Customer Ratings & Reviews

I was a bit skeptical but eager to find a device like this that could record and summarize meetings and ideas. It was a bit stubborn to set up initially but, as an amateur, I'm proud I was able to master it. The instructions were minimal but I was able to find help on YouTube, etc. Once I set it up, I tested it a couple of times before attending a big conference. Easy and helpful. At the big conference, it recorded from the middle of the auditorium (which seems to have had good accoustics). Got home and found it fairly easy to download and get transcriptions in both summarized form and verbatim. Both seemed accurate although some technical terms were amusing. I haven't really tested the verbal replay. In another use, I speak into it with ideas or longer pieces - and I get summaries I can use later. It is a bit awkward if I pause too long while dictating - it seems to stop and start, so when I copy and paste, I have several sections to copy. Once you put it in the provided case as instructed, it seems almost impossible to get out - but I'm not sure I need to get it out. But I love it. Lightweight, inconspicuous, easy to use. A bit pricey for the Note Pro, but I'm glad I bought it! (Attached photo is as it looks in its convenient case.)

Lasts long time. Easy to use. Always ready.love it!

I’ve used AI notetakers in the past, so I was excited to try the Plaud Note Pro, which, in my opinion, is the de facto leader in the AI notetaker space. After spending some time with it, I’ve found that while the hardware is impressive, the ongoing costs are something to keep in mind, as the device price will exceed the selling price if you use it heavily. At its core, the device is a high-quality voice recorder that sends audio to the cloud for AI processing later, similar to every other AI notetaker on the market. For comparison, I have also used a HiDock P1. The physical design is very nice. It has a clear OLED screen that gives you just enough information to know it is recording properly. One of my favorite features is the start and stop vibrations. It makes the device very discreet to use because it doesn’t make any loud beeps when you turn it on or off. It’s also very simple to operate since it’s always ready to go with just a single button press. The audio quality is excellent. The multiple microphones pick up voices clearly, even in large rooms, and there are settings to conserve more battery if you don’t need every mic to pick up a large room. It also works well for recording phone calls through the phone’s speaker, though it won’t capture audio if you are using Bluetooth headphones. Once the recording is finished, the AI summaries are fantastic, as are the mind-maps it generates. There are plenty of useful templates to choose from, which makes organizing your notes for different situations very easy. However, there are some hardware frustrations. It uses a proprietary magnetic charging connector rather than a standard USB cable. This means if you lose or forget the cable, you won’t be able to charge the device at all. The magnet on the connector is a bit weak, so you need to ensure it’s firmly attached or else it won’t charge. I also found the device quite difficult to remove from its magnetic case, although most will likely enjoy having it attached to a phone. I really wish it had wireless charging to make things simpler, though I assume that is a technical constraint. My biggest concern is the cost. Remember, it’s really just a voice recording device that then uploads the recording to the cloud, where an AI model processes it into a very insightful and thorough account of the meeting/conversation. Based on how heavy your usage is, you need to factor in the monthly fee in the cost of the device. After paying $200 for the hardware, you are likely faced with a monthly subscription, since the free plan only gives you 300 minutes, which gets used up very quickly. If you forget to stop a recording, the device will capture everything for the rest of the day and burn through your monthly limit in one go after it uploads the voice file. You might also find yourself wasting minutes on meetings that you later realize you didn't actually need notes for. Because the deduction happens in real-time as it transcribes, there is no way to reclaim minutes from deleted files. If you plan on using this daily, you will likely need to pay for a subscription. While other options on the market offer unlimited transcriptions for free, Plaud feels like a safer bet for privacy and security due to how they store and process your sensitive information. You can access your notes through a website, so bear in mind everything you upload is in the cloud. Their templates and secure handling of data provide more peace of mind than competing devices. Ultimately, you have to decide if the great hardware and security are worth the recurring cost. For me, it’s worth it, even though I dislike paying for yet another subscription. This one may well be worth it, depending on your use case.

I've been interested in the Plaud Note Pro for a while now. I've been looking for a way to capture some of my neighborhood HOA meeting notes and transcribing by hand is painful. I've tried a couple fo the iPhone apps that record and transcribe, but the accuracy is poor. I spend as much time editing the transcript as I did just typing it up myself. I figured it wouldn't hurt to give the Note Pro a try. The unit itself is remarkably thin. Too thin for a USB-C connector, so it's charged by a proprietary cable using a magnetic contact. It has an excellent one line OLED display which was the upgrade from the regular Note that made me pull the trigger. You can see battery levels, record times, and a little soundwave graphic while recording. It's kind of cool. The Note Pro has a magnetic sleeve for the unit that attaches to magsaffe phones or cases. It's an extremely nice extra. The Plaud connects to your phone by bluetooth to the Plaud app (I use an iphone). The app is OK, but kind of basic. It allows you to see your files uploaded to the Plaud cloud and on the recorder. You can access your transcripts as well. You can start and stop recordings from the app or right on the device. There is also a desktop app that ties to the cloud and has a few more features than the phone app. Recordings are clear and crisp. The sound quality has been excelent. But what makes the Plaud better than the cometitors is it's AI link that transcribes the recordings for you. It's extremely nice and works remarkably well. It gives you an overall summary of the recording then the actual transcription itself. It makes attempts at identifying speakers which helps parse the recording into something you can understand. It works great. Why 4 stars instead of 5? A couple of reasons. First, the unit is so remarkably thin that the battery is tiny. It says it can record up to 30 hours. I ran it 2 hours at most and it still had significant battery left. But unused, it delplated the battery over a couple of days in standby mode. This would be tolerable but it has a special charging cord that uses a magnetic connection instead of plug. This connection kept coming loose if anyone jostled the desk it was on and I lost the special cord about 4 times over a week. I'm going to have to buy extras to stash around the house. Another issue I have though is privacy. Everything you record and transcribe goes to the cloud. Plaud talks about their privacy policies but I'm not sure i trust it with anything sensitive. I can't use it for work as my Comapny would have a meltdown if I sent meeting notes into an unknown cloud. Finally, the biggest issue is, like everything else these days, that it requires a subscription to do much with. You get some small amount of minutes of transcription a month then you either have to buy more minutes or have a monthly subscription. I don't need another monthly subscription. It's not a feature I will ever use. For my HOA meetings, the unit works great. Beyond that I don't know.

I never knew I needed an A.I. note taking assistant, but the Plaud Note Pro may be my new favorite gadget. As a compact recording device with advanced capabilities, the Note Pro offers a user experience that is both straightforward and intuitive. The artificial intelligence features within the Plaud application are effective at organizing and summarizing notes, generating mind maps, and identifying actionable next steps. Battery life is excellent. Voice recordings sound good. I love the security and privacy reassurances from Plaud. If I have one gripe it is that the more advanced AI features are only accessible with the unlimited plan, which is quite expensive at $240 per year. Alternatively, Plaud offers a minutes based subscription plan that includes 300 minutes per month with the Starter Plan, though this may grant access to fewer AI features. Despite these limitations, the Note Pro stands out as an excellent choice for anyone seeking a powerful and easy to use note taking device. Setup: The package includes the Plaud Note Pro, a magnetic case, a magnetic adapter for users with non-MagSafe phones / cases, and a proprietary USB-C charging cable. To use the device, users must install the Plaud app on a compatible Android or Apple device. Experience: The Plaud Note Pro includes a compact display that indicates recording status, syncing activity, and charging progress. Its slim profile is comparable to a small stack of credit cards. Recording can be started by pressing the button in the corner and stopped by pressing the same button again, making operation straightforward. When users are ready to generate a transcript and AI summary, they can sync the Note Pro with the Plaud application on their phone. The recording quality is strong, and the AI performs particularly well when summarizing notes. The device can be used to record and transcribe phone calls or in-person meetings, and the software automatically adjusts to support the appropriate recording mode. On a full charge, the Plaud Note Pro provides approximately 30 hours of recording time. In practical use, users may exhaust the minutes included in the monthly Starter Plan before depleting the device’s battery. Regarding battery life, the Note Pro comes with a proprietary USB-C to proprietary magnetic charging adapter. The charger never attaches quite as solidly as I would like and loses connection quite easily. The primary drawback of the Note Pro is the cost of the unlimited plan. At $240 per year, the unlimited subscription seems expensive to me. However, the option to purchase additional minutes as needed provides a more flexible and appealing alternative. Several desktop software integrations are still in development, and current functionality in that area is limited. However, exporting content to Word, PDF, or TXT formats is straightforward. Users can also access their files through the online portal from a PC or laptop. Security was an initial concern of mine, but Plaud states that user data is not used for AI training by default. Uploaded content is encrypted, and data is stored in regional data centers located in the United States. Conclusion: The Plaud Note Pro is a simple, effective, and highly capable note-taking tool. I love it when a gadget comes along that makes my life easier. This is a tool I never knew I needed, but now I take it with me everywhere. While the unlimited plan is expensive, the option to purchase additional minutes adds some useful flexibility. This is a great device, and it is super easy for me to recommend to individuals and teams seeking a more efficient way to capture, organize, and summarize notes. Rating: 5/5.

This AI note taker is amazing! No more note taking or typing! I can focus on the people in the meeting and be present to engage and ask questions without writing everything down. This tiny recorder works great for recording, transcribing, summarizing, and highlighting meetings. I work in software sales (Presales officially) and this is great for recording customer discovery calls, remote or in person meetings, and demonstrations. I’ve used it in mostly small to medium size conferences and it captures the audio of everyone. It’s so easy to use. Once you have the Plaud app set up on your phone and connected to it - it literally is a single button press to start, highlight, or stop the recordings. It has an incredibly small form factor (like the size of a credit card) and I love the magsafe case that it comes with to always have it with you in a meeting. It’s also great for recording and AI transcribing phone calls. Just leave it in the magsafe sleeve and tap to record. You don’t even need to be on speaker phone, just put up to your ear and it records through the internal phone ear speaker. Note that it doesn’t work if you are using earbuds as it needs to be near the earpiece to hear the caller. The Plaud AI app is intuitive and very easy to use. It keeps the original recording, does an excellent job at transcribing and summarizing your meetings. Its AI summaries and highlights are spot on. You can ask the app AI to find different info and it searches the transcript to provide intelligent inferences. There’s a bunch of different templates you can apply like Adaptive Summary, Reasoning Summary, Consultation Q&A, Extract tasks and details, Meeting reports, task assignments, Class notes, Lecture summaries, Interviews, Medical, BANT, Sales Discovery, Project meetings, legal, and many many more core templates or templates created by other users. The only thing I don’t love is that it has a proprietary charging cable. But that’s a trade off for it being so slim. Fortunately it doesn’t need to be charged often as it has about 30 hours of battery when fully charge. This tool is amazing and would have (will!) save me hundreds of hours of work!

The Plaud Note Pro is a sleek, capable note-taking device that nails convenience but leaves me with some reservations, particularly around data privacy. As a standalone tool for capturing and summarizing conversations, it works well and is a genuine pleasure to use. If you're not especially privacy focused and just want a capable AI note taking companion, this is an easy device to recommend. To start, the device itself is extremely easy to use and very streamlined. It's thin, well built, and includes a magnetic mount and case that allows you to attach it to the back of your phone, allowing you to keep it close without sacrificing pocket space. Capturing audio is as simple as a single button press and the whole experience is about as easy as it gets. Beyond the capture ease, the device really shines in the output. The AI generated summaries are well laid out and genuinely useful, distilling long conversations into structured notes that are easy to scan and reference later. The functionality overall is very solid; transcription is accurate, the summaries are organized well, and the app does a good job of making your captured content accessible. From a pure "does it do the job" perspective, the Note Pro delivers. With all the positives in usability, I do have some hesitations about the device. Unlike the original Plaud Note, which let you access your recordings via USB to pull the raw audio files, the Note Pro has done away with that. You're now required to sync the device via their app over Bluetooth or Wifi. While the app works well, this means there's no offline/local-only way to pull your data from the device. For general note taking, likely not an issue, but for any heavily scrutinized and privacy-focused industries (such as the one I work in), this is real concern. Plaud does make some big claims in terms of data privacy; they hold independently assessed certifications including SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, GDPR, and HIPAA, and they encrypt data in transit and at rest, and also claim they don't train on your data. However, I haven't been able to track down any full audit reports, and the concept of "HIPAA certification" is a bit vague since there's no government issued version of this. Overall, I'm mixed on the Plaud Note Pro. The functionality works great, and it's incredibly convenient for day to day note taking. But while they make many claims about the security of your data, it's hard to fully recommend for those needing a secure note taking platform (as is any cloud based offering; this isn't necessarily a knock against Plaud specifically). If you can live with some ambiguity in terms of data security, though, this is a very solid device to consider for AI assisted note taking.

Highlights: * Amazingly thin * Nice screen to show status * Easy Single-button control * Up to 50 hours of recording per charge * Transfer recordings from the device via Bluetooth, WiFi or the USB magnetic cable * Free apps for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows plus Web-access * Can also record audio from virtual meetings on a Mac/PC * Supports Apple FindMy * Includes nearly all features for up to 300 minutes of use per month Considerations: * The recorder doesn’t MagSafe to the phone but rather the provided sleeve does * Difficult to remove from the sleeve until it loosens up a bit * Magnetic charging cable tends to disconnect when device is screen-side up It might be more helpful to think of Plaud as an ecosystem of recording, transcription and summarization rather than as a single device per se. The Plaud Note Pro is an amazing device but it really is just the first part of that overall experience. It is more or less just a really fancy voice recorder. The “smarts” are added to your audio recordings once they are transferred over to the rest of the Plaud ecosystem. Once there, you can access them from your phone, desktop, tablet or any web browser and review them or use them for other results. Essentially you record an in-person or virtual meeting, class, call, etc. and Plaud will transcribe it so you can read what was said, plus the AI will analyze it to separate into different speakers, summarize it, generate to-do lists and do other assorted organization and smarts. You can search for content across recordings, group by subject, speaker or date/time of the recording, and do a whole lot more. Plaud gives you 300 minutes (5 hours) of recordings a month for free on the “Starter” membership. That’s maybe one weekly hour-long meeting or class a week. If that’s not enough, you can either pay for extra minutes or subscribe for more allowance per month depending on your needs. Unless I’m reading the chart wrong, the “Starter”, “Pro” and “Unlimited” plans all have the same features and differ only in the minutes of recordings per month. Extra time can be bought starting at 600 minutes (10 hours) and up. That time is used after your monthly allotment is used up and has an expiration from purchase date rather than a monthly expiration. Let’s start with the Plaud Note Pro device itself. It is so crazy thin and light that you can probably carry it in the credit card holder of your favorite wallet but it’s safer to store it on the back of your phone or just about anywhere else. It’s the same dimensions as a credit card and about as thick as 3 of them stacked. This cool device is essentially an incredibly tiny yet powerful battery-powered voice recorder. The screen and button give you easy control and confidence that you’re recording that meeting, class or phone call. It can record about 50 hours of stuff on a charge and has 4 high-quality microphones to ensure you get great sound quality because all of the AI smarts need good source recordings. Once you’ve made that recording, it needs to be transferred to your phone or computer. The Note Pro defaults to Bluetooth but longer recordings can automatically switch to faster WiFi. The provided magnetic charging cable can also be used to transfer recordings to your computer if needed. Given how small and light it is, you might be worried that you’ll loose it. Thankfully it can be connected to Apple’s FindMy network for peace of mind if you ever leave it behind. While it doesn’t stick directly to the back of your phone via MagSafe, it does come with a classy-looking sleeve that does stick to MagSafe. You can keep it in the sleeve during recording or take it out - either way, all microphones, the button and the screen and even the charging port are accessible when in the case. It’s a bit of a snug fit until it loosens up a bit. Once turned on (woken up from standby), the main screen shows the battery life, an icon for whether it is already connected to the app for automatic transfers, and an animation to show whether it is recording or not. There are no speakers on the unit so you need to transfer the recordings to listen to them and have the AI transcribe and summarize them. The recorder works stand-alone and records to the built-in memory. Recordings can transfer later or you can keep your phone nearby and have them automatically transferred. The free Plaud app for your phone works great for this and can even automatically transfer recordings when they’re done. Once transferred, they are accessible from all of your apps and even the website. Then they’re deleted from the recorder to make room for more. According to Plaud, all recordings are securely transferred and stored and are even HIPAA compliant if that’s meaningful to you. The Plaud app makes it easy to listen to and even edit your audio recording. The app can automatically skip quiet parts where there was silence and you can trim the beginning or end easily. The AI transcribes what was said and even does a great job at attributing parts of what was said to individual speakers that you can later name for reference. When you do this, you can search by speaker name across your recordings and even have the AI automatically assign this name when it hears the same voice. During playback, the audio and the transcription are synced like watching karaoke lyrics - it’s really cool. The AI will also summarize what was said and attempt to extract to-do items, things to remember, action items, etc. While it usually does a good job, you can get into the weeds and choose a specific “template” or AI model so it better understands the intent of the recording and can make better assumptions. Over 1200 templates are available and you can choose from 7 different AI LLMs depending on your specific needs. It will also translate speech into your language. Of course, the original unaltered recording is always available so you can verify everything with the actual recording for anything that it modifies, adjusts or interprets. Provided you have opted in to the “Private Cloud Sync” feature (included in all plans including the Starter), all of your recordings, transcriptions and summaries are added to your private cloud space and are available via the phone apps, the desktop app and the web-based app. If you choose to install the Desktop app for Mac or Windows, Plaud can also record the audio from a bunch of online meeting tools such as Google Meet, MS Teams, Zoom and others. Those audio recordings are stored, transcribed and summarized just like those made by the Note Pro device and are all stored in the same place. I’ve tried a number of similar cheaper devices bought online. Many look similar and even claim to have similar features but typically try to win you over with a lower hardware cost or more minutes of recording for free each month. While they mostly work, they usually have a disconnected experience that is confusing and privacy and security.are questionable. Plaud’s Note Pro is a much more polished and well-designed device. Plaud’s apps are much easier to use and understand and are more stable and robust. Plaud’s ecosystem of apps for mobile, desktop and web are more interconnected and accessible. Plaud’s ability to record audio from online computer meetings as well as in-person or even phone calls makes it easy to gather everything together. Basically, you get what you pay for and Plaud is definitely worth it.

This thing is a game changer for meetings! Also, anyone who does interviews, legal work or simply takes voice memos will love it. I came into this skeptical on if it would be useful, and how accurate the “ai” portion would be. It turns out that accuracy is nearly 100% for my use and the AI summaries are extremely powerful with various templates. Pros: - Small form factor - Great design - Battery life - MagSafe - Device support Cons: - Proprietary charging - Desktop app is minimal Setup: You will need to make an account with Plaud. Pairing is extremely easy with the device (and multiple devices). I recommend you also do setup on the website as you will get access to many AI templates which will organize your meetings into formats tailored to your use case (medical, technical, legal, etc.). Use: You can use it in one of two ways. One is pressing record on the device or desktop to start the process. You can also attach it to your phone using the MagSafe case and it will also record calls for transcription. Once the speech is uploaded and transcribed in the system, you can use the AI templates to summarize it to your use case. It will automatically categorize it by assigned speaker names (needs a bit of setup for future recognition), summarize key points, action items, tasks, milestones and so on. I prefer that sort of template and software requirement templates, but there are also data driven templates such as quantitative data, data analyst and so on. Most templates are various types of summaries tailored to different professions. The device comes with 300 minutes per month free and you will need to upgrade or pay À la carte cart for more if you need more. Pricing isn’t too bad with 1200 minutes costing $18 a month or $30 a month for unlimited. Pricing is MUCH better if you are billed annually though as there is 33% savings if you go on that route. À la carte is extremely well priced if you only need to add 120 minutes, but increments go up to 6000 minutes. Battery: Battery life has been outstanding for me so far, a 30-minute meeting only uses a few percent of the battery, and a single charge will last me for weeks. Obviously if your life revolves around meetings you will have to charge more frequently. Issues: There are not many I could find but here are my only complaints. First, the PC desktop app is very bare bones. I would like a full featured app like the web interface as the desktop apps is simply a voice recorder widget in the taskbar. It is useful for quick recordings without the device itself, but it takes you to the website if you need any other work such as viewing recordings, not good for offline use. Next, the MagSafe case is great and even includes a magnet ring to attach to your phone if you do not have MagSafe (iPhone and Pixel being the only ones that have it natively), or a case. But some phones are going to have issues just based on their design such as Samsung S26 Ultra since the cameras will get in the way.

Saw advertisements for Plaud and didn’t think much of it’s use, but boy was I wrong. Any business professional needs this in their arsenal. Yes, there are tons of AI tools out there now, but this note taker is portable and EXTREMELY accurate. Dimensions: .125” (3.175mm) thick 3-3/38” high 2-1/8” wide 30 grams (1.06 oz) According to my calculations it charged roughly .046% (.050%) per minute. That would put a full charge from 0% to 100% in 3 hours/37 minutes The Plaud Note Pro AI Note Taker comes with a USB-C charging cable, a leather MagSafe wallet that it slides in, and a magnetic metal ring that you can stick to a case or non MagSafe phone. (see pics) The one small complaint I have is the leather case, it’s quite difficult one handed to remove the Plaud Note Pro from the leather wallet. Really bad design on that. You have to use to fingers, one on each side, to remove the dervice. Recording couldn’t be simpler, you hold the button on the front screen for a couple seconds and voila. You can also see the battery % on the small front screen. Once you want to stop recording you just hold the button for a couple seconds and it stops. I forgot to mention to start or stop, the plaud note pro vibrates with haptic feedback to also let you know your function has started or stopped. I tested this on phone calls, sitting at home talking with the family, and during a company meeting. It is amazing how it can discern different speakers and labels them as such. It picks up everything and formulates smart transcriptions. It picked up the Q&A from my company meeting and provides some action items, thoughts to further the discussion, etc. This is absolutely amazing that something as small as this can be such a powerful tool. The only downside I can see is that you only get a certain amount of time for free, than like everything else in this world anymore, you have to subscribe, and from briefly glancing at the prices, phew…looks pricey. That said if you’re a speaker or want to be able to reference the transcriptions at a later date, this is essential!

I have somewhat of a mixed opinion of the Plaud Note Pro voice/audio recorder. It does actualy perform its core functions very well. That is why I had to give it at least 4 stars. The audio is crystal clear and it takes excellent recordings. I like the form factor and design a lot. It is roughly the thickness of two or three credit cards. It includes a wallet type sleeve that attaches to your phone via mag safe. This makes the device super convenient to carry around with you and not lose it. This of course conflicts with other mag safe accessories you may already be using or plan to use along with the voice recorder. The recorder features an app that is required to use the device. It is fairly simple to install, setup, and use. The device has one button which starts and stops your recordings. The app captures them. This leads to one of my big issues. The app prompts you to subscribe to an AI transcription service. What I don't like is that there are actual pop ups that keep selling you on the subscription. There are also "how to" prompts that keep popping up and they are all related to the subscription based features. The other thing I don't like is the charger is proprietary. I wish they would have fit a type C connector. Overall, I think this is a very good voice recorder.I love the syle and size of it. I just wish it didn't push the subscription so much.

I ordered the Plaud Note Pro Smart AI Voice/Audio Recorder because I was hoping it could record my training classes that I attend via Zoom. After I received the device, I was disappointed to find out that it needs to be attached to your phone if you want to record phone calls, but it has ambient mode to record the sound around you. Unfortunately, I must wear headphones due to being a remote work from home employee so this doesn't work for the purpose I expected it would fulfill. I also realized it would be against my employer’s code of conduct to utilize a device on our VPN without prior approval. I do think it would work great for people who need it for in-person lectures or meetings to take the notes and later allow you to upload the recording for transcription. The device itself is small, lightweight and easy to use. I liked the fact that they had software built into the application for the recorder that would give you options for thousands of templates that you could utilize with the recordings. It was also good to see that you could import other forms of media such as photos or illustrations to make the notes stand out even more. My only complaint is that you must pay for a subscription to use the software and information you can upload to the cloud storage for the application. I think the current pricing is more than most individual users would like to pay but if it is paid by a business, it might be reasonable depending on their own in-house needs.

I bought the Plaud AI recorder in February, and it has genuinely exceeded my expectations. What first attracted me was the sleek design and simplicity—but what truly impressed me was the performance. I recently tested it in a large stadium setting, where voices were distant and the environment was noisy. To my surprise, the recorder still captured the words clearly. When I checked the transcription later, it had picked up the conversation remarkably well, even from a distance. The AI summaries are another standout feature. Instead of listening to long recordings, the app organizes everything into clear notes and key takeaways. It saves an incredible amount of time and makes the recordings actually useful. The device is lightweight, discreet, and the battery life has been very reliable. Everything—from recording to transcription to summaries—works smoothly. What I appreciate most is that it removes the stress of missing details. Whether it’s meetings, conversations, or ideas on the go, I know it’s all captured. After using it for a few months now, I can confidently say this is one of the smartest and most practical gadgets I’ve purchased in a long time. Highly recommended

I am an office employee in a senior executive role, and a large part of my daily work involves attending meetings, either in person or digitally. I also spend a significant amount of time on the phone with colleagues and clients. I have been using Plaud for the last week as my AI note-taking assistant, and overall, I am very happy with both the product and the software that supports it. From a design and portability perspective: The total package arrived in the mail weighing only one pound, including the cardboard box. After unboxing, you will find the device, the protective case, a small sticker to magnetically attach the device to the back of your phone, and the proprietary charging cable. In fact, the combined weight of the device and pouch is only 2 oz. The device is small and discreet. When used with the case that attaches to the back of your phone, it adds only a few inches to the phone’s overall volume. It is not intrusive and is much less noticeable than an external battery charger. This is a great win because I was not willing to add a bulky device to my trousers. Plaud comes in black, with a small screen on the top and a single record/stop button. That button also allows you to check the battery level. From a usage perspective: Plaud is especially helpful when I want to stay focused during a discussion instead of splitting my attention between listening and writing. It gives me confidence that the key points are being captured, and I can review the notes afterward in a more structured way. I have been attending meetings, having phone conversations, and preparing meetings for my entire career. To remember the main ideas, I used notebooks, then progressively moved to digital recording pens, and in recent years, AI bots added to digital calls. In my view, Plaud excels over all of them for many reasons. Plaud works very well as an electronic note-taking assistant for phone calls. Because it is very light and directly attached to the phone, it takes notes during the conversation, which helps me focus on the discussion more attentively than when I used to take physical notes. Plaud also works very well as an assistant during digital conversations. It is discreet and efficient, can retain the conversation, and because of its size, it is less intrusive than minute-taking bots. See below for attending the meeting with the app instead the device. Plaud helps with personal calls with your spouse or your doctor, when details and important aspects of the conversation need to be remembered. The battery life is also excellent, which makes it reliable for days of long meetings or busy days when I do not want to worry about charging. Important aspect: In my opinion, the big value of Plaud is not just the device, but the proprietary software that delivers all the notes, summaries, and minutes of your meetings. The app experience is amazing and useful. The process of turning recordings into organized notes is the best that I have experienced so far, and it makes some of the other AI agents that I tried before feel obsolete. The quality of the notes is very impressive, and the summaries capture the important points clearly. This is true not only in a quiet setup, but also with different types of speakers and accents. I have a strong foreign accent when I speak English, and this is the first time that polishing the meeting notes has required so little effort, mostly limited to correcting names on the call, such as changing “Louis” to “Luis.” Finally, I love the desktop software integration. By installing the Plaud app on your laptop, you have an assistant that detects each time a meeting starts, without discrimination across Google Meet, Teams, Slack, or Zoom, and asks whether you want it to join the call in the background. No configuration is needed because the app accesses your microphone and speaker autonomously. Of course, this software requires payment, and Plaud offers a list of plans or add-ons beyond the free 300 minutes per month subscription. If you are a regular user, you are going to need one, and you should consider this cost as part of the purchase. With all of that, I also need to add some aspects that I dislike: .- The charging cable is proprietary and not a standard USB-C cable. This forces you to consider adding this cable to your luggage while traveling. The long battery life is good, but making sure the device is fully charged before business travel is not something I want to add to my to-do list. Engineers, please consider moving to standard charging options. .- The device comes with a one-year warranty. This feels too short for a device that you carry in your pocket every day, and the manufacturer should show more confidence in the product’s quality. .- I observed firsthand that the device screen may be a bit weak and that the device should always be carried in the pouch for protection. After hearing my positive feedback, my colleague purchased a Plaud as well, but he dropped it on the floor and the screen stopped working. .- The plans may be a barrier entry for this product. For heavy users like me, the cost of the unlimited plan goes above the market value of some AI agents. For more average users, such as my wife, the 300 free minutes provided each month are not enough, and she decided not to join because of the additional cost and subscription commitment. I think more customers would join if the basic access level were more generous for once-a-week users. Overall, I would recommend Plaud to anyone looking for a lightweight, reliable, and effective electronic note-taking assistant. The combination of strong battery life, great software, and high-quality notes makes it a product that feels genuinely useful in day-to-day work.

The first thing I want to note in this review is that this Plaud unit is small. Without its case, it is very thin and small. So small, I’ve lost it twice. Both times, it was shuffled into papers inadvertently. It was so thin, there was no bulk for me to detect in the pile of papers. I could not figure out where I put it. There is a “Find My Plaud” feature in the Plaud app, but it is only for Apple iOS. An Android version is not available at this time. I had set the unit up on my Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. You may want to keep it in its case or in the original box when not in use. The case is supposed to stick to your phone and comes with a magnetic ring. There were no instructions on whether the ring was to be used on the phone/case or on the Plaud case. I already have a MagSafe case and the Plaud case would not attach to my phone. The app itself is basic and easy to use. This is where you access the data you recorded. The Plaud Note Pro is designed to record conversations and/or ambient sounds in a given environment. It would be ideal for recording lectures, seminars, or meetings. One important thing to point out is that you will need to check the laws in your state (or country) about recording others before using the product. Also, some workplaces do not allow outside recording of their internal meetings, so you’ll want to check that as well. That said, you can use this for ambient recording and to record calls. For my test, I used the ambient mode. I used it to record a podcast to see how the unit would perform. Plaud uses AI technology to summarize and contextualize the content. It will give you a transcript of the speech, along with AI Summaries and a Powerpoint style graphic, providing a visual representation of the data. I was quite impressed with the visual layout of all of the analysis. It was smart enough to leave out my family trying to talk to me while I was testing the unit. I don’t have their conversations in the transcript. At the end of the analysis, it offers “More of Ask Plaud.” It gives you additional questions to ask Plaud to gather from the recorded data. Optimally, I see this being best used in education or professional environments. I know that sometimes I’m overloaded after a meeting, and this item will put together the information in a way that I can easily digest it later. As long as I don’t lose it, of course.

Having been in the working class for the past few decades, one thing that always is of concern for me is meetings and getting what everyone said in the meeting. As a business analyst, I find this to be critical in ID'ing customer requirements as well as having some measure of documentation for audio meetings/requirements. Today, you can usually get a recording of the meeting either through Teams or Skype or whatever conferencing software you're using. However, it would be super useful to have your own physical copy of the recording or recording device. True, there are those mini cassette recorders as well as digital recorders as well but the biggest thing their recordings lack? Transcription. With this PLAUD recorder and the accompanying software, you can now get PDF transcripts of your recordings for easier review/reference which is huge. No more having to sit through 20 minues, 40 minutes or an hour and a half of some tape trying to find that one part. With the transcription of the recording laid out, it's also a fantastic reference and documentation piece for your work as well. For students, this thing case pretty much transcibe your own Cliff Notes from any lecture or speech. Of course, you should pay attention and learn from them but, just in case you missed a line or something, something like this would be a life saver. For students, I think this would be a huge asset especially since lectures or speeches may be a one time only thing without follow up so having a transcription of the lecture would be vital

This amazing tool is a compact recording device that works with the Plaud app on your phone. It's small like a credit card, and comes with a case that it slides into that magnetizes to the back of your phone, if your phone or case doesn't have the magnet you can use the metal ring included to mount it to your phone or case. Once connected to the back of your phone it's hardly noticeable. They also provide a charging cable that is proprietary to the Plaid and plugs into a usb-c. The device itself has a real nice look and feel to it, it's crazy how compact it is, very impressive. There is a small screen that shows battery life and lets you know if it's recording or not. There is a small button that you hold down to start recording, quick press to highlight something important and hold down again to shut off. Plaid doesn't record voices as a typical voice recorder would, instead it takes the speech and turn it into words on paper or the screen for you. You can set it up as meeting notes, transcript summarize etc. it will even separate the speakers and make note of who is speaking. For example I took this in with me to a physical therapy session and it recorded everything the doctor said, what I said, what his assistant said and broke those into three separate speakers and summarized the entire session into what was important. In meetings it will pick up everyone talking with ease. Phone calls can also be recorded through Bluetooth. So far I've used this everyday, even to jot down notes and pencil them in later. Oh there are also sharing features which makes sending out the say meeting notes to all involved a snap. Amazing tool!!

A couple things I really love about this device: 1) The battery is probably better than the hype. I end up recording a 2-5 hours a day which means I can go ten days between charges. 2) The formats that the ai summarize into are genuinely helpful and you can craft it with very specific needs, suggestions, and even coaching suggestions for leadership training. 3) Easy one button recording makes it simple to start and simple to end. Downside... the annual cost is a chunk of money. But it's hard to overstate how well this device works for my needs.

I've been very impressed with the PLAUD Note Pro. The recording quality is clear, the AI transcripts are accurate, and the summaries save me a lot of time. It's compact, easy to carry, and has become part of my daily workflow. The app could use a few improvements and crashed twice, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5, but overall it's a great productivity tool that I use regularly.

Note Pro recorder by PLAUD stands out as the most exceptional option. Its user-friendly interface is unparalleled, coupled with its exceptional overall performance and satisfactory battery life. I highly recommend this product to Best Buy customers seeking an outstanding note recorder equipped with advanced Smart AI technology.