PLAUD NotePin is a $169 wearable AI gadget that transcribes and summarizes anything - Liliputing (2024)

Earlier this year Humane launched an AI Pin gadget that was meant to be a wearable AI assistant, but it quickly crashed and burned due to a combination of a high price tag and limited functionality and limited reliability.

Now PLAUD is launching is hoping to succeed where Humane failed by launching a cheaper wearable that’s designed to do fewer things, but do them well. It’s still called a pin though. The PLAUD NotePin is basically an AI-enhanced voice recorder that can transcribe and summarize your meetings, conversations, or notes-to-self. It’s available for pre-order for $169.

The NotePin is designed to be worn as a necklace or wristband, or clipped or pinned to your clothing so that it’s always within reach.

It’snot always listening though: you have to press the pin to start recording audio. Once you do that though, it can transcribe conversations, apply labels to let you know who’s speaking, and provide text-based summaries that are synchronized with a mobile or web app so you can search for something that was said in a previously recorded meeting.

PLAUD says the NotePin can provide up to 20 hours of continuous recording time or 40 days of standby life, so it sounds like only the heaviest-duty users will need to charge it daily. Most folks will probably be able to get by with charging the battery once or twice a week at most.

While the $169 price tag is a lot easier to swallow than the $699 asking price for the Humane AI Pin, keep in mind that some features are locked behind a paywall.

There is a “Free Starter Plan” that offers up to 300 minutes of transcription time per month and “basic AI features including voice-to-text transcription, 10+ summary templates, visualized mind-maps, speaker labels, audio import, and audio trimming capabilities.” It supports 59 languages

But in order to access more advanced features you’ll need to pay $79 per year for the “Pro Plan” which includes up to 1200 minutes of transcription time per month plus additional “professional and custom templates, with more enhanced AI features to come.”

The NotePin isn’t PLAUD’s first AI hardware device. It joins the PLAUD Note, a $159 credit card-sized gadget that snaps magnetically to the back of a phone and provides similar functionality. What makes the new device different is that it’s smaller and meant to be worn, which means you don’t need to take anything out of your pocket or handbag to start recording, because you’re already wearing the recorder.

via Wired