The Plaude NotePin is a great AI voice recorder, and it’s totally doomed | The Verge

Plaud NotePin Review: A Functional but Doomed Device

The Plaud NotePin is a small, wearable voice recorder that transcribes, summarizes, and extracts information from audio recordings. It uses mature AI technology and works effectively, offering convenient hands-free recording via a lanyard or wristband.

Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths: Accurate transcription and summarization, convenient form factor, easy recording process.
• Weaknesses: Limited integration with other apps, requires manual transcription initiation in the app, relatively high price considering built-in phone/watch features, subscription model for full functionality.

The Verdict: Not a Necessary Gadget

The author concludes that while the NotePin functions well, its functionality is largely redundant due to similar, often better-integrated features offered by iOS 18/macOS Sequoia, Google's Pixel Recorder, and other apps. The convenience of the NotePin's form factor is outweighed by the lack of seamless integration with the user's existing digital ecosystem. The author suggests that AI voice recording is rapidly becoming commoditized, rendering dedicated devices like the NotePin unnecessary.

Future Potential

The article acknowledges that future developments, such as improved API access and more intelligent AI assistants, could change this assessment. However, as things stand, the NotePin and similar devices are not sufficiently useful to warrant purchase, mainly due to the lack of integration with other apps.