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

There have been AI voice recording tools like Omi, Bee, and Bwenzi that aim to record your voice and let you talk to an AI chatbot. When Bee was bought by Amazon, it’s tools like The sound of the ring and Sandbar is new AI ring from former Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky is expected to enter the market next year, the jury is still out on the success of wearable AI devices.

Amidst all this, Plaud is succeeding in targeting professional users with an alternative: a credit card-style recording device that fits in your wallet. The company claims to have shipped more than a million units and that more than 50% of customers have converted to subscribers.

The company’s latest iteration, the Plaud Note Pro, is set to go on sale in August two years after the original Note, priced at $179. After using this device for over a month, it has become a staple in my daily carry – and its slim design makes it easy to carry.

At just 0.12 inches – about the width of three stored cards – it’s the smallest AI recording device on the market and easily fits in a bag or strapped to the back of your phone.

The company offers a wallet-like case and a magnetic attachment that attaches to MagSafe-equipped phones, allowing you to place the Note Pro on the back of your iPhone or Android device. The device is also very light at 30 grams, and you won’t feel heavy if you keep the Note Pro in your bag.

The main difference between Plaud and other AI devices is that the Note Pro does not need to be connected to your phone to record voice. The device has 64GB of internal memory, so it can store a lot 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 sound from all directions. While the company advertises that the sound quality is 16.4 feet, I’ve recorded at conferences sitting far from the stage with satisfactory results. The device also has a built-in audio module for noise cancellation, noise isolation, and network blocking.

The recording device has an impressive battery life. I went to a conference earlier this month with a fully loaded device and recorded several interviews and discussions there. After that, I used the device to record phone calls and write my notes. Despite all this use, the device had a 55% charge after 15 days. The company says that you can stop recording continuously for 30 hours and 60 days of stand-by on a single charge.

Plaud’s new device comes with a charger that has a USB-C cable on the other side. The device takes two hours to charge from 0%, and then you are set for several weeks unless you are recording hours of content.

One problem with wearable AI devices is that you need to verify, via a signal, that the device is recording (or has stopped recording). Fortunately, Plaud Note Pro has a small screen that shows how you are recording. You can also press a button while recording to highlight what the speaker is saying, and it will appear prominently in the AI-powered summary. The screen also shows you the remaining battery level.

There is a purpose behind recording with this device. You also get haptic feedback for starting and stopping recording. The display and action of clicking this button also makes it easy to show others in the meeting that you are recording the session.

You can choose to simply record sessions and send them to another registered AI writing service. Plaud native offers 300 minutes of free writing every month. The company also allows you to edit AI-generated content through templates that fit different profiles and tasks. You can also create your own template. The documentation is often accurate, and now you can also find recordings, articles, and articles through the website. The company also responded about problem my old friend Brian Heater had of tapping on the sound and not playing the same recording.

While a tilt or pin-type is easier to carry around, a larger card reader offers better microphones and more flexible switching options. It’s worth buying the $179 device if you take a lot of one-on-one meetings.