XPENG IRON Robot, the next iPhone moment for product managers: MR glasses and the App Store for humanoid robots

Just recently, if you use Twitter or XAI (the name changed after Elon Musk's acquisition), you can now see that the overseas tech circle has been flooded with posts. And there's only one thing being talked about: XPeng's humanoid robot, IRON, has become the strongest competitor to Elon Musk's Optimus, making Optimus look bad.

After the press conference, there were some little episodes. Because the robot walked with a perfect catwalk, netizens suspected it was a human in disguise. The next day, after disassembling it, they found that it was actually a robot, and it uses a hydraulic system. Its gait is very similar to that of a human.

On the overseas internet, I've seen many computer science doctors and bloggers mention that for a robot to walk like a human with a catwalk, all its components must be integrated into a whole and work in coordination. This reflects a very sophisticated level of robot craftsmanship.

The above are some shares and questions on Twitter.

Its stability in gait and similarity to human movement are almost the same. So much so that after the press conference, many users complained that it was a human in disguise, and they could even see the "ears".

The next day, the press conference was forced to disassemble the robot to prove it was real.

But this incident was used for promotion instead, which once attracted the attention of the overseas internet and almost shocked the entire tech circle.

Now, on XPeng's official website, you can see that they have put the robot into trial operation in the factory and completed various tests.

1. The whole world praises China's robots

After the XPeng IRON robot is launched, and it will support mass production and pre - orders in April next year. The time for everyone to buy a robot will be greatly advanced. In April next year, people can buy a robot for their family or their partner.

You should know a statistic: the shipment volume of condoms and sex toys has changed dramatically in recent years. The shipment of condoms is decreasing, while that of sex toys is increasing. AI large models, MR glasses, and robots will accelerate this process, making humans more and more lonely.

2. XPeng robots lead China's robot industry

Now, if you open Xianyu, you can almost see second - hand and rental shops for Unitree Technology robots. At the same time, Chinese - made robots have started to be sold globally. Huawei's Ascend GPUs have reached a performance level that is only 20% behind Nvidia's, and the monthly production capacity can reach 200,000 units. At the same time, the production speed of robots will also greatly improve labor productivity.

Of course, at first glance when the robot took the stage, people might think it was exactly the same as Tesla's Optimus, or even a copy of the Optimus prototype.

But in terms of gait and walking, they only look similar in appearance. In terms of internal components and the system coordination of the robot, XPeng's IRON is clearly superior.

The next moment for product managers: MR glasses, Agents, and the humanoid robot App Store

Currently, XPeng's robot IRON uses a mask - type interaction device similar to the Vision Pro. At the press conference, He Xiaopeng specifically mentioned that the mask is similar to that of the Vision Pro, making the robot's facial expressions more natural.

The App Store moment for product managers: the robot ROS system

Currently, almost all robots on the market run on the ROS system. Now, the ROS2 system has become the standard. The era of the App Store is coming soon. That is, to determine what a robot can do, you just need to let it download the corresponding applications. However, these applications are not like today's apps with fixed interfaces. They may be skill stores, which are based on fixed large models and corresponding knowledge bases, rather than simple front - end UI interfaces and back - end service programs.

The robot App Store

Based on the ROS2 - based App Store, whether through MR glasses or voice commands, different modules can be loaded for the robot during system operation, similar to how characters in "The Matrix" refresh their relevant data and unlock relevant skills.

The following is Neo, the male protagonist in "The Matrix", who obtains martial arts skills by unlocking skills.

Morpheus instructs the computer room to upload various fighting and martial - arts - related data to Neo (the "writing" process is carried out in the pod/control room). As soon as Neo wakes up from the data - writing process, he blurts out "I know kung fu". Then he practices with Morpheus in the dojo, demonstrating the visual effect of "instantly mastering skills".

In the future, such a market for robots will emerge, and developers' income will be huge. Because this App Store will surely require the continuous participation of the developer ecosystem. So currently, the terminal should first achieve "basic operation", and then product managers will design relevant requirements to complete the corresponding robot App Store applications. And since robot applications involve spatial interaction, they will intersect with the MR glasses' App Store and have some reusable parts.

That is to say, applications developed for the MR glasses' App Store can surely be quickly associated with the robot's App Store, and then the robot applications can be put on the shelves.

The business model is nothing more than the marginal effect of the number of user downloads, or paid downloads, or private deployment.

In short, just like the PC. In the early days, those who made PCs also developed software. Later, the hardware and software of PCs were separated. Then, PC software gradually evolved into mobile internet, PC clients, and SaaS platforms, becoming more and more refined.

For example, the rocking - control algorithm announced by Westlake University in June 2025 allows robots to move in real - time synchrony with humans. After this algorithm was made public in June, Unitree Technology applied to use it as the underlying theory for its rocking - control platform.

With this platform, it will be faster to develop various robot applications on it. Because developers don't need to control the hands and the robot's limbs point - to - point. The underlying rocking - control system will solve these problems for you. Instead, you only need to connect to the various standard APIs provided by the platform.

The following is the relationship between the robot App Store and robot manufacturers

Currently, the ROS system comes from the United States. Although ROS will indeed become the foundation of the App Store, there won't be a situation similar to that of Android and iPhone. Unless a robot - manufacturing company abandons ROS on its own. However, compared with mobile phones, the hardware cost and assembly of robots are more complex. So currently, almost all robots must be compatible with the ROS system, similar to how Android is based on Linux but uses its own system interface and motion - control function modules.

The above shows the relationship between robots and developers. You can see that as the number of robot developers and robot terminals increases, the ROS - based App Store will become a standard that allows developers to access. Eventually, developers can launch their own robot App Store applications.

The iPhone moment for product managers born in the 1990s and 2000s

The biggest regret for product managers born in the 1990s is that they missed the iPhone era. Almost everyone was still in college or had just entered the society for about a year when the iPhone 4 was released.

If you had joined at the time of the iPhone 1's launch, you would have more or less become an early stockholder or equity - holder in an internet company. Almost no one would want to be a civil servant, and no one would worry about the mid - career crisis at the age of 35 because people could earn enough money.

Now, MR glasses and robots are the current iPhone moment. We have witnessed the development of large models from scratch and the evolution of MR glasses from the first generation to the current second generation (Vision Pro).

Product managers who are really prepared should join these two industries as soon as possible. As the cost of robots decreases, the latest Unitree Technology robot can be bought for just over 20,000 yuan, and MR glasses can also be bought for around 20,000 yuan.

Developers are in short supply at this time. Here is a post about the recruitment requirements for product managers, interaction designers, and developers for MR glasses, shared on WeChat Moments.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Kevin's Little Bits of Changing the World" (ID: Kevingbsjddd), written by Kevin's Stories. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.