# 1X opens NEO preorders at $20,000 or $499 a month, with remote operators for hard chores

NEO is the first chore humanoid with a public consumer price. The catch: for many tasks, a person at 1X steers it through its cameras.

Published 2025-10-28T10:00:00-04:00. HTML version: https://robotsforthat.com/news/1x-neo-preorders-20000-home-humanoid/

## What it means for you

A $200 refundable deposit holds a place, but NEO is not a finished appliance yet. Out of the box it does only a few things on its own, and harder chores rely on a 1X staff member seeing your home through the robot's cameras. Before you order, decide whether you are comfortable with that, and keep the deposit refundable until you see real owner reports.

1X Technologies opened consumer preorders for NEO on October 28, 2025. The company's release lists two ways to pay: $20,000 up front for Early Access with priority delivery, or a $499 monthly subscription. Reviews of the launch report a $200 refundable deposit to reserve one.

1X says first orders will ship to homes in 2026, mainly in the US, with other countries added from 2027. NEO comes in tan, gray and dark brown. The company lists a weight of 66 pounds, says it can lift 154 pounds and carry 55 pounds, and rates it at 22 decibels, which it compares to a quiet modern fridge.

The part that drew the most attention is Expert Mode. In 1X's words, owners can schedule a 1X Expert to guide NEO through tasks it does not yet know. In practice that is teleoperation: a remote worker wearing a VR headset controls the robot, according to Road to VR, and owners can line up a list of harder jobs for those sessions. 1X says the sessions also train the robot's AI.

How much NEO does on its own today is the open question. Tom's Guide reported that in The Wall Street Journal's hands-on, all of the work shown was done in Expert Mode, and that 1X named only two autonomous tasks: answering the door and taking away a cup. Everything else, from laundry to tidying, should be treated as a goal, not a feature.

That raises a privacy issue. When an operator takes over, a stranger can see inside your home through NEO's cameras. 1X's answers, as reported by Tom's Guide and Road to VR, are that remote control needs owner consent, a light ring near the robot's ears shows when a person is in control, people in the video can be blurred, and owners can mark rooms NEO must stay out of. These are company promises. No outside audit of how the video is stored or used had been published at launch.

CEO Bernt Børnich has framed privacy as a trade: the more data owners share, the better NEO gets at chores. Buyers who want a robot that never sends video out of the house should treat NEO as a poor fit for now.

Even with those limits, the launch is a real first. No other company had put a household humanoid on sale to regular consumers with a public price and a delivery year. Whether NEO arrives on time, and how much it can do without a human pilot, are the things to watch through 2026.

## Sources

1. [1X Launches NEO, The Robot Redefining Life at Home (Business Wire)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251027434628/en/1X-Launches-NEO-The-Robot-Redefining-Life-at-Home)
2. [The 1X Neo home robot is breaking the internet, but there's one huge problem (Tom's Guide)](https://www.tomsguide.com/home/smart-home/the-neo-home-robot-thats-breaking-the-internet-promises-to-change-the-world-but-theres-one-huge-problem)
3. [In-home helper robot NEO uses remote VR operators to help with chores (Road to VR)](https://roadtovr.com/helper-robot-neo-vr-telepresence/)