Meet NEO: The $20,000 humanoid assistant aiming to fully automate your home chores

In a quietly impressive reveal this week, 1X Technologies introduced NEO — a humanoid robot designed not for factories or research labs, but for ordinary homes. With a $20,000 price tag (or a $499/month subscription) and a target delivery date in 2026, NEO is being pitched as the world’s first mass-market home robot assistant.

NEO weighs around 30 kg and is capable of lifting up to 68 kg and carrying up to 25 kg. Its aesthetics lean intentionally domestic — neutral tones (Tan, Grey, Dark Brown), a soft polymer body wrap, quiet operation (22 dB, quieter than many refrigerators) — all signals that 1X is trying to blend robotics into living-rooms rather than lab environments.

Key to NEO’s pitch is that it’s more than a mechanical arm: it is driven by a built-in large language model, visual and audio intelligence, chore scheduling and memory. It can ostensibly recognise ingredients on a kitchen counter and suggest dishes; it can be addressed via voice or app; and over time it learns to personalise its assistance.

Behind the marketing shine lies the truth that NEO is an early-generation product. According to the Fast Company preview, 1X concedes that NEO won’t immediately handle all household tasks autonomously. Some “expert remote supervision” remains in the loop for more complex chores.

That distinction matters. While the specification may impress — 22-degree-of-freedom hands, tendon-drive motors, IP68 hands, 5G connectivity, onboard LLM — using such a robot in a messy household environment is a very different challenge. Spills, errant pets, shifting furniture, unpredictable human behaviour: homes are chaotic. 1X acknowledges this by framing the early units as a “learning phase” for both the robot and its owners.

The home-robot category has long been the stuff of futurism. Vacuum bots, lawn bots — yes. But a full humanoid in the living room? Rare. NEO arrives at a moment when robotics costs are falling, AI models are improving, and consumers are increasingly open to devices that do more than passive tasks.

1X is part of the wave. Previously Halodi Robotics, it re-branded and shifted focus to the home, raising hundreds of millions in funding (including from the OpenAI Startup Fund) to push humanoids closer to daily life.

If NEO succeeds, it could redefine how we think of 'home automation'. From toggling lights to 'folding laundry and carrying groceries', the leap is significant. It’s not just about convenience — it’s about freeing up human time for higher-value pursuits.

Yet many hurdles loom large:

NEO represents a turning point: the shift from robotics in industrial/warehouse settings to robotics in the home. It signals a belief that a mass market exists for humanoids, and that homes will be the next frontier of automation.

Whether NEO becomes a generational gadget or a foundational home appliance will depend on how well 1X navigates the release — how reliably the robot functions, how quickly software updates expand autonomy, how the cost-benefit equation plays out for consumers. If it does succeed, we may look back and say this was the moment when the robot butler crossed from sci-fi into everyday life.

For now, NEO is an ambitious and bold promise — intriguing, exciting, and fraught with challenges. Its real test begins in living rooms, not lab rooms.