RoboSelect360 analyst note

NEO is the only consumer humanoid with an explicit price and delivery date ($20k, Q3–Q4 2026 US). Significant OpenAI backing. In Oct. 2025, no tasks were performed autonomously — everything went through a human teleoperator (Expert Mode Turing). WSJ test: fetching water from the fridge took over one minute. Score penalised by the absence of documented real autonomy and unconfirmed deliveries.

Detailed scoring — 6 criteria

Technical specifications

Strengths

✓ First consumer humanoid: Official fixed price of $20,000, open pre-orders — unique in its category

✓ 75 DOF: Among the highest in the sector — fine manipulation in unstructured environments

✓ Light and safe: 30 kg — half of most competitors, designed to coexist with humans

✓ OpenAI backing: Strategic investment aligned with the World Model approach

✓ Transparent founder: Bernt Øyvind Børnich communicates publicly about limitations — recognised credibility

Limitations

! No real autonomy (Oct. 2025): All demonstrated tasks via human teleoperation

! Revealing WSJ test: Fetching water from fridge: >1 min — washing dishes: 5 min

! 4h battery life: Insufficient for a full domestic day without recharging

! Deliveries unconfirmed: Q3–Q4 2026 announced — no mass production confirmation as of March 2026

Documented deployments

Domestic pilots — USA/Norway

2025–2026

Pilot deployments in American and Norwegian homes. Household tasks (laundry, tidying, vacuuming) via Expert Mode Turing. Performance data not independently published.

Target sectors

Compatible environments

Main use cases

Sources

1x.tech/discover/neo-home-robot (Oct. 2025) therobotreport.com (Nov. 2025) dronexl.co (Oct. 2025, WSJ hands-on)

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