A Robotic Butler Named NEO Can Clean Your House for You — But There's a Major Catch

It's official: the future has arrived. In 1990, if you asked people what they envisioned for the future, they might have a few common thoughts: electric cars (check), printers that can fabricate anything from almost nothing (check), and robots in every home (double check). The only thing we're missing is flying cars and a post-scarcity economy.

And that whole thing about robots in every home just took a flying leap forward.

Now, your Alexa can take her long-needed vacation and let NEO take over. NEO, a butler and personal assistant in robot form, can do just about anything you need around the house. At least, it could if it were real.

So, is the NEO robot real? Here's what we know about this unusual piece of technology, including how people feel about the potential for its existence.

First, let's introduce the NEO robot. Created by the tech company 1X, NEO is touted as a personal assistant and butler in humanoid robot form. According to Digital Trends, the robot weighs 66 pounds, boasts four mics, three speakers, and two fisheye cameras, can lift up to 154 lbs., and can carry objects weighing up to 54 lbs.

It can accomplish tasks around the house, including cleaning, tidying, watering plants, doing laundry, and other household chores.

It can even chat with you like a human, offering a socialization opportunity that many people might otherwise struggle to achieve.

And yes, the NEO robot is real. 1X recently opened their pre-orders for the robot. A $500 deposit will get you on the order list, with $20,000 coming due when the robot releases in 2026.

If you don't want to commit yet, there's a subscription option for $499 a month, as well.

But there's one little hitch in the giddy-up if you're expecting a fully autonomous Rosie-like robotic butler: sometimes, a tech has to take control to achieve tasks, Digital Trends reports.

This means that, for certain tasks, an actual human 1X tech will need to operate the robot through its many eyes and ears, which can be uncomfortable if you're in your underoos and just need something handed down from the top shelf.

The company claims that this method is part of a strategy to teach the robot's AI and isn't planned as a permanent operating feature.

Nonetheless, people aren't super thrilled about NEO. While it seems cool and futuristic, there are a few uncomfortable realities about NEO and robot assistants like NEO.

For one, if you're going to end up with someone looking through the robot's eyes anyway, you might as well hire a human.

And therein lies the other issue. People don't love the fact that NEO can replace human workers, such as maids, housecleaners, handypeople, and home health aides.

On TikTok, the critics are out in full force. One exhausted user scoffed at the technology, writing, "We literally just want everyone to have food to eat." Another added, "Or…instead of paying 20k…you could just hire someone hourly?"

One user mused, "I, Robot taught us nothing."

Overall, people seem unimpressed by replacing a human job with a robot, and of course, the $20,000 price point means that this is only available to a select market of consumers.

Whether or not NEO will become an omnipresent force in our lives someday in the future remains to be seen. For now, NEO is squarely in the sights of skeptics.