Delivery, Installation, Warranty and Keeping It Running
The purchase price is the part of a humanoid robot that is easiest to find out and least likely to be the largest number you pay.
A quoted price buys a crate at a factory. Everything between that crate and a working robot in your building - freight, duties, a lift gate, a room that fits it, someone trained to switch it on, and a service route when a joint fails - is a separate cost and a separate negotiation.
These five topics are grouped because they are the ones that turn a purchase into an operating commitment. They are also the ones most often discovered after the deposit has been paid, which is precisely why they belong in the comparison rather than after it.
How to use these comparisons
The market mixes several kinds of product. The Unitree G1 is a compact platform whose base and EDU editions differ in ways that matter. H1 and H2 are full-size machines with different configurations and handling demands. 1X NEO is presented as an Early Access home robot with ownership and subscription paths and a managed assistance model. Comparing them is only useful once the buyer has stated whether the goal is research, application development, industrial evaluation or household service.
For every topic below, write the requirement without adjectives such as advanced, safe, fast or production-ready. State an observable condition, a measurement, a tolerance and an evidence source, and treat a blank cell in a seller's response as a condition of purchase rather than an optimistic assumption.
- Lead times
- Freight and customs
- Installation and training
- Warranty coverage
- Maintenance and spares
Lead times
The question this topic has to settle is delivery estimates, production queues, regional availability, dependencies and planning around uncertain ship dates. That sounds narrow, but it crosses mechanics, software, service and contract boundaries: a published maximum may describe one option, one motion or a laboratory condition, while a buyer needs to know what the delivered robot repeats, under what limits and with what remedy when the answer differs from the quotation.
online Unitree listings can look immediately purchasable while configured systems still depend on stock and freight, and NEO reservations or Early Access delivery language represent a queue rather than an unconditional delivery guarantee. This is a procurement distinction, not a claim that one platform is better everywhere.
Minimum evidence packet. written ship window, configuration freeze, dependencies, cancellation rights, progress milestones, region eligibility and a remedy when the window slips. Ask the seller to mark each item standard, optional, unavailable or buyer-supplied.
How this goes wrong. a project hires staff and commits a demonstration date around an estimate that the contract never converts into a delivery obligation
Freight and customs
The question this topic has to settle is crating, dangerous-goods batteries, Incoterms, import classification, brokerage, taxes and final-site delivery. That sounds narrow, but it crosses mechanics, software, service and contract boundaries: a published maximum may describe one option, one motion or a laboratory condition, while a buyer needs to know what the delivered robot repeats, under what limits and with what remedy when the answer differs from the quotation.
G1, H1 and H2 differ substantially in mass and crate handling, while NEO's consumer-oriented delivery path may bundle different services; destination and contract determine obligations more than the product name. This is a procurement distinction, not a claim that one platform is better everywhere.
Minimum evidence packet. packed dimensions and mass, UN battery documents, tariff classification opinion, Incoterm, importer of record, broker quote, insurance and inside-delivery plan. Ask the seller to mark each item standard, optional, unavailable or buyer-supplied.
How this goes wrong. the purchase price is approved without duties, battery handling, customs delay, liftgate service or the equipment needed to move the crate indoors
Installation and training
The question this topic has to settle is commissioning, account setup, calibration, safe operation, maintenance training and proving that the buyer can run without the vendor. That sounds narrow, but it crosses mechanics, software, service and contract boundaries: a published maximum may describe one option, one motion or a laboratory condition, while a buyer needs to know what the delivered robot repeats, under what limits and with what remedy when the answer differs from the quotation.
developer platforms require integration competence, full-size systems raise facilities and recovery demands, and a managed home robot shifts more onboarding into accounts, connectivity and household rules. This is a procurement distinction, not a claim that one platform is better everywhere.
Minimum evidence packet. installation statement of work, prerequisites, named trainees, competency checks, calibration records, emergency drills, admin transfer and a documented handover test. Ask the seller to mark each item standard, optional, unavailable or buyer-supplied.
How this goes wrong. a vendor demonstration is mistaken for training, so the system becomes idle or unsafe as soon as the visiting engineer leaves
Warranty coverage
The question this topic has to settle is warranty duration, covered components, excluded development use, shipping, remedies and the evidence needed for a claim. That sounds narrow, but it crosses mechanics, software, service and contract boundaries: a published maximum may describe one option, one motion or a laboratory condition, while a buyer needs to know what the delivered robot repeats, under what limits and with what remedy when the answer differs from the quotation.
Unitree editions can carry different warranty terms and support routes, while NEO Early Access ownership advertises a defined warranty relationship; neither should be generalized beyond the signed terms and region. This is a procurement distinction, not a claim that one platform is better everywhere.
Minimum evidence packet. warranty text for the exact edition, start date, excluded motions, battery treatment, labor, freight allocation, turnaround target and claim-data requirements. Ask the seller to mark each item standard, optional, unavailable or buyer-supplied.
How this goes wrong. a failure is technically covered but the buyer pays international freight, loses months to diagnosis or discovers that experimental control voided the remedy
Maintenance and spares
The question this topic has to settle is preventive maintenance, consumables, modular repairs, spares, service locations and measuring availability. That sounds narrow, but it crosses mechanics, software, service and contract boundaries: a published maximum may describe one option, one motion or a laboratory condition, while a buyer needs to know what the delivered robot repeats, under what limits and with what remedy when the answer differs from the quotation.
compact and full-size Unitree platforms create different part and technician needs, while NEO's tendon-driven domestic design and managed service relationship require its own replacement and continuity questions. This is a procurement distinction, not a claim that one platform is better everywhere.
Minimum evidence packet. maintenance schedule, wear limits, parts catalogue, lead times, field-replaceable units, tooling, software pairing, service labor and target mean time to repair. Ask the seller to mark each item standard, optional, unavailable or buyer-supplied.
How this goes wrong. a small damaged actuator, cable or cover idles the entire robot because no stocked part, trained technician or software re-pairing path was purchased
This guide uses manufacturer material checked on August 30, 2026: Unitree G1 product page, Unitree H1 product page, Unitree official store, 1X NEO product and ordering page, 1X legal terms. Prices, configurations, delivery queues, software access and specifications change. Product pages document what a manufacturer currently represents; they are not independent performance tests, and they are not a substitute for the final quotation and terms.
Bottom line
Get the whole chain in writing before ordering: lead time with a definition of what starts the clock, landed cost including duties, what installation includes, what the warranty excludes, and how long a spare joint takes to arrive.
A platform with a slightly worse specification and a two-day spares route usually outperforms a better robot that spends a month waiting for a part.