There were a lot of “the new iPhone” claims in the recent years – so now with humanoid robots? I’m not suggesting that humanoid robots represent a ‘new iPhone moment’, but the thought did cross my mind when I saw Unitree’s ‘Robot Skills Store’. See below.
Back in 2007, the iPhone wasn’t just a better phone. It was a shift. The real revolution didn’t come from hardware specs—it came a year later, with the App Store. Suddenly, developers—not Apple—decided what the iPhone could do. [umatechnology.org]
Fast forward to today we’re starting to see the same pattern emerge in robotics.
From hardware to “skills”
Unitree recently launched something that looks suspiciously like an App Store for humanoid robots. They call it UniStore.
The idea is simple: download skills the way you download apps. [pandaily.com]
Want your robot to dance? Install it.
Need a patrol routine? Download it.
Voice interaction? There’s probably a package coming.
Steve Jobs would have said: There’s a skill for that.
Users can browse, install, and even build their own capabilities—just like on a smartphone. [usrobotstore.com]
This is a big shift because until now, robots were like old Nokia phones: what you bought is what you got.
The parallel is obvious…
- iPhone: Hardware + App Store → explosive innovation
- Humanoid robots: Hardware + Skill Store → just getting started
The interesting part is not only the robot (it’s exciting as hell in fact) but rather the ecosystem forming around it.
If this works, robots won’t be defined by what manufacturers ship, but by what developers build.
And history shows what happens then.
…but the differences are even bigger
Here’s where the analogy breaks: An iPhone app crashing is annoying.
A robot “app” crashing? That’s a 40kg machine falling on the floor—or worse.
Software suddenly has a physical consequence.
That means:
- validation and safety become critical
- updates are not just UX improvements—they affect motion, balance, interaction
- the barrier to “just build an app” is much higher
Also: robots are still early.
Right now, many of the available “skills” are… let’s say entertaining. Dancing, fighting, choreography.
Useful apps (cleaning, logistics, real work) will take time. [forbes.com]
We’re probably closer to the “snake game era” than to Uber or Slack.
So what?
If you zoom out, the real question isn’t:
Are humanoid robots useful today?
It’s:
Are we at the beginning of a platform shift?
Because if humanoids follow the same trajectory as smartphones:
- hardware will commoditize
- ecosystems will win
- and the real value will come from software layers on top
Some estimates already point to a massive market forming in the next decade. [goldmansachs.com]
We’ve seen this movie before. Just not with legs. 🙂
What are your thoughts? Where are we heading with humanoid robots? Let me know here or on X.
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