Technologies

A $20K Humanoid Robot to Help Around the House? The Price Isn’t the Only Caveat

The new Neo robot from 1X is designed to do chores. It’ll have to learn a lot from you — and about you.

It stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs about as much as a golden retriever and costs near the price of a brand-new budget car.

This is Neo, the humanoid robot. It’s billed as a personal assistant you can talk to and eventually rely on to take care of everyday tasks, such as loading the dishwasher and folding laundry.

Neo doesn’t work cheap. It’ll cost you $20,000. And even then, you’ll still have to train this new home bot.

If that sounds enticing, preorders are now open (for a mere $200 down). You’ll be signing up as an early adopter for what Neo’s maker, a California-based company called 1X, is calling a «consumer-ready humanoid.» That’s opposed to other humanoids under development from the likes of Tesla and Figure, which are, for the moment at least, more focused on factory environments.

Neo is a whole order of magnitude different from robot vacuums like those from Roomba, Eufy and Ecovacs, and embodies a long-running sci-fi fantasy of robot maids and butlers doing chores and picking up after us. If this is the future, read on for more of what’s in store.

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What the Neo robot can do around the house

The pitch from 1X is that Neo can do all manner of household chores: fold laundry, run a vacuum, tidy shelves, bring in the groceries. It can open doors, climb stairs and even act as a home entertainment system.

Neo appears to move smoothly, with a soft, almost human-like gait, thanks to 1X’s tendon-driven motor system that gives it gentle motion and impressive strength. The company says it can lift up to 154 pounds and carry 55 pounds, but it is quieter than a refrigerator. It’s covered in soft materials and neutral colors, making it look less intimidating than metallic prototypes from other companies.

The company says Neo has a 4-hour runtime. Its hands are IP68-rated, meaning they’re submersible in water. It can connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 5G. For conversation, it has a built-in LLM, the same sort of AI technology that powers ChatGPT and Gemini.

The primary way to control the Neo robot will be by speaking to it, just as if it were a person in your home.

Still, Neo’s usefulness today depends heavily on how you define useful. The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern got an up-close look at Neo at 1X’s headquarters and found that, at least for now, it’s largely teleoperated, meaning a human often operates it remotely using a virtual-reality headset and controllers.

«I didn’t see Neo do anything autonomously, although the company did share a video of Neo opening a door on its own,» Stern wrote.

1X CEO Bernt Børnich told her that Neo will do most things autonomously in 2026, though he also acknowledged that the quality «may lag at first.»

What you need to know about Neo and privacy

Part of what early adopters are signing up for is to let Neo learn from their environment so that future versions can operate more independently.

That learning process raises privacy and trust questions. The robot uses a mix of visual, audio and contextual intelligence — meaning it can see, hear and remember interactions with users throughout their homes.

«If you buy this product, it is because you’re OK with that social contract,» Børnich told the Journal. «It’s less about Neo instantly doing your chores and more about you helping Neo learn to do them safely and effectively.»

1X says it’s taking steps to protect your privacy: Neo listens only when it recognizes it’s being addressed, and its cameras will blur out humans. You can restrict Neo from entering or viewing specific areas of your home, and the robot will never be teleoperated without owner approval, the company says.

But inviting an AI-equipped humanoid to observe your home life isn’t a small step.

The first units will ship to customers in the US in 2026. There is a $499 monthly subscription alternative to the $20,000 full-purchase price, though that will be available at an unspecified later date. A broader international rollout is promised for 2027.

Neo’s got a long road ahead of it to live up to the expectations set by Rosie the Robot in The Jetsons way back when. But this is no Hanna-Barbera cartoon. What we’re seeing now is a much more tangible harbinger of change.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 2, #875

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 875 for Sunday, Nov. 2.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a neat purple category today. It’s fun, but it’s not easy to solve, so if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Move the stuff.

Green group hint: Check your crayon box.

Blue group hint: Whew, I’m wiped out.

Purple group hint: Check your horoscope.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Goods to be transported.

Green group: Light brown shades.

Blue group: Show signs of physical exertion.

Purple group: Starts of zodiac signs.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is goods to be transported. The four answers are cargo, freight, haul and load.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is light brown shades. The four answers are camel, fawn, khaki and tan.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is show signs of physical exertion. The four answers are cramp, pant, redden and sweat.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starts of zodiac signs. The four answers are aqua, capri, gem and sag. (Aquarius, Capricorn, Gemini and Sagittarius.)

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 2 #609

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 609 for Sunday, Nov. 2.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a real puzzler. You runners might have a better shot at solving it than the rest of us. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Go the distance.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: 26.2 miles.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RUNT, TURN, TURNER, STAT, STAR, HATS, RATS, CAPE, MOTE, STRAT, TART, TARTS, ROAN, DRAT, DRAM, HOME, TOME, TIME, TIMER, PERK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight, but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

PACE, START, FINISH, RUNNER, HYDRATION, TIMEKEEPER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is MARATHON. To find it, start with the M that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Galaxy S26 Rumor Roundup: Samsung Could Be Shaking Up Its Flagship

Rumors about Samsung’s next Galaxy S26 series have been all over the place.

The year isn’t over yet, and there are already plenty of wild rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S26 line of phones.

Months ago, there was speculation that Samsung would replace its base phone with the Pro. It was rumored that the Plus would be discontinued in favor of the S26 Edge (much like how Apple dropped its Plus phone for the thin iPhone Air), and the Ultra would remain without any name change.

But just a few weeks ago, new reports emerged. Word is that the S26 Pro will simply be the S26, and the S26 Edge might be on its way out.

Here’s a quick rundown of the latest Galaxy S26 talk to make sense of it all.

Galaxy S26 line release date

Samsung typically hosts a few Unpacked events each year, with the first event usually taking place in either January or February. Most of this year’s S25 handsets were announced at a Galaxy Unpacked event on Jan. 22, 2025, and released on Feb. 7, so we can expect a similar timeline for the Galaxy S26 series.

However, it’s possible that additional S26 releases may occur throughout the year. In 2025, for example, Samsung released two more S25 handsets — the S25 Edge and the S25 FE — at two separate events in May and September, respectively.

Galaxy S26 Pro

For months, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 was that it might not exist at all. Internal build code uncovered by Android Authority suggested Samsung could be scrapping the base model entirely and replacing it with the S26 Pro. That might sound strange at first, but it could have signaled Samsung’s plan to position the S26 lineup as a more premium offering than its predecessors.

According to a new report from SamMobile, the Galaxy S26 Pro might actually just be the standard Galaxy S26. Given that most other rumors suggest the phone will be pretty entry-level, that could very well be the case.

Leaked renders of the S26 (whether the base or Pro model) show a design very similar to the S25, with one key difference: the rear camera. The S26 appears to have a vertical bump on the back housing three camera lenses, while the S25 has no bump at all, with its lenses fitted directly into the body.

According to Android Headlines, the S26 will feature a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, representing a significant upgrade from the S25’s 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. There have been conflicting rumors about this, though. Others have speculated that the S26’s camera specs will remain unchanged from the S25.

Other speculations about the S26 include a slightly bigger 6.3-inch screen, along with an overall slightly larger and slimmer build. Android Headlines also reports that the S26 Pro could have a 4,300-mAh battery, up to 12 GB of RAM and as much as 512 GB of storage.

As for the processor, Samsung’s VP of its Mobile Experiences Division, Daniel Araujo, said in a recent earnings call that the S26 lineup will «revolutionize the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors.»

This is a strong indicator that the Galaxy S26 series will be powered by the Exynos 2600 processor at least in some regions, according to Android Headlines.

That said, rumors suggest that the S26 will use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in the US and China. According to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon chip is about 20 percent faster and 35 percent more power-efficient than its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Edge and Plus

The Galaxy S25 Edge debuted with a lot of fanfare this year, thanks to its ultra-slim form factor, so it’s not a stretch to imagine Samsung will come out with a successor next year. However, there have been conflicting rumors about whether this will happen at all.

For months, there were leaks suggesting Samsung would replace the Galaxy S26 Plus with the Galaxy S26 Edge. The S26 Edge was expected to have a super slim profile of around 5.5 mm, making it 0.3 mm skinnier than the S25 Edge. That’s also 0.1 mm thinner than the iPhone Air. There was further speculation that it would have the same 6.7-inch screen, a larger 4,200-mAh battery and the newer Snapdragon processor.

Now, however, this rumor looks to be on shaky ground. According to SamMobile and 9to5Google, the company could be dropping the Galaxy S26 Edge from its 2026 lineup due to poor sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, especially in comparison to the rest of the Galaxy S25 series. Instead, Samsung could be replacing the S26 Edge with the Galaxy S26 Plus. We currently don’t know too much about the S26 Plus, but it’ll likely have the same 6.7-inch screen as its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Ultra

With all the uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S26 (or Pro) and the Galaxy S26 Edge (or Plus), the only handset seemingly free of confusion is the Galaxy S26 Ultra. According to renders uncovered by Android Headlines, the S26 Ultra looks to have a slightly different design than its predecessor.

The images appear to show that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has curvier corners compared to its predecessor and a slightly different camera layout on the rear. The four cameras are positioned in the same locations, but three of them are housed in a raised vertical bump. There’s also speculation that the Ultra could be slightly slimmer, at 7.9 mm thick, which is 0.3 mm thinner than the current S25 Ultra. Android Headlines also says that the phone’s 6.9-inch display could use new M14 OLED panels, which would be brighter and more power efficient.

Unfortunately, current rumors suggest that the S26 Ultra will feature very similar camera specs. ETNews claims it will still have a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto. The front-facing 12-megapixel camera also appears unchanged.

Like with the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to ship with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, and with the Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Other rumored specs include 16 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and faster 60-watt wired charging.