Unitree G1
Manufacturer: Unitree
Cost: $16,000 USD
Website: https://www.unitree.com/g1
Neo
Manufacturer: 1X
Cost: $20,000 USD
Website: https://www.1x.tech/neo
Returning to our Know Your Robot series, we have a new entrant on the market making a splash during the last week of October, 2025. Meet the Neo, a semi-autonomous humanoid peripheral from 1X Technologies out of California. Billed as a robotic assistant for home use, that can help with simple tasks, carrying up to 55 pounds, vacuuming, watering plants, and folding laundry, and able to interact with some conversation ability due to LLMs.
It’s impressive, in ways more than the $16,000 Unitree G1 that was shown off in 2024. It has a longer battery life, greater carrying capacity, and a different musculature system, along with the “softer” skin that is billed as preventing damage around the house, compared to the harder plastic of the G1.
But let’s not call it a robot. Much like the Tesla Optimus 3 shown off as this time last year, it has more in common with a drone, where it is often “piloted” by a remote worker, and then has a number of AI-driven routines for certain tasks (much like how aerial drones can be programmed with certain moves). Hence, “semi-autonomous humanoid peripheral”. When we discussed the Optimus 3, we noted how it would be impressive enough if they just let us know that it was a peripheral, as there are many use cases where a humanoid form would function well in a setting where it could be risky for humans to enter.
There are still of course huge concerns about the tech: who is piloting it, the privacy concerns of allowing a mobile camera into one’s house, let alone the listening devices (though in an era of Alexa and Siri a lot of tech adopters seem less concerned). And lastly, the general idea of having a robot servant, which we talked about in several episodes, including E25 Echanger and E39 The California Ideology.
An empathetic view of the technology recognizes that having a robotic assistant like this might be valuable for seniors as they age in place, or persons with reduced mobility, to have a tool that can help with some of the travails of daily living. But there’s some significant risks attached with this. We’ll have to see how well it functions, and how it is adopted. There’s more to come, for sure.