1X NEO: $20K humanoid home robot arrives with teleoperation trade‑offs

California startup 1X has opened preorders for NEO, a humanoid home robot designed to handle everyday chores like opening doors, fetching items and toggling lights. NEO will ship next year with limited autonomous abilities, and owners can control it via app or voice commands for basic tasks.

Crucially, 1X says the robot will learn from human teleoperators during its early deployments. Buyers who accept delivery must agree that remote operators may see inside their homes through NEO’s cameras to teach and refine the AI. 1X offers privacy controls such as owner approval for teleoperation, blurred people, and user‑defined no‑go zones.

Key details

• Availability: Preorders open now with a $200 deposit; deliveries begin next year.
• Pricing: Early‑access purchase priced at $20,000; or a subscription option at $499/month.
• Core capabilities at launch: door opening, item retrieval, lights control and simple autonomous tasks.
• Teleoperation: human operators will assist and control NEO for more complex tasks while collecting training data.

Privacy & teleoperation — what to expect

1X frames teleoperation as a temporary necessity: the company says its neural networks need real‑world examples to learn robustly. Owners must schedule teleoperator access through an app and can restrict when and where an operator may control the robot. Operators cannot act without owner approval, and the company plans features like blurring to obscure people in view.

That model raises tradeoffs. Teleoperation accelerates learning and extends NEO’s capabilities quickly, but it requires homeowners to accept remote human presence in their private spaces. For risk‑averse buyers, this may be a dealbreaker; others may value the faster feature rollout and oversight controls.

Who is NEO for?

NEO targets early adopters willing to invest in a high‑end home assistant and accept privacy tradeoffs to get advanced functionality sooner. It could appeal to tech enthusiasts, households with mobility challenges, or anyone who values hands‑free help around the house and is comfortable with monitored teleoperation during early service phases.

Worth noting

• 1X CEO says teleoperators are essential early on because the AI must learn from diverse, real‑world interactions.
• Owners retain control tools (approval toggles, no‑go zones, blurring) — but those measures rely on proper implementation and transparent policies.
• Price and subscription options place NEO in a premium category, so consumers should weigh costs versus benefits and alternatives (smart home devices, cheaper robot vacuums, human help).

If you want to read the original coverage or learn more about the announcement, check the reporting linked in news outlets and 1X’s official site for preorder details and privacy policy updates.

Discussion: Would you preorder NEO knowing teleoperators may see inside your home — or does that privacy tradeoff rule it out? What safeguards would make you comfortable?