There has been a flurry of AI voice recording gadgets like Omi, Bee, and Friend that want to capture your voice and let you converse with an AI chatbot. While Bee was acquired by Amazon, and devices like the Stream ring by Sandbar and a new AI ring from former Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky are set to enter the market next year, the jury is still out on the success of wearable AI devices.
Amid all this, Plaud is thriving by targeting professional users with a different approach: a credit card-sized recording device that slips into your wallet. The company says it has shipped more than a million units and that more than 50% of its customers have converted to pro subscriptions.
The company’s latest iteration, the Plaud Note Pro, launched for preorder in August, two years after the original Note, priced at $179. After using the device for over a month, it has become an essential part of my daily carry — and its ultra-thin design makes that easy.
At just 0.12 inches thick — about the width of three stacked credit cards — it’s the thinnest AI recording device on the market and easily fits in a wallet or attaches magnetically to the back of your phone.
The company provides a wallet-like pouch and a magnetic ring accessory that attaches to MagSafe-enabled phones, allowing you to mount the Note Pro on the back of your iPhone or compatible Android device. The device is also very light at 30 grams, and you won’t feel the weight if you keep the Note Pro in your wallet.
One of the key differences between Plaud and other AI wearables is that the Note Pro doesn’t need to be connected to your phone to record audio. The device has 64GB of onboard memory, so it can store a large volume of recordings without transferring them to your phone or uploading them to the cloud.
Plaud Note Pro has four MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) microphones to pick up audio from all directions. While the company advertises that the effective audio range is 16.4 feet, I have recorded talks at conferences while sitting far from the stage and gotten satisfactory results. The device also has one voice processing unit for noise suppression, voice isolation, and echo cancellation.
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The recording device has impressive battery life. I went to a conference earlier this month with a fully charged device and recorded a few interviews and talks there. After that, I used the device for some phone call recording and personal note-taking. Despite all that use, the device still had 55% charge after 15 days. The company says you can wring 30 hours of continuous recording and 60 days of standby from a single charge.
Plaud’s new device comes with a proprietary charger with a USB-C cable on the other end. The device takes two hours to charge from 0%, and then you are set for at least a couple of weeks unless you are recording hours of content.
One problem with wearable AI devices is that you have to ensure, through an indicator, that the device is recording (or has stopped recording). Thankfully, Plaud Note Pro has a tiny screen that displays your recording status. You can also press a button while recording to highlight a point a speaker is making, and it will show up in the AI-powered summary prominently. The screen also shows you the remaining battery level.
There is intentionality behind recording with this device. You also get haptic feedback for starting and stopping the recording. The visual indication and your action of pressing the button also make it easier to signal to others in the meeting that you are recording the session.
You can choose to just record sessions and export them to another AI transcription service you are subscribed to. Plaud natively provides 300 minutes of free transcription every month. The company also lets you customize AI-generated notes through templates suited for different profiles and tasks. You can create your own template as well. The transcription is accurate in most instances, and now you can also access the recording, transcript, and notes through a website. The company has also addressed the problem my former colleague Brian Heater had of tapping on the word and not being played the corresponding recording.
While a pendant or pin-like form factor is possibly easier to carry, the card-sized recorder offers better microphones and more versatile placement options. It’s worth buying the $179 gadget if you take a lot of in-person meetings.
