News · Research
Digit 5 vs Digit 4 — field evidence vs announced upgrades
Source: Agility Robotics
Lead strip: Status: Digit 4 field / Digit 5 announced · Availability: enterprise / RaaS (Digit 4 live; Digit 5 early access H1 2027) · All-in cues: public list —; Digit 5 orders milestone-conditioned · Primary: /robots/digit/ · Scoring: methodology
Evidence brief only — not a sold ranking. Digit 4 ≠ Digit 5. Field hours and tote counts stay on the Digit 4 ledger until Digit 5 ships and logs its own.
Agility Robotics’ 15 September 2026 unveil of Digit 5 is easy to misread as an upgrade of the same robot that already works in warehouses. It is not. Buyers need two columns: what Digit 4 has already done in the field, and what Digit 5 is announced to become. Product home: Digit.
Robot strips (context, not a trophy board)
- Digit · Agility Robotics · Status: Digit 4 field / Digit 5 announced · Use: warehouse logistics · Evidence: named sites + published hours/totes · → /robots/digit/
- Figure 03 · Figure AI · Status: Pilot (BMW Spartanburg sequencing) · Use: factory logistics · Evidence: BMW Group partner statement · → /robots/figure-03/
Rule one: Digit 4 ≠ Digit 5
Agility’s Digit 5 announcement states that Digit 4 has logged more than 65,000 hours of operational time across North American customer sites, including GXO, Schaeffler, Amazon, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, with nearly three years of continuous commercial deployment framing (Digit 5 unveil).
At GXO Flowery Branch (Georgia), Agility separately reported Digit moving more than 100,000 totes, with roughly 98% on-task accuracy language in the Digit 5 materials (100k totes; restated in the unveil).
Digit 5 is the next hardware generation: redesigned legs, higher claimed payload and reach, a faster charge cycle, swappable end-effectors, and a “cooperatively safe” architecture aimed at closer human proximity. Early access is expected in the first half of 2027; general availability for manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution operators is framed by end of 2027.
Do not assign Digit 4’s hours, tote counts, site tenure, or accuracy claims to Digit 5 hardware. Announced specs are not field proof. Criteria: methodology.
Digit 4 field ledger (keep GXO hours here)
What careful readers can cite for Digit 4 from primary Agility / GXO materials:
| Evidence | What it supports | Caveat |
|---|---|---|
| >65,000 operational hours (Digit 4, multi-site) | Multi-year industrial tenure | Vendor-reported cumulative hours |
| 100,000+ totes at GXO Flowery Branch | High-volume tote-transfer workflow | Site-specific; not a global SLA |
| ~98% on-task accuracy (GXO, Agility) | Task-level reliability claim | Vendor framing while on-task |
| Multi-year RaaS with GXO (announced Jun 2024) | Paid commercial structure | Terms beyond headline — |
| Named sites: GXO, Schaeffler, Amazon, TMMC | Customer diversity signal | Per-site KPIs mostly unpublished |
GXO’s multi-year agreement followed a late-2023 pilot and June 2024 commercial / RaaS framing for Digit in live logistics operations (GXO × Agility multi-year). That history belongs to the Digit 4 / current field generation column.
Contrast evidence class (not a ranking) with Figure 03: BMW partner-stated sequencing pilot after a separate Figure 02 body-shop history — different workflow, different generation discipline.
Digit 5 announced upgrades (label as announced)
From Agility’s 15 September 2026 materials (vendor claims until Digit 5 itself logs field hours):
- Payload: repeated lifts up to ~50 lb (22.7 kg) — framed as ~40% more than prior generation for OSHA single-person lift coverage.
- Reach / size: stands 5′11″ (1.81 m), weighs 284 lb (129 kg), reach up to ~7.2 ft (2.2 m) (vs Digit 4’s ~5.5 ft reach language in the unveil).
- Energy: ~90-minute runtime with ~9-minute charge → 10:1 run-to-charge (vs Digit 4’s 2:1 language).
- Tools: swappable grippers with ISO-standard mounting flanges.
- Safety architecture: human detection, motion cues, independent safety controller; NVIDIA IGX Thor / Halos for Robotics framing.
- Geography: planned commercial path beyond North America into EU / UK with CE and related marks expected.
Agility’s product page notes that some Digit 5 figures are preliminary estimates from pre-production testing and that certain safety features are still being developed (Digit 5 product). Treat those as announced / pre-production, not as Digit 4 operational KPIs.
Orders, capacity, and timing — separate from hours
As of May 2026, Agility cites more than $300 million in multi-year Digit 5 customer orders, subject to contractual milestones. That is contracted potential value, not cash collected and not Digit 4 tote proof (unveil; SPAC-related summaries).
RoboFab (Salem, Oregon) is described as designed to produce up to 10,000 Digit robots per year — designed capacity, not 2026 shipped output.
Buyer timing cues:
- Need robots working in a warehouse now → evaluate Digit 4 field references (GXO hours/totes, named sites).
- Need next-gen cooperative-safety / payload / charge claims → treat as Digit 5 roadmap with H1 2027 early access.
- Do not merge the two when scoring availability or paid-deployment depth.
Public walk-up list price for either generation: —. Live commercials are enterprise / RaaS-specific.
Practical takeaway
- Keep Digit 4 GXO hours and tote counts on the Digit 4 ledger.
- Score Digit 5 for announced specs, order-book claims, and 2027 access timing — not for 65k hours.
- Ask vendors which generation will sit on your floor before comparing payload or safety slides to Flowery Branch KPIs.
- Cross-read Digit, Figure 03, and methodology.
FAQ
Is Digit 5 already logging the 65,000 hours?
No. Agility attributes the >65,000 hours and GXO 100,000+ totes to Digit 4. Digit 5 early access is expected in H1 2027. Digit 4 ≠ Digit 5.
When can buyers get Digit 5?
Agility expects early access in the first half of 2027 and broader availability for manufacturing/warehouse/distribution operators by end of 2027, with EU/UK market-access marks planned. Until delivery, operational KPIs remain Digit 4’s.
Does the $300M order figure mean Digit 5 is proven in the field?
No. It is framed as multi-year Digit 5 orders subject to milestones (as of May 2026). Milestone-conditioned backlog is not the same evidence class as completed field hours.
How does Digit compare with Figure 03 on evidence class?
Digit carries the denser published warehouse hours/totes narrative (Digit 4). Figure 03 carries a BMW partner-stated factory sequencing project for the current generation, with Figure 02 body-shop history kept separate. Different evidence classes — not a trophy board.
Sources
- Agility Robotics: Digit 5 unveil (15 Sep 2026)
- Agility Robotics: Digit 5 product page
- Agility Robotics: Digit moves over 100k totes (20 Nov 2025)
- Agility Robotics: GXO multi-year agreement (27 Jun 2024)
- The Robot Report: Digit 5 legs, batteries, safety
- Robotscomparison: Digit, Figure 03, methodology
Digit 5 delivered field hours, public retail list price, and exact live RaaS quotes: —.