Unitree R1 Timeline

Unitree began selling the R1 worldwide through Alibaba's AliExpress marketplace, the first time a humanoid robot has been sold on a mainstream consumer e-commerce site. International coverage spans North America, Europe, Japan and Singapore. The R1 Air listing on the US storefront starts at US$6,800, with deliveries scheduled to begin around 30 June 2026.

Bloomberg reported that Unitree was ramping up global sales of its humanoid robots ahead of a planned Shanghai listing. The company shipped over 5,500 units in 2025 and set a 2026 target of 10,000–20,000 units, citing the R1's affordability as the main driver of consumer-facing volume.

Coverage of the AliExpress launch noted that the R1 had been included in TIME's "Best Inventions" list, contributing to mainstream visibility around the global debut.

Unitree posted a one-minute introduction video on YouTube under the slogan "Born for Sports", showing the R1 performing cartwheels, handstands, shadowboxing and running across rough terrain. The reveal positioned R1 as the smallest and most affordable humanoid in Unitree's lineup, undercutting both the H1 and the more recent G1.

Initial Chinese pricing was set at CN¥39,900 (~US$5,900) for the standard R1 configuration. Notebookcheck and other outlets noted this made R1 one of the most affordable full-featured humanoids announced to date, with the lower R1 Air tier later disclosed at US$4,900.

The Robot Report covered Unitree's design intent for the R1: prioritising agility and affordability over heavy-duty payload. The 25 kg weight, 26-DoF actuation and backpack-mounted 8-core compute module were detailed at this stage, alongside the UnifoLM AI stack.

Across its full robot range (R1, G1, H1/H1-2 and quadrupeds), Unitree shipped over 5,500 units during 2025 according to Bloomberg, significantly outpacing US humanoid manufacturers in unit volume. The R1 was identified as the platform expected to drive consumer-tier volume in 2026.