Plaud.AI, the maker of artificial intelligence solutions, today announced a new contender in the AI hardware gadget market called the Plaud NotePin, designed to assist with note-taking and task management.

Plaud’s new device is described as an ultra-thin, ultra-light wearable device that acts as a “memory capsule” to help users improve their productivity and efficiency in their work and school life. It looks like a white, black or purple pill and comes in multiple form factors that can be worn as a necklace, wristband, clip or pin.

“Plaud NotePin is more than just an AI device,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Nathan Hsu. “It’s your always-ready business partner, handling mundane, daily tasks so you can concentrate on what truly drives value in your life and career. This small but powerful device is reshaping the professional landscape, allowing users to optimize their day-to-day workflow and focus on what matters most.”

The device acts as a voice recorder that’s activated when the user presses a button. After that the AI function takes over and labels every speaker in the conversation, assists with making note summaries and bullet points, and provides multiple professional templates for meetings or lectures. The AI enhancements are available through Plaud’s mobile app and the web.

The company said that users can choose between the latest and most powerful models from OpenAI and Anthropic PBC, including GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet respectively, with more to come. Using these models, users can ask questions such as “What do I need to deliver on the Brooklyn project?” to search through notes.

The pin provides an extremely long battery lifetime of up to 40 days on standby and 20 hours of continuous recording time.

Plaud.AI’s device joins several other AI wearables that have come onto the scene attempting to bring AI-powered assistants into the everyday lives of users. However, it’s a slimmed-down experience in comparison with other contenders.

Humane, for example, sought to replace the smartphone with an all-in-one AI-powered wearable “smart pin” akin to a badge that could see, hear and understand the world around users and respond to their queries. Rabbit Inc. rolled out a small square device called the Rabbit R1 that can interact with apps using natural voice commands, such as booking flights, setting calendar events and answering questions.

While the wearable AI market has been heating up, AI assistants have been moving onto smartphones as the hardware on mobile devices has become better-suited to host them, and companies have offloaded their computing power onto the cloud. Google LLC is in the process of trading out its “Hey Google” smart assistant and has begun to offer its powerful Gemini AI model on Android devices to answer questions and provide on-device assistance.

The Plaud NotePin costs $169 and can be pre-ordered today, with the first batch shipping in late September. Users can get a subscription to a service for $6.60 a month that provides 1,200 monthly transcription minutes and more than 20 professional templates and access in beta test mode to “Ask AI” – the ability to chat with their notes. The starter tier is free and has 300 transcription minutes and nine templates.

Image: Plaud