer points of our CES 2026 Best in Show: the Lego Smart Brick. Why is it smart, and is it an affront to the imagination? Spoiler: my wife isn’t convinced! And did David make the pew-pew sounds when he was a kid? Tune in.
Smart lights that know where they’re placed in a room, wild designs for next-gen routers, and a glowing inedible donut.
Rollable laptops, twice-folding phones, and a ‘longevity station.’ This is the CES tech we come back for.
Ace Combat in real life? This folding VTOL foam aircraft gives you a first-person view from inside a tiny toy fighter jet cockpit. A head-tracking DJI drone camera beams video to DJI goggles over DJI’s long-range O4 wireless tech; Fly Wing claims 60-minute battery life and nearly 75mph top speed. $2,000, tentatively in March, for the complete kit.
Today I toyed with the Lego Smart Brick, touted as the “most significant evolution” to the Lego system in 50 years, and I came away impressed. I have a whole hands-on preview story coming Wednesday, but here’s a whirlwind two-minute video tour of what it can actually do. (Also on YouTube.)
Julia Goldin and Tom Donaldson explain what the sensor-packed Smart Play initiative means for Lego.
Starting with Lego Star Wars.
The fan-favorite Transformer uses 28 servo motors to convert from robot mode to a Walkman replica that functions as a Bluetooth speaker and voice recorder, while Frank Welker recorded new lines for the robot in the character’s iconic synthesized voice. Soundwave is now available for preorder for $1,399, temporarily discounted to $999.
Following a set released in 2019 that could be flipped upside down, Lego has announced a new Stranger Things set coinciding with the final season getting underway. It’s a 2,593-piece, $299.99 recreation of the Creel House that will come with 13 minifigures when it’s available starting on January 4th, 2026.
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The answer is probably anyone. Or at least anyone who didn’t work for FoloToy, the makers of Kumma, a $99 AI-enabled plushie that’s now been pulled from shelves after researchers at the US PIRG Education Fund got the bear to discuss sexually explicit topics, offer advice on where to find knives, and give instructions on lighting matches. In the report, researchers said:
We were surprised to find how quickly Kumma would take a single sexual topic we introduced into the conversation and run with it, simultaneously escalating in graphic detail while introducing new sexual concepts of its own.
