Chinese humanoid Bumi costs like iPhone 17 Pro Max

Chinese startup Noetix Robotics introduced the humanoid robot Bumi, which costs as much as an iPhone 17 Pro Max in China. Price — 9998 yuan. That’s about 1370 dollars.

The robot with 94 cm height and 12 kg weight is oriented toward mass consumers, students and teachers. The company was founded in September 2023 by graduates of Tsinghua and Zhejiang universities. And their previous model Noetix N2 received over 2.5 thousand orders and even participated in a half marathon for humanoid robots in Beijing.

The low cost became possible thanks to lightweight composite materials and modular layout. The robot can walk, balance and dance. It understands voice commands and supports visual programming with a simple interface — accessible even to children. The 48-volt battery with more than 3.5 ampere-hours capacity provides 1-2 hours of operation.

Pre-orders start November 11 and December 12. And here are their competitors. The Unitree H2 robot costs from 6 thousand dollars, Tesla Optimus even more expensive, and Boston Dynamics Atlas doesn’t name prices at all — we’re talking millions.

It seems robotics is ceasing to be elite technology and turning into a device for everyday use. For the price of a smartphone you can buy a humanoid. And this is no longer science fiction.