Microduck preorders now ship after April 2027, Pollen Robotics says

Pollen Robotics, the Hugging Face robotics team, now says current Microduck preorders should ship after April 2027, on a first-ordered, first-shipped basis. The $399 robot duck was first pitched for delivery before Christmas 2026.

The notice sits on the Pollen store's Microduck page. It opens with the line "The community ordered a lot of ducks."

What changed on the shipping date

Pollen's launch post in August said first deliveries were targeted before Christmas 2026 in North America, Europe and the UK. On October 22 the store was estimating four to six months for new orders, according to Stark Insider. By October 28 the page had moved to the April 2027 wording, the same outlet reports.

The sources don't fully agree on what's current. Stark Insider says Pollen's shipping policy still lists the Christmas target, even though the product page doesn't. Pollen hasn't said which one governs.

The stakes for buyers

Anyone who preordered hoping for a holiday gift is likely out of luck. Orders placed after the earliest wave look set for a spring 2027 delivery at best.

Honestly, I'd read the product page, not the older policy text, as the real expectation. It's the newer notice, and it's the one that says "ship after April 2027".

The robot itself is a niche product. It has 15 motors, a camera, LiDAR, two IMUs and a removable battery that lasts roughly an hour. It stands 25 cm tall and weighs about 780 g, going by Pollen's store listing.

Why demand jumped

Stark Insider says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang brought four Microducks on stage on October 21, had them sit, stand and nap on command, and told viewers to order from Pollen's website. The same report says more than 20,000 people are now in Pollen's queue.

First-day figures vary. BigGo Finance reports more than $2.6 million in orders within 24 hours. Resell Calendar says over 5,000 Microducks were sold in the first 24 hours. I couldn't find an official Pollen total, so I'd treat both as unconfirmed.

What the $399 buys

Pollen opened preorders on August 27 at $399 before taxes and shipping. The Register described it as a robot ready for training via reinforcement learning in an open-source physics simulator. TechCrunch covered the launch the same day.

The open-source label has limits. Pollen's own press kit says it covers the software stack only, and asks reporters not to call the robot open-source hardware. A Pollen representative told The Register the company has no plans to open source the hardware.

That matters for repairs. With closed design files, replacement parts have to come from Pollen. The company sells a Dev Pack with spare motors, priced at $119 according to eesel's breakdown.

Pollen's representative also kept expectations modest on capability. Santiago Pavon estimates the duck probably can't lift much more than 100 grams. A review-style roundup from eesel calls it "a workbench, not a butler".

What happens next

Pollen says it's ramping up production, but it hasn't given a firmer date for new orders. At launch the robot was available in the US, Canada, the EU, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea, with more countries promised later.

I think the next thing to watch is whether the Christmas line disappears from the shipping policy, and whether early-wave buyers get units this year. If you haven't ordered, I'd wait for real delivery reports before paying a deposit on a robot with a 2027 date.