Unitree G1+ adds a neck and 110% more shoulder torque for $15,000

Unitree has launched the G1+, a refresh of its G1 humanoid that adds a two-joint neck, raising total degrees of freedom from 23 to 25, and more than doubles peak torque at the shoulders and waist. Unveiled in mid-September 2026, the standard G1+ is listed at $15,000 excluding tax and shipping, against $13,500 for the G1, and at about RMB 95,000 including tax in China.

Why it matters: Unitree is upgrading its core humanoid for a $1,500 premium rather than cutting price. The changes target two practical limits of the G1: arm motors that heat up under load and a fixed head that limits where the cameras can look.

What is new in the Unitree G1+?

The G1+ adds a moving neck, stronger and cooler motors, and more sensors, according to Unitree’s product page. The head now has two degrees of freedom, tilting from −25° to +36° and turning ±110°. The rest of the layout is the familiar G1: six joints per leg, five per arm and one at the waist, for 25 in total.

The motor changes are the larger engineering story. Unitree says peak torque at the shoulder and waist motors rose 110%, while heat at the same torque fell 72%. Arm motors gained 43% in peak torque with 30% less heat, and thigh motors run 28% cooler at the same torque. The rated arm payload rises to about 3 kg from about 2 kg, and to about 4 kg on the G1+ EDU.

Sensing is also upgraded. The G1+ carries a binocular camera, a wide-angle camera, a 3D lidar, a six-microphone array, two 10 W speakers and tactile sensors in the head. It can also run from an external power supply, useful on a lab bench. Pandaily counts six upgrade areas in all: the neck, motors, dual vision, touch sensing, audio and the external power port.

How much does the Unitree G1+ cost?

The standard Unitree G1+ costs $15,000, excluding tax and shipping, on Unitree’s international site. That is $1,500 more than the G1’s $13,500 list price. In China, Pandaily and Korean outlet Irobotnews report a price of about RMB 95,000 including tax. The G1+ EDU, which adds options such as a three-DoF waist and dexterous hands, is priced on request.

The EDU version carries an 18-month warranty against eight months for the standard G1+, according to Unitree. Buyers who plan heavy research use should price the two together: the gap in warranty cover is a real cost for a robot used in daily experiments. Our humanoid robot price guide compares the G1+ with other listed humanoids.

What stays the same?

Size, weight and battery are unchanged. The G1+ stands 1,340 mm tall, folds to 690 mm and weighs about 35 kg with its 9,000 mAh battery, which Unitree rates for about two hours. The runtime is the weak point: two hours limits the G1+ to demonstrations, research sessions and short tasks, not a shift of work.

The price strategy also holds. Unitree has built its installed base on list prices well below rivals, as we set out in Unitree’s price war. The G1+ keeps the product under $20,000 while adding hardware that developers would otherwise bolt on themselves. Irobotnews notes it is Unitree’s first major product launch since its listing on China’s A-share market on August 19, 2026.

Why does a humanoid need a neck?

A neck lets the robot point its cameras without turning its whole body. With ±110° of yaw, the G1+ can look at an object on a table, then at a person, while its feet and torso stay put. That matters for manipulation research, where a fixed head forces awkward body moves to keep the hands in view, and for interactive work, where people read head movement as attention.

Together with the stronger arms, the neck makes the G1+ a better base for hand research. Unitree launched its 22-DoF Dex5-S hand a week later, and a head that can follow the hands is the obvious pairing. The G1+ is an incremental refresh, not a new platform, but it addresses the original G1’s fixed head and 2 kg arm limit at a small premium.