The Verge's tech reviewer argues that the humanoid robot butler, despite dominating this year's tech shows, is not a practical solution for home automation. At IFA in Berlin, several Chinese-made humanoid robots will parade their skills, following on from US firm 1X's $20,000 Neo robot already trialled in homes, but the author contends that legged, human-shaped machines are ill-suited to messy domestic environments and stairs, and that no single robot can master the wide range of tasks a household requires.

Having tested numerous home robots including vacuums, lawnmowers, cat-litter scoops and companion devices such as Amazon's Astro and Intuition Robotics' ElliQ, the writer found that even top humanoid robots at CES could not perform simple tasks like opening a bottle of detergent. Instead, they propose a "robot brain": an AI-powered controller that orchestrates existing smart-home devices intelligently, an approach hinted at by LG's CLOiD, Samsung's shelved Ballie, and voice assistants like Alexa Plus and Google's Gemini for Home, alongside a similar concept due to launch from Tuya at IFA this week.