The LEGO sound brick is evolving: where can the light brick go next?

10358 Soundwave marks the latest release in the LEGO sound brick's evolution, begging the question of how the light brick can go next.

The next LEGO Transformers set is far from the first appearance of the next-generation sound brick, but it does showcase more than ever before just how much the piece has changed and evolved with this new generation. 10358 Soundwave holds more sound clips than most other sound bricks, playing everything from transition music to voice lines recorded exclusively for the set.

Other uses of the sound brick have seen it able to combine two sound clips randomly into one new phrase, including in 76429 Talking Sorting Hat. All of this showcases just how much the LEGO sound brick has changed since its last generation from 2006 to 2011, and there's another electronic element that needs a similar redesign and evolution.

The LEGO light brick has always been much more common than the light brick, used as everything from arcade machine lights to projectors. There are some definite limitations with the current generation of the LEGO light brick, though, which a redesign would be able to amend and expand on.

"It wasn't considered to use a light brick, because I think it would have needed one on each side to disperse the light enough," responded designer Mark Stafford in a recent roundtable interview with Brick Fanatics and other LEGO fan media when queried about using a light brick to illuminate the new Batmobile.

"Of the elements I needed to make the construction of the ribs along the side, I'm not sure if enough of those elements could be made transparent, which would have allowed the light actually to shine through anyway. So, at least at this scale, I don't think it's possible to do a properly lit one using LEGO light bricks. I'm sure some aftermarket guy will figure out how to do this, but I don't think it's something we could do with our current light bricks. We've only got yellow and red at the moment, which just isn't right for something that goes blue."

The limitation of the current light bricks only being in yellow and red doesn't have to be fixed solely by producing more colours of LEGO light bricks. Instead, it might be time for the next generation of light bricks to illuminate an evolution for the element.

From light that fades in and out, perfect for a lightsaber, to flashing lights for police cars similar to the brief 2020 light and sound brick that appeared in City sets, there are a lot of improvements to include in a next-generation LEGO light brick. The most ambitious and most important feature to consider for a new element would be the ability to change the colour of the light. These might result in a more expensive element, meaning it would likely appear less common than the current generation.

That might leave the current-generation light brick in a perfect position, though. It would be able to stay as common as it is across sets. More intricate models that require something special would then be able to make use of a new-generation light brick, instead of settling for the older variant.

This is only speculation on our part, but after seeing just how improved the sound brick has become after embracing a new generation, it means the other kind of electronic element is lacking in comparison. For now, the light brick remains unchanged and is available in several 2025 sets, but it will be worth keeping an eye on this space just in case.

In the meantime, 10358 Soundwave launches with the latest iteration of the sound brick on August 1 for LEGO Insiders or August 4 widely for £159.99 / $189.99 / €179.99.

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