Humanoid Robots Are Finally on Sale: Prices, Models, and the LG CLOiD Revolution

Metaverse Planet

January 7, 2026

For years, we’ve all been glued to YouTube, watching Boston Dynamics robots do parkour or dance to pop music. But let’s be honest, we all had the same question in the back of our minds: “That’s cool, but when is that metal tin can coming to clean my messy kitchen?”

Well, it looks like that day has finally arrived.

CES 2026 has turned from a technology showcase into a full-blown “robot marketplace.” This year, companies aren’t just showing off concepts behind glass walls; they are stepping onto the stage with price tags and pre-order forms. Are we about to spend car money or smartphone money on these things? Let’s take a close look at the world of humanoid robots now on sale, led by LG’s new star CLOiD, and the potentially expensive future waiting for our wallets.

Contents

1. LG CLOiD: Meet the New “Butler”

2. From Display to Cart: How Much for a Robot?

3. Why Now? And Are We Ready?

LG CLOiD: Meet the New “Butler”

Let’s start with the heavy hitter of the fair. LG has combined years of R&D into a humanoid robot they call CLOiD. What I love most about this robot is its honesty; it doesn’t fly, it doesn’t fight—it just focuses on the chores we hate the most: Housework.

Part of LG’s “Zero Labor Home” vision, CLOiD moves on a wheeled platform. If you’re asking, “Why no legs?” well, for now, wheels are the safest and most stable solution for carrying hot coffee. But the real magic is in the arms.

What Can CLOiD Actually Do?

LG’s claims are bold. This isn’t just another one of those flat discs that vacuums the floor.

Human-Like Arms: It features arms with 7 degrees of freedom and 5-fingered hands. This means it can hold a glass without crushing it.
Kitchen & Laundry: It can grab milk from the fridge, slide a tray into the oven, and hold your breath… it can fold laundry. (I might buy it just for this feature alone).
The ThinQ Brain: The robot is connected to LG’s ThinQ platform. It talks to the fridge and the washing machine, acting like an orchestra conductor for your smart home.

LG hasn’t dropped a price yet, but looking at what it can do, it definitely won’t be a cheap toy.

From Display to Cart: How Much for a Robot?

While LG is keeping the price close to its chest, other manufacturers have laid their cards on the table. Here is the bill you’ll face if you say “I want a robot” as of CES 2026:

1. The High-End Choice: 1X Technologies NEO

Price: $20,000 (Or a $499/month subscription).
The Promise: A 1.70m tall, full humanoid. It cleans, organizes, and handles chores.
My Take (Critical Warning): This part is crucial. NEO connects to “human operators” for complex tasks. So, while you are walking around in your pajamas, an operator on the other side of the world could theoretically be looking through the robot’s eyes to help it out. This “Human-in-the-loop” system might be great for safety, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t give me major privacy goosebumps.

2. The Roommate: Zeroth Robotics M1

Price: $2,899.
The Promise: This little buddy (38 cm) wants to be a companion rather than a servant. It uses Google’s Gemini AI. It handles fall detection, reminders, and home monitoring.
Who is it for? An accessible option for elderly care or those who just don’t want to be home alone. On sale in April.

3. The “Accessible” Butler: SwitchBot Onero H1

Price: Not finalized yet, but claimed to be the “most accessible.”
The Promise: Making coffee, cleaning windows. It runs on a vision-language-action model called OmniSense.
Reality Check: It looks amazing in the demo videos, but I’ll believe it when I see it carrying a full cup of coffee over my messy living room floor without spilling it.

Why Now? And Are We Ready?

The message from CES 2026 is crystal clear: Humanoid robots have graduated from “R&D Projects” to the “Consumer Electronics” category.

However, as I dug deeper, I found myself wrestling with some serious questions:

Security: As with the NEO example, what are the risks of hacking or remote surveillance with a camera-equipped device walking around our bedrooms?
Expectation vs. Reality: Can robots that fold laundry in sterile lab environments handle my chaotic laundry basket in real life?
Cost: Would you pay $20,000 (the price of a car) for a robot? Or would you pay $499 a month for rent?

The Verdict: We Are at a Turning Point

Sophisticated machines like the LG CLOiD and commercial ventures like NEO show that this is the year robots stop crawling and start walking. We might not be at The Jetsons level yet, but at least we are finally talking about price tags.

Personally, I can’t say “no” to a robot that folds my laundry, but the possibility of another human being behind that robot’s camera makes me hesitate.

What about you? Would you hand over your house keys (and chores) to one of these robots, or are you sticking with your good old vacuum cleaner for now?