This Robot Might Have The Best Hands Of Any Humanoid Ever

InnovationConsumer TechThis Robot Might Have The Best Hands Of Any Humanoid EverByJohn Koetsier,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster.Follow AuthorJun 01, 2026, 02:45pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.1X's humanoid robot Neo might just have the very best hands of any robot on (or soon to be on) the market, with 22 degrees of actuated freedom.1XBefore we started recording our recent podcast, 1X head of product and design Dar Sleeper showed me something actually amazing on his phone. It was humanoid robot hands moving at incredible speed: a speed and dexterity I’ve never seen before from a robot. He swore it was real time and real speed, not sped up like so many robot demos. That, plus what he told me later in the show, gives me a strong suspicion that 1X’s Neo might just have the best hands of any humanoid robot ever when it ships later this year.They’re that insanely good, which is amazing because Neo is going to be vastly cheaper than many other shipping humanoid robots at $20,000 purchase price or $499/month subscription cost.And the key reason is actuated degrees of freedom.“We have one of the most interesting hands in the world,” Sleeper told me. “Twenty-two degrees of actuated freedom. I think people don’t really understand the differences here. People hear degrees of freedom, and they just take that as a given … they don’t understand the variance. So 22 degrees of actuated freedom means you can actually actuate every degree of freedom that is available.”Watch the episode here:When 1X announced Neo’s hands at preorder launch in October 2025, the spec sheet said "22 degrees of freedom." That number has become an industry benchmark, shorthand for human-level dexterity. But Sleeper draws a sharp distinction that spec sheets almost never make.MORE FOR YOUJust because a robo...