Prices, Sept 19: Ruko R1 Mini, a $59.99 robot dog; the ¥9,998 Bumi targets families

Two prices at opposite ends of the home-robot market, both back in the news on September 19: a sixty-dollar toy robot dog and the cheapest humanoid in the catalogue, which costs more than twenty times as much.

Ruko R1 Mini: what a $59.99 robot dog gives you

Digital Reviews Network published a review of the Ruko R1 Mini on September 19, tested together with an eight-year-old girl. The list price on the Ruko site is $59.99. Three ways to control it: a 2.4 GHz remote, a gesture controller worn on the wrist and a button on the robot itself. It walks, turns, rolls over, does push-ups and somersaults, dances and does "kung fu", gets back up on its own after a fall, memorises sequences of more than 10 commands, tells stories and plays music; the battery lasts up to 50 minutes. No app, account or connection is needed, and the recommended age is 3 and up. The flaws noted: the gesture controller is big for the smallest hands and the sounds "will sooner or later test a parent's patience". The verdict: "unapologetically a toy rather than a sophisticated robotic companion". From the Ruko site, international shipping takes 10–20 days, with returns within 14 days.

Why it matters for buyers: at this price you buy a toy that does acrobatics, not a robot pet that recognises its owner or learns. The advantage is precisely the absence of app and cloud: no subscriptions, no data leaving the house, no servers that get switched off one day. Anyone ordering from the United States must add VAT and any import duties, which weigh more on the total than they do on a robot costing thousands of euros.

Noetix's founder: the ¥9,998 Bumi is plastic to keep the price down, and it sells to families

In an interview published on September 19 by Tencent News, Jiang Zheyuan, founder of Noetix, explained what holds up the Bumi, the 98 cm humanoid launched on JD.com in October 2025 at ¥9,998, the first under 10,000 yuan. The shell is entirely plastic, with no metal parts, and that is what keeps the cost down compared with competitors. The robot reaches families through retail; the other customers are kindergartens, schools, vocational institutes and universities. Jiang argues that keeping the price low serves to put many robots into circulation and collect data at scale.

Why it matters for buyers: the Bumi is the cheapest model among the humanoids in the Robolero catalogue, and the reason for the price is now stated plainly by the maker: plastic instead of metal. That means light weight and contained cost, but also a machine to be treated as a fragile object, not a tool. The sources show no official channel for Europe, so anyone who wants one goes through importers, with customs, VAT and warranty to be clarified. The next price reference arrives tomorrow: on September 20 Qiyuan announces in Shanghai the price lists for its Q1 (88 cm) and T1 (100 cm), open for pre-order since August with a ¥1,000 deposit worth ¥2,000 toward the balance. If they stay under the 10,000-yuan threshold, the Bumi will have direct competition for the first time.