Subscription Model

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Paying monthly or yearly to use a robot or its software features, instead of buying it outright.

The subscription model is a way of charging where users pay monthly or yearly for the right to use a robot, or for some software capability, while the manufacturer handles maintenance, upgrades, and part of the after-sales support. For users, it lowers the barrier of a one-time purchase; for manufacturers, it produces steadier revenue and lets them keep improving the product through continuous software updates and a data feedback loop. It's close in spirit to robot-as-a-service (RaaS) for enterprise customers, except the subscription model is more often used for consumer-facing products, and also commonly used to charge separately for individual software features.

ExampleWhen 1X opened preorders for its home humanoid robot NEO in 2025, buyers could either pay outright or choose a $499-a-month subscription.

Also called: Monthly Subscription
Related: Robot-as-a-Service · Robot Rental · Consumer-Grade Robot · 1X NEO · Over-the-Air (OTA) Update · To Consumer (B2C)
Sources: 1X Technologies 官网 (Chinese)
As of: 2025-10