TL;DR
INDUSTRY WATCH #1
Oct 28, 2025
Home humanoid robot “NEO” by 1X Technologies
Arguably the biggest news in the home humanoid market: 1X opened pre-orders for “NEO”, a humanoid robot designed for consumer homes, priced at US $20,000 (or US $499/month). The humanoids are scheduled to start shipping sometime in 2026.
The robot will carry out household chores (folding laundry, organizing spaces), learn over time via software, use human-in-the-loop “Expert Mode” to accelerate capability. This is one of the first attempts to move a humanoid from research labs into homes. If successful, it may change how we view daily robots.
The internet reacted strongly to the news. Many comments questioned the heavy reliance on remote tele-operators and raised concerns about privacy and autonomy. Others pointed out that the limited amount of features does not justify the high price.
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INDUSTRY WATCH #2
Oct, 2025
Affordable humanoid “Bumi” by Noetix Robotics
Beijing-based Noetix unveiled “Bumi”, a compact humanoid (~94 cm tall, 12 kg) priced at RMB 9,998 (~US $1,400). Pre-orders began in China and sold over 200 units in 3 hours) in China, South China Morning Post reported.
A “family-friendly” humanoid for education and home use rather than heavy industrial tasks. The company aims to produce 1,000 units/month by late 2025. The dramatically lower entry price for the humanoid robots, signals a shift toward mass-consumer market.
Image Credit: Noetix Robotics
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“Figure 02” deployment at BMW Group
A humanoid robot by Figure AI has reportedly worked five months on the BMW X3 body-shop line in Spartanburg, South Carolina, performing material-handling tasks 10 hours/day every day. “It is believed that Figure and BMW are the first in the world to do this with humanoid robots” Brett Adcocck, the founder of Figure AI posted on X.
While not a flashy new launch this week, the milestone underscores that humanoids are being used in real industrial settings beyond demos. The film of the deployment was shared by the company and shows the robot placing sheet-metal panels. Yet questions remain about the cost of deployment, true autonomy level and total scale of use.
Editor’s Take
We are witnessing a turning point. On one side we have NEO, a high-end home humanoid poised for early adopters; and on the other Bumi, a budget humanoid aimed at the mass market. Those two launches bookend an industry shift: humanoids moving from labs and factories to living rooms and classrooms. But the devil is in the details: both robots still rely heavily on human supervision or limited tasks.
The five-month industrial run at BMW shows progress, but also reminds us that true general-purpose humanoids are still nascent. In short: the dream of a robot helper is inching closer, but the helper is still a bit human-led.
