• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechApps

Star Wars BB-8 Toy Can Now ‘Watch’ Movie With You

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 5, 2016, 6:31 AM ET
Latest Consumer Technology Products On Display At CES 2016
LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 04: An attendee shoots images of Sphero's BB-8 technical prototype during a press event for CES 2016 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on January 4, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sphero partnered with Lucasfilm to build the USD 150, app-enabled toy from the droid character in the film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." It can be controlled using Bluetooth by a smartphone or a Force Band that resembles a digital watch and features gesture-based technology enabling users to control it with Jedi-like movements. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 6-9 and is expected to feature 3,600 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 150,000 attendees. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Those of you who bought the hit Star Wars BB-8 droid toy, based on the remote-controlled Sphero orb, will get a new experience if you watch The Force Awakens together.

The smartphone app that controls the toy received an update on Tuesday that introduces a feature called Watch With Me.

The update was timed to coincide with the home video release of The Force Awakens, the Star Wars film that introduced BB-8 as the lovable companion droid for heroine Rey.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

When the film is playing in its vicinity, BB-8 will now listen for cues in the audio that trigger responses — according to the Wall Street Journal, the appearance of Han Solo and Chewbacca elicits wild excitement, villain Kylo Ren makes BB-8 cower, and the droid proudly burbles in reaction to its own performance.

In January, Sphero also unveiled a wristband that makes it possible to control the rolling toy with gestures.

There’s a lot of interesting tech in the BB-8 toy that could manifest in more serious applications in the future. However, the update shows how features can gradually appear in the product itself.

For more on Star Wars, watch :

Whether it be a hit toy or a hit album, new digital models make it possible to take what would once have been sold as a finished product and make it an ongoing work-in-progress.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Right before Trump named Warsh to lead the Fed, Powell seemed to respond to some of his biggest complaints about the central bank
By Jason MaJanuary 30, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The American taxpayer spent nearly half a billion dollars deploying federal troops to U.S. cities in 2025, CBO finds
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 28, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
7 hours ago
placeholder alt text
North America
'I meant what I said in Davos': Carney says he really is planning a Canada split with the U.S. along with 12 new trade deals
By Rob Gillies and The Associated PressJanuary 28, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Top engineers at Anthropic, OpenAI say AI now writes 100% of their code—with big implications for the future of software development jobs
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 29, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
Microsoft’s $440 billion wipeout, and investors angry about OpenAI’s debt, explained
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 29, 2026
2 days ago

Latest in Tech

Netflix
Big TechMarkets
Netflix may be turning into an ‘entertainment giant,’ but its stock looks like ‘dead money’ to investors
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 31, 2026
2 hours ago
In this handout, the mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein, 2019.
PoliticsJeffrey Epstein
Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein emailed each other for years trying to meet up, new Justice Department records show
By Eva Roytburg and Sasha RogelbergJanuary 30, 2026
15 hours ago
Big TechThe Boring Company
After a decade of silence, Elon Musk’s tunneling startup and its reclusive president, are hitting the media circuit
By Jessica MathewsJanuary 30, 2026
17 hours ago
MagazineEducation
The 1966 cover of Fortune Magazine welcomed the Information age. Now the AI era beckons
By Indrani SenJanuary 30, 2026
18 hours ago
Gamestop
Big TechGameStop
Five years after the short squeeze, GameStop’s CEO is betting on a ‘genius or totally foolish’ $100 billion-plus acquisition
By Jake AngeloJanuary 30, 2026
20 hours ago
C-SuitePharmaceutical Industry
‘We’ll save the world from cancer’: Inside Pfizer CEO’s $23 billion post‑COVID bet on oncology
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 30, 2026
21 hours ago