Humanoid robots have officially moved from science fiction to shopping carts. You can buy one right now on Amazon, and several more models are headed to market before the end of 2026. On this week’s Tech Talk, David Leavitt and technician Adam Littlefield walked through the real specs, real prices, and real concerns about owning a walking, task-performing robot in your home. They also covered why the right to repair matters more than ever, and shared a simple Wi-Fi security tip you can act on today.
Listen to the Episode
You Can Buy a Humanoid Robot Right Now — But Should You?
The first robot the team discussed is the Unitree G1, a walking, programmable humanoid robot from a Chinese company that’s currently available on Amazon for around $18,000 to $20,000. Here’s what you get for that price tag:
- Stands 4 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 77 pounds
- Built with aerospace-grade aluminum alloy and carbon fiber
- 23 joint degrees of freedom (six joints per leg, five per arm)
- Depth camera and 3D LiDAR for navigation and spatial awareness
- Supports basic movements like walking, rotating, and handshakes
- Over-the-air updates to expand its movement library over time
- Approximately two hours of battery life
The G1 uses a combination of vision and LiDAR for navigation — similar to how some self-driving cars work. Adam pointed out that while combining these two sensor systems can be powerful, there are real questions about what happens when they disagree. Does the robot trust its eyes or its LiDAR? And when it gets confused, are you prepared for an $18,000 robot to tumble down your staircase?
Are you willing for an $18,000 robot to fall down your stairs? That’s the real question you need to ask before buying one today.
The 1X NEO: A Home Robot Built From the Ground Up
The second robot that caught the team’s attention is the 1X NEO, made by the same people behind OpenAI and ChatGPT. This one isn’t available just yet, but it already has over 10,000 pre-orders and is expected to ship by the end of 2026. You can reserve yours with a refundable $200 deposit at 1x.tech/neo.
What makes the NEO different is that it’s designed specifically for your home — not a factory robot repurposed for domestic life. Here are the highlights:
- 5 feet 6 inches tall and 66 pounds
- Can lift up to 154 pounds and walk while carrying 55 pounds
- Four hours of active battery life (double the Unitree G1)
- Walks itself to its charging dock when the battery gets low
- Powered by an NVIDIA Jetson Thor processor with built-in large language models for voice interaction, gesture recognition, and autonomous navigation
- Priced around $20,000, or available through a $500/month subscription model
The Concern About Over-the-Air Robot Updates
One of the most thought-provoking parts of the conversation was about monthly AI updates. Adam drew a comparison to self-driving car updates: every time his car receives an over-the-air update, it drives a little differently — maybe hugging a lane differently or changing how it handles lane changes. Now imagine that same unpredictability in a robot that folds your laundry or carries items around your house.
If an over-the-air update can change how your car drives, what happens when the same kind of update changes how a robot behaves inside your home?
Could Robot Features Become Paywalled?
The team also raised an uncomfortable question about subscription models. If you’re already paying $500 a month or buying the robot outright with monthly AI updates included, what’s to stop a company from charging extra for specific tasks down the road? Maybe folding laundry costs an extra $20 a month. Maybe they call it an “allowance” instead of a subscription. It sounds far-fetched, but with the trend toward subscription-based everything, it’s a concern worth thinking about.
Quick Mention: Figure 3 and Tesla Optimus
The team also touched on the Figure 3, a factory-focused robot that’s already being built by other robots at a BMW plant in South Carolina — one every 90 minutes. And Tesla’s Optimus robot is being tested in Tesla’s own factories, with a public release possibly coming in 2027 at a similar $20,000 price point.
Robots Can’t Fix Your Laptop (Yet) — But Refresh Computers Can
For all the impressive things these robots can do, there’s one thing they still can’t handle: diagnosing and repairing your computer. That still takes a real human being with real expertise. At Refresh Computers, that’s exactly what you get — knowledgeable technicians who listen, explain things in plain language, and fix laptops, desktops, Macs, gaming consoles, and more.
And if you’re a small business owner, Refresh Computers also offers Managed IT services — proactive network monitoring, remote support, and on-site service so problems get caught before they cause downtime.
Right to Repair: If You Can’t Fix It, Do You Really Own It?
The right to repair movement is sweeping across the United States, with more states passing laws every year. Texas has a new law taking effect in September. The core idea is straightforward: if you bought it, you should be able to fix it — or take it to a local shop of your choosing instead of being forced back to the manufacturer.
The team outlined three big reasons why right to repair matters:
- Money: Independent repair shops and DIY fixes are almost always cheaper than manufacturer repairs.
- Choice: You deserve to decide who fixes your stuff — not the company that sold it to you.
- The Planet: Every repaired device is one less item in a landfill. E-waste is a massive and growing problem.
“If you can’t repair something that’s yours, do you really own it?” — Colorado lawmaker on the right to repair
Adam shared a relatable analogy: imagine being forced to drive an hour to a dealership every time you needed brake pads replaced, and paying four or five times what a local shop would charge. That’s essentially what happens when manufacturers lock down electronics repairs. Some companies even use software to block non-official replacement parts from functioning — even if those parts are perfectly good.
Refresh Computers has championed repair and reuse long before it became law — fixing devices other shops give up on, refurbishing quality machines, and offering free electronics recycling for laptops, desktops, tablets, and phones.
Your Wi-Fi Router’s Secret Weapon: The Guest Network
The show wrapped up with a practical security tip that everyone with a home Wi-Fi router should act on: set up and use your guest network.
Most people think the guest network is just for visitors, but it’s actually a powerful security tool. Here’s why: your guest network is completely separated from your main network. Devices on one side can’t see or access devices on the other.
The team recommends putting all your smart home gadgets on the guest network:
- Smart thermostats
- Smart TVs
- Video doorbells
- Smart plugs
- Security cameras
These devices are common entry points for hackers. If one gets compromised on your guest network, there’s a hard border preventing the intruder from reaching your laptops, phones, and personal data on your main network.
Put your smart home gadgets on your guest Wi-Fi network. Keep your laptops and phones on your main network. If a smart device gets hacked, your personal data stays protected behind a hard border.
And one more critical reminder: change the default password on your Wi-Fi router. Every router ships with a generic password like “admin” or “1234” — and every hacker knows it. If you haven’t changed yours, do it today.
Need Help With Any of This? Refresh Computers Has You Covered
Whether you need your Wi-Fi router properly secured, a cracked laptop screen replaced, virus removal, managed IT for your business, or just a friendly voice to answer a tech question — Refresh Computers is here to help. They’ve been Central Florida’s trusted local tech shop for over 26 years, and they still answer the phone with a real human being.
📞 Call the free tech support hotline: 407-478-8200
🌐 Visit: refreshcomputers.net
📍 Stop by: 820 E. State Road 434, Longwood, FL — Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 7 PM
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