Latest news and articles about humanoid robots
Apple already announced a lot of new devices in 2026 and we've been busy reviewing them all. In this installment of our bi-weekly roundup, we revisit the MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e and more, in addition...
Google has detailed how users will be able to sideload apps from unverified developers once it implements its more restrictive policy towards downloading software on Android. The company originally pl...
While the industry obsesses over vision systems and language models, a quiet revolution in tactile sensing is addressing robotics' most fundamental limitation. From surgical fingertips to robotic manipulation, the race to restore the sense of touch may determine which robots actually work in the real world.
Rivian and Uber announced a major partnership where Rivian will provide 50,000 robotaxis to Uber in a deal worth $1.25 billion, starting with 10,000 R2 robotaxis to be deployed in San Francisco and Miami by 2028. The partnership is part of Uber's broader autonomous vehicle strategy, which also includes collaborations with NVIDIA, Waymo, Lucid, and Nuro to scale robotaxis across 25+ cities by 2031.
Now that Epic Games and Google have made up - or at least found a way to resolve their long-running disputes - everyone with a compatible Android device can get back to the business of playing Fortnit...
German robotics startup Neura Robotics has partnered with Qualcomm to develop humanoid and general-purpose robots using Qualcomm's Dragonwing Robotics IQ10 processors and Neura's Neuraverse simulation platform. The collaboration represents a broader trend of robotics startups partnering with major tech companies to accelerate physical AI development, similar to Boston Dynamics' partnership with Google DeepMind.
There are many E Ink tablets out there, but most of them are basically digital notebooks. They are great for reading and handwriting notes, but not so great for doing all of that regular tablet stuff...
Sometimes, it's the little details in a software update that make the biggest improvements. Google is rolling out a new feature for Chrome that will add a bookmark bar to the browser on Android foldab...
1X's launch of Neo—a $20,000 humanoid that still requires human remote operation for complex tasks—reveals a critical gap in robotics development. While startups chase the dream of general-purpose home assistants and researchers push technological boundaries, the industry lacks the crucial middle layer: robots that can reliably perform specific, valuable household tasks autonomously.
Apple's cheapest laptop is also its most repairable. iFixit gave the new MacBook Neo a 6/10 repairability score. Although that number would only be mediocre for, say, a game review or final exam grade...
Parallels, the company best known for making the virtualization software that enables you to run Windows and other operating systems on a Mac, has confirmed that Parallels Desktop is compatible with t...
Norwegian-US company 1X has launched Neo, a 168cm tall humanoid robot priced at $20,000 designed for household tasks like laundry folding and dishwashing, though it currently requires remote human operation via VR for complex tasks. The article examines the growing humanoid robot market—with over 50 companies developing such robots—alongside emerging challenges including privacy concerns from in-home data collection, reliance on remote workers in developing countries, and the robots' current inability to handle unstructured home environments autonomously.
Somehow, Apple made a $599 laptop that's actually a joy to use. In this episode, Devindra and Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham chat about what makes the MacBook Neo so great. And they also dive into the...
Apple's new family of laptops might have a cringeworthy name, but don't let it fool you. Despite the MacBook Neo running on a built-for-iPhone A-series processor and being limited to 8GB of RAM, it de...
From Honor's Robot Phone to Google's absorption of Intrinsic, consumer electronics giants are making unexpected pivots into robotics. This shift reveals less about robotics innovation and more about the existential crisis facing smartphone and device makers in an AI-saturated market.
Josh Wardle had a hell of a tough act to follow. His last game, Wordle, became incredibly popular thanks to its blend of simplicity, clarity and shareability. Over four years (and a seven-figure sale...
I really don't know how Apple did it. The MacBook Neo is a $600 laptop that doesn't feel like an afterthought, which is a curse that has befallen so many cheap Windows notebooks. Sure, it has a slower...
As humanoid robots capture headlines with their impressive demonstrations, a troubling pattern emerges: the human labor training these systems is systematically hidden from view. Recent investigations reveal workers in low-wage regions providing the demonstrations, teleoperation, and training data that make 'autonomous' robots possible—raising urgent questions about transparency, labor practices, and what we actually mean by artificial intelligence.
Caitlin Kalinowski, OpenAI's robotics hardware lead, has resigned in protest over the company's hastily negotiated Department of Defense partnership, citing concerns about surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and autonomous weapons development without proper guardrails. OpenAI stated it does not support domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons and believes the Pentagon agreement includes responsible safeguards, though CEO Sam Altman indicated willingness to amend terms to prohibit spying on Americans.
It's been a wild week for Apple. After announcing a slew of new hardware, the company capped things off with its cheapest laptop ever: the $599 MacBook Neo. It's low on specs, but high on character an...
The article investigates the hidden human labor behind humanoid robot development, revealing workers in low-wage regions provide training data through demonstrations, VR/exoskeleton work, and remote tele-operation of robots like 1X's Neo. The piece argues that lack of transparency about this human infrastructure leads to overestimated robot capabilities and creates new forms of wage arbitrage and privacy concerns in the emerging physical AI sector.
Right off the back of the iPhone 17e, new iPads and MacBook Airs, Apple also announced a keenly priced new laptop. The MacBook Neo is a multi-colored low-cost Mac ($599), running on an iPhone chipset...
Google is living up to its word and posting warning labels for battery-killing apps. 9to5Google spotted Google's rollout announcement, which the company previously said would arrive on March 1. The la...
From bronze giants of Greek mythology to backflipping robots powered by neural networks, humanity has spent 3,000 years trying to build itself a mirror. This is the full story of humanoid robotics — packed with surprising connections, spectacular failures, and the engineers who refused to stop.
Google is officially doing away with its 30 percent cut of Play Store transactions, and rolling out changes to how third-party app stores and alternate billing systems will be handled by Android. Some...
Google is officially doing away with its 30 percent cut of Play Store transactions, and rolling out changes to how third-party app stores and alternate billing systems will be handled by Android. Some...
This article reports on robotics highlights from CES 2026, with a focus on how physical AI and embodied intelligence have moved from experimental labs into mainstream consumer technology. The report covers emerging trends including humanoid robots from companies like Booster and Unitree, which are now commercially available, and discusses how consumer-facing robotics differs from academic research while remaining innovative in manufacturability and design.
Apple had promised a "big week" for the company as rumors swirled that it had a number of product announcements lined up. True enough, it unveiled a half-dozen new and refreshed devices over the last...
The most interesting product Apple announced this week was its cheapest and least powerful laptop, the MacBook Neo. It's just fascinating to see the company tackle an entirely new category - it's not...
This article is a curated roundup of the 10 most significant robotics developments from January 2026, spanning major announcements including Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid working with Google's DeepMind, Microsoft's Rho-alpha vision-language-action model for robots, Amazon's acquisition of Rightbot for logistics automation, and autonomous system debuts from companies like Doosan Bobcat and Neocis. The piece highlights the industry's shift from theoretical capabilities to real-world deployments across humanoids, industrial automation, AI models, and commercial applications.
Meet the MacBook Neo, Apple's long-rumored low-cost Mac. Powered by the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro series, the $599 MacBook Neo is Apple's first attempt at delivering a genuinely affordable M...
Ubisoft is finally releasing The Division Resurgence on March 31 for both iOS and Android. This game was first announced all the way back in 2021 and has suffered from delays in recent years. This is...
This video compilation showcases recent developments in multitasking robotics, featuring robots like Themis that can perform multiple actions simultaneously, such as carrying trash while navigating to a destination. The collection demonstrates advances in robot coordination and real-world task execution capabilities.
Google unveiled its new features coming both to the Pixel line of devices and to the broader Android ecosystem this spring. Two of the more exciting additions for all Android devices are coming throug...
"MacBook Neo" appears to be the name of Apple's long-rumored cheap MacBook, based on a regulatory posting on Apple's website, MacRumors reports. The gaffe was quickly removed from Apple's site (pour o...
Similar to Anthropic's computer use tool and OpenAI's Atlas, the new AI features reflect the shift from the regular search format to one infused with AI agents.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite chips are reserved for the best Android phones and laptops, and now the company has introduced the first in the Elite series for wearables. The Snapdragon Wear Elite proces...
MWC 2026 is underway with multiple robotics and AI announcements, including Honor's Robot Phone and Lenovo's concept devices. Lenovo unveiled the Legion Go Fold, a foldable gaming handheld with an 11.6-inch flexible display, and the Modular AI PC concept featuring hot-swappable ports and dual displays, alongside new AI-enabled laptops and tablets with Copilot+ features.
NVIDIA announced a comprehensive suite of open physical AI models and frameworks at CES 2026 to accelerate robotics and autonomous systems development, including new tools for simulation, synthetic data generation, and edge deployment. The stack was demonstrated through real-world applications including Caterpillar's AI-assisted heavy equipment, LEM Surgical's FDA-cleared robotic surgical system, and NEURA Robotics' humanoid and service robots, all leveraging NVIDIA's Omniverse, Isaac, and foundation model technologies.
Lenovo unveiled the AI Workmate Concept at MWC 2026, a desktop robot with an LCD face, Intel Core Ultra processor, and projector that uses on-device AI and LLMs to assist with office tasks like document scanning, summarization, and digital signing through voice commands and gestures. The robot features an articulated head that can project images onto desks or walls, and Lenovo also showed a companion AI Work Companion desk device with task management and burnout monitoring capabilities.
Lenovo is updating its business-focused laptop lineup at MWC 2026. The best-selling ThinkPad T-series is getting a full refresh, and there's an updated ThinkBook 2-in-1 and an all-new Android tablet....
Gartner predicts that fewer than 20 companies will deploy humanoid robots in production for supply chain and manufacturing by 2028, despite nearly 200 humanoid companies existing today. The research firm cites technological limitations, high costs, integration challenges, and energy constraints as major barriers, and suggests that polyfunctional robots with wheels and alternative designs may be better suited for warehouse and logistics operations than humanoid form factors.
Honor unveiled its Robot Phone at MWC 2026, featuring a 4-degrees-of-freedom gimbal-mounted 200MP camera that moves like a robotic head with gesture capabilities. The company also introduced the Honor Robot, a humanoid robot designed for both industrial and domestic applications, showcased with choreographed demonstrations at the event.
Honor unveiled its Robot Phone at MWC 2026, featuring a pop-up camera gimbal with a 4-degrees-of-freedom robotic system that can nod, shake, and rotate 360 degrees. The company also showcased a humanoid robot companion that performed alongside the Robot Phone, with the device expected to launch later this year and featuring AI-powered camera tracking and cinematic imaging capabilities developed with ARRI.
Fauna Robotics, a New York-based startup, has introduced Sprout, a humanoid development platform designed to democratize embodied AI research and applications. Standing 107 cm tall and weighing 22.7 kg, Sprout features 29 degrees of freedom, safety-focused design, and an NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin processor to enable developers to build general-purpose robotics applications in everyday environments without specialized expertise.
NVIDIA is a very busy company, and between all the graphics cards and AI-chasing, it wouldn't be wholly surprising to see the company forget about its more niche offerings, such as the Android-powered...
Ahead of a full release at Mobile World Conference (MWC), Honor has teased the MagicPad 4 that it calls the world's thinnest Android tablet. The new model is just 4.8mm thick (not counting that camera...
Industry experts discuss the outlook for humanoid robots in 2026, examining both near-term deployment opportunities in households and the longer-term potential for general-purpose machines. The article explores the business case and development trajectory for humanoid robotics across various applications and market segments.
Ball x Pit, a delightful roguelite that was one of our favorite games of last year, is on the way to mobile devices. The chaotic brick-breaking action is coming to iOS and Android on March 12. There w...
If you're using an Android phone, finding the right pair of wireless earbuds can take a little more work than it does for iPhone owners. Apple's AirPods are tightly woven into iOS, but that same level...
