1X has officially opened pre-orders for NEO, a humanoid robot that promises to do your chores, chat politely, and maybe make you feel slightly judged about your life choices. The company calls it the world’s first “consumer-ready humanoid,” though that phrase might depend on how ready you are to share your living room with a 66-pound android that folds your laundry better than you do.
NEO’s headline skill is tackling everyday tasks—cleaning, organizing, and generally making you look bad in front of your family. You can even tell it what to do by voice or app, meaning you’ll soon be arguing with your robot about the correct way to load a dishwasher. If NEO encounters a chore it doesn’t understand, you can summon a remote “1X Expert” to walk it through the process—so, congratulations, you’re now both boss and manager of a robot intern.
Conversation is another big part of NEO’s appeal. It’s powered by a built-in language model, so it can hold chats, set reminders, and remember details about your life—like that time you skipped leg day. Its “Audio Intelligence” means it only listens when you talk to it, which is more than can be said for some people. And with “Visual Intelligence,” it can look at your kitchen counter, identify ingredients, and suggest meals, potentially judging your diet in real time.
Physically, NEO is a lightweight 66-pound machine with surprisingly strong arms—it can lift up to 154 pounds—so yes, it can help with groceries, but maybe don’t test it during a horror movie marathon. It’s built from soft polymer materials, uses high-torque “tendon drives,” and is quieter than a fridge, which is impressive until you realize your fridge doesn’t follow you around asking if you’d like help folding socks.
The robot ships in 2026 for those willing to pay $20,000 upfront or $499 a month—roughly the cost of a cleaner, therapist, and smart speaker combined. It’ll debut in the U.S. before expanding globally in 2027, presumably to every home where someone said, “You know what’s missing here? A polite robot roommate with better time management skills.”
