Plaud Note Pro is a great AI-powered recorder that I carry everywhere

There have been a slew of AI voice recording gadgets like Omi, Bee, and Friend that want to capture your voice and allow you to converse with an AI chatbot. While Bee was bought by Amazon and devices like the Creek Ring by Sandbar and a new AI Ring from former Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky are expected to enter the market next year, the jury is still out on the success of wearable AI devices.

Amid all this, Plaud thrives by targeting business users with a different approach: a credit card-sized recording device that fits in your wallet. The company says it has shipped more than 1 million units and that more than 50% of its customers have converted to professional subscriptions.

The company’s latest iteration, the Plaud Note Pro, launched for pre-order 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 credit cards stacked – it’s the thinnest AI recording device on the market and easily slips into a wallet or attaches magnetically to the back of your phone.

The company offers a wallet-like pouch and magnetic ring accessory that attaches to MagSafe-compatible phones, allowing you to mount the Note Pro on the back of your iPhone or compatible Android device. The device is also very light (30 grams) and you won’t feel its weight if you keep the Note Pro in your wallet.

One of the main 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 64 GB of built-in memory, which allows it to 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 the effective audio range as 16.4 feet, I’ve recorded lectures at conferences seated far from the stage and gotten satisfactory results. The device also has a voice processing unit for noise cancellation, voice isolation and echo cancellation.

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 lectures there. After that, I used the device to record phone calls and take personal notes. Despite all this use, the device was still 55% charged after 15 days. The company claims that you can get 30 hours of continuous recording and 60 days of standby time on 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%, then you’re set for at least a few weeks unless you record hours of content.

One problem with wearable AI devices is that you need to ensure, via an indicator, that the device is recording (or has stopped recording). Fortunately, Plaud Note Pro has a small screen that displays your recording status. You can also press a button while recording to highlight a point made by a speaker, and it will appear prominently in the AI-powered summary. The screen also shows you the remaining battery level.

There is intentionality behind recording with this device. You also get haptic feedback to start and stop recording. The visual indication and your action of pressing the button also makes it easier to let other meeting participants know that you are recording the session.

You can choose to simply record the sessions and export them to another AI transcription service that you subscribe to. Plaud natively offers 300 minutes of free transcription each month. The company also lets you personalize AI-generated notes with templates tailored to different profiles and tasks. You can also create your own template. The transcription is accurate in most cases and you can now also access the recording, transcript and notes via a website. The company also addressed the problem problem that my former colleague Brian Heater had to tap the word and not listen to the corresponding recording.

While a hanging or pin format may be easier to carry, the card format recorder offers better microphones and more versatile placement options. It’s worth buying the $179 gadget if you attend a lot of in-person meetings.