- Type
- Desk robot
- Interaction
- Voice
- Subscription
- Required for voice
Digital Dream Labs Vector 2.0
Expressive desk robot with paid AI voice; maker is in receivership
Researched by Riley Hart · updated Oct 25, 2026
SCORED
We started tracking this price on Oct 26, 2026 and have not found a past sale price yet, so we cannot say if $190 is a good deal. Black Friday is Nov 27, 2026, 31 days away, when robots in this category usually get their biggest cuts. Get a price drop alert.
Vector 2.0 still has one of the most charming personalities of any desk robot, and the store lists it in stock at $249.99. But its maker is in court receivership, is being sued by Pennsylvania over thousands of unfilled orders, and voice features need a paid cloud plan that may not keep working. Buy it only with a credit card or PayPal protection and only if you are comfortable self hosting its software; everyone else should skip it.
Best for: tinkerers willing to self host its software. Skip if: you want a robot backed by a stable company.
Specs
- Type
- Tabletop companion robot with animated eyes, from the Anki Vector line now run by Digital Dream Labs under the Anki brand
- Interaction
- Voice ("Hey Vector", paid plan required), touch sensor on the back, face recognition, companion app for setup
- Ai features
- Cloud AI. Paid plans connect voice commands to ChatGPT or Claude; store listing also mentions Alexa built in. Without a plan it still roams, reacts and self docks but ignores voice commands
- Camera
- Yes, 2 MP camera used for face recognition; privacy controls not published
- Mobility
- Small treads for tabletop driving; cliff sensors to avoid edges (Anton Robots)
- Battery runtime
- Not published as a figure; maker says up to 30% longer than Vector 1.0. Gamereactor got about 35 min; Anton Robots cites about 52 min
- Charge time
- Not published; returns to its charging dock on its own
- Size weight
- About 7.5 by 10 by 6 cm and 185 g (Gamereactor)
3 year cost of ownership
- Robot
- $190
- Total
- $910
Voice features depend on the maker's cloud and paid plan. A Pittsburgh court put the company's servers, subscription billing and customer data under a receiver in July 2026, and an owner blog reported cloud endpoints returning errors that month, so paid features carry real risk. A community project (Wirepod) lets technical owners self host Vector's voice brain.
Status and safety
- US availability
- ● On sale
- Recalls
- ● No Digital Dream Labs robot recall in the CPSC database as of Oct 26, 2026. Checked daily.
- FCC authorized
- Not found in our search
- Company
- In court receivership since July 2026; Pennsylvania Attorney General lawsuit over about 14,000 unfulfilled orders still pending
- Warranty
- ● 1 year limited warranty on electronics (Anki warranty policy)
Parts and refills for the Vector 2.0
- Replacement battery
$19.99 for a 3.7 V 600 mAh pack that the owner can swap; no replacement interval published (source: anki.bot product page) - Shop on Amazon →
Check the part number matches your model before you order. Affiliate links.
Price history
Tracked dailyTracking started Oct 26, 2026 at $190.
Each day adds a point. Turn on a price alert to hear about drops.
Where to buy
- Anki store (Digital Dream Labs)
- $190 →
Affiliate links. We may earn a commission. It never changes our score. Disclosure
Pros
- Lively, pet like personality with face recognition
- Drives itself back to its charger
- Owner swappable battery for $19.99
- Voice plans with ChatGPT or Claude
Cons
- Maker in court receivership since July 2026
- Voice commands need a paid plan
- Cloud service reported unreliable
- Long history of unfilled orders and refused refunds
- Short runtime per charge
What independent reviewers found
- Reviewer liked the face recognition, expressive eyes and restraint, but found setup cumbersome, wake word response slow, the voice sometimes hard to understand and $249 high for a grown up toy; got about 35 minutes per charge.
- Gamereactor
- Roundup of five desk robots named Vector best overall for smart home control but said the subscription creates friction; listed 30 to 50 minutes of active battery.
- Gagadget
Spec history
Checked dailyNo spec changes since we started tracking on Oct 26, 2026.
Email me when Vector 2.0 gets cheaper
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Own one? Tell us how it holds up
We email owners 3 quick questions now and every 6 months, then show the results here.
Questions buyers ask
Does Vector work without a subscription?
Partly. It still moves, reacts to touch and faces and docks itself, but the maker says voice commands need a paid plan from $11.99 per month.
Will my order actually ship?
Some 2026 buyers report delivery within a week, but the company has a documented history of unfilled orders and is in receivership. Pay with a method that offers buyer protection.
Can I run Vector without the company's servers?
Yes, with effort. The community Wirepod project lets you host Vector's voice features yourself, usually on a Raspberry Pi.