One of the significant advances made by LEGO in terms of technology for their products was the introduction of mechanical parts that can be driven by electrical power to operate particular sets. What these electronic systems were called depended on the line they’re part of, but for the most part they fell under Power Functions. Most recently LEGO has been promoting a new series of Power Functions 2.0 components for some of their latest sets like several trains on LEGO City and the App-Controlled Batmobile (76112). But all of a sudden The LEGO Group has announced a new product rebranding which it refers to as LEGO Powered UP
In this feature renaming, LEGO Power Functions 2.0 will be grouped together with other electronic component systems like LEGO Boost and WeDo 2.0 of the LEGO Education line under a unified banner. These features will now be collectively branded as LEGO Powered UP across all products using them.
To coincide with this rebranding all unique features from the previous electric parts systems will become common, such as replacing infrared sensors with wireless BLE connections and compatibility with downloadable LEGO mobile apps. The degree of connectivity and functionality being offered by LEGO Powered UP is greater than anything before.
It all comes across as overwhelming, but LEGO is giving their more tech-oriented fans time to digest this rebranding. All sets with the mentioned features releasing this year will still bear Power Functions 2.0 and such on their respective packaging. Expect LEGO Powered UP to replace those labels by 2019 though.
For more details, check out this transcript of a recent LEGO Q&A. We’ve included an excerpt here describing one of the new advantages of Powered UP.
…All elements can now be electrically identified, so when attaching e.g. a train motor, the Hub and the App can now recognise it is a train motor. This allows us to help younger users put things in the right place. Another benefit is that we can optimise functionality based on particular elements, for example when using a train motor or the add-on light, the handset increments/decrements power (good for train / setting light) but when using the medium motor, the handset sets 100% power when a button is pressed down (good for RC vehicles)…
So what do you think about these recent developments about the LEGO Powered Up line? Do you think this is a welcomed move as far the LEGO community is concerned? Let us know in the comments below.
I don’t recall TLG ever using the Power Functions 2.0 branding. I could be wrong, but I thought that’s just what AFOLs started calling it when Boost was released.