Plaud Note Pro is an excellent AI recorder that I carry with me wherever I go

There has been a wave of AI voice recording tools like Omi, Bee, and Friend that want to capture your voice and let you talk to an AI chatbot. While Amazon has acquired the Bee, and devices like Sandbar’s Stream Ring and a new AI Ring from former Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky are set to hit the market next year, the jury is still out on how successful wearable AI devices will be.

Amid all this, Plaud thrives by targeting power 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 switched to professional subscriptions.

The company’s latest release, the Plaud Note Pro, went up for pre-order in August, two years after the original Note, priced at $179. After using the device for over a month, it’s become an essential part of my everyday bag — and its ultra-slim design makes that easy.

At just 0.12 inches thick — roughly the width of three stacked credit cards — it’s the thinnest AI recording device on the market and can easily fit in a wallet or attach magnetically to the back of your phone.

The company offers a wallet-like case and magnetic loop accessory that attaches to MagSafe-enabled phones, allowing you to secure the Note Pro to the back of your iPhone or compatible Android device. The device is also very light at 30 grams, and you will not feel its weight if you keep the Note Pro in your wallet.

One of the key differences between Plaud and other AI-powered wearables is that the Note Pro doesn’t need to be connected to your phone to record audio. The device has an internal memory of 64 GB, so it can store a large amount of recordings without transferring them to your phone or uploading them to the cloud.

The Plaud Note Pro has four MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) microphones to pick up sound from all directions. While the company advertises an effective audio range of 16.4 feet, I’ve recorded talks at conferences while sitting farther away from the stage and gotten satisfactory results. The device also has a single audio processing unit for noise suppression, sound 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 some interviews and conversations there. Next, I used the device to record some phone calls and take personal notes. Despite all this use, the device still charged 55% after 15 days. The company says you can get 30 hours of continuous recording and 60 days of standby on a single charge.

The new Plaud comes with a proprietary charger with a USB-C cable on the other end. It takes two hours to charge the device from 0%, and after that you’re set for at least two weeks unless you’re recording hours of content.

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

There is an intention behind recording with this device. You also get haptic feedback to start and stop recording. The visual cue and button press action also make it easy to signal to others in the meeting that you are recording the session.

You can choose to record only sessions and export them to another AI transcription service you have subscribed to. Plaud originally offers 300 minutes of free streaming each month. The company also lets you customize AI-generated notes with templates suitable for different profiles and tasks. You can create your own template too. The transcription is accurate in most cases, and you can now also access the recording, transcript, and notes through a website. The company also addressed the issue my former colleague Brian Heater had of clicking on a word and not playing the corresponding recording.

While a pendant or pin-like form factor may be easier to hold, a card-sized recorder offers better microphones and more versatile placement options. It’s worth buying the $179 tool if you hold a lot of in-person meetings.