Unitree's $4,900 R1 AIR Humanoid Robot Goes on Sale Globally via AliExpress

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Chinese robotics firm Unitree began shipping its R1 AIR humanoid robot globally in April, listing it on AliExpress for $4,900 — making it one of the most affordable bipedal robots ever sold to the public. The 4-foot-tall, 55-pound machine offers 20 degrees of freedom and can run, perform flips, and execute martial arts moves, with an upgraded $5,900 model adding greater articulation and depth perception. Unitree shipped approximately 5,500 units in 2025, vastly outpacing Western competitors like Figure AI and Tesla, which each shipped around 150 units combined. However, the base model lacks functional hands, has roughly one hour of battery life per charge, and many of its widely circulated demo videos have been noted as scripted or remotely controlled. Analysts describe the R1 as an accessible experimental platform rather than a capable household assistant, drawing comparisons to the Raspberry Pi's role in democratising computing.

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