I tested Plaud Note, the personal and professional assistant boosted by AI

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As much as I love stationery, traditional note-taking methods are sometimes ineffective. For example, dictaphones or recording applications are more effective during an interview. But they involve long and laborious transcription work.

Fortunately, 2024 is the year of AI-infused objects. Among them, the Plaud Note promises to provide a solution to these frictions that can be found in our usual work tools.

The designers understood that professionals, students and creatives wanted a tool that could do more than just record sound. So they came up with a device that would transform raw information into actionable knowledge, in real time and with surgical precision. So I tested one of these tools, the Plaud Note.

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Visually, the Plaud Note is a real eye-catcher. Imagine a metal rectangle as thin as a credit card, barely thicker than a sheet of paper, yet it contains technology that can revolutionize information capture. Its sleek design actually hides remarkable technical sophistication.

It stands out for its ultra-minimalist interface: a mechanical button starts and stops recording, an LED indicates whether recording is in progress, and a smart switch lets you switch between different modes. This apparent simplicity actually hides a super-powerful tool powered by impressive artificial intelligence.

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The true genius of Plaud Note therefore lies in its software ecosystem. Once the ;once the recording is complete, the device transfers the data via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to a mobile application. This is where everything happens. Plaud has indeed developed an AI with unsuspected literary talents. In reality, it relies on tools developed by OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude AI).

The possibilities offered by this AI are impressive: instant multilingual transcription, automatic generation of personalized reports, extraction of action plans, contextualized summaries and even mind maps. AI no longer simply transcribes mechanically, but understands, analyzes and reformulates information according to the user's specific needs.

I was thus able to transcribe complete interviews such as that of the General Manager of Qonto France. I also used Plaud to summarize and format my editorial conferences with around ten speakers. I estimate the time saved for these two exercises at several hours.

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Some have tried to dampen my enthusiasm by explaining that Plaud does nothing more than the recorder in the latest Pixel 9 powered by Gemini AI. First of all, that’s not true. I use a Pixel 9 Pro on a daily basis, so the recorder only allows for voice transcription and text translation. For summaries and other such tools, I have to rely on Google’s AI in its office suite. But here again, the possibilities offered remain less compared to Plaud's tools.

Above all, the Plaud Note stands out for its ability to recognize voices, even in very noisy environments. Unlike smartphone recordings, which are quickly limited by technical constraints, Plaud Note has ultra-sensitive microphones that guarantee remarkably precise sound capture.

Finally, the Plaud Note proves to be very durable. I estimate its battery life at around twenty hours. I was able to chain meetings and interviews for a week before having to recharge it. The only small problem: the small card recharges using a proprietary magnetic port. If we lose the cable, bye bye Plaud Note.

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Plaud's business model is based on two pillars: the sale of the device (170 euros) and subscription packages. Some users will be more than happy with the base plan that includes 600 minutes of recording time (10 hours) for free with basic features.

To access the full potential of the technology, you will need to go through a subscription plan. Plaud then offers two options: a pack of 6,000 minutes usable over 24 months, or a annual subscription at 79 euros offering 1,200 monthly minutes as well as premium features (and not the least).

These advanced options are indeed very attractive: access to 21 customizable summary templates, “Ask AI” function allowing customized queries, ability to extract and analyze specific data. Artificial intelligence then becomes an intelligent collaborator, capable of adapting to your specific needs. Personally, I can no longer do without it.

Presented during IFA 2024 in Berlin, the PLAUD NotePin takes up the concept of the Note in a format different. Thanks to a series of accessories (bracelet, necklace and clip) the device can be worn in multiple ways.

As the Note, it uses OpenAI's Whisper model for transcription, allowing it to transcribe conversations in 59 languages ​​and identify different speakers. The device also integrates summarization and transcription capabilities. formatting via templates like ChatGPT-4o or Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

The app offers more than 20 formatting templates, including an “autopilot” mode that can automatically adapt the structure of the summary. So nothing changes fundamentally.

The NotePin is available for 190 euros in three colors: cosmic gray, lunar silver, sunset purple.

Before starting this test, I wondered about the interest of yet another device integrating an AI. Humane crashed with the AI ​​Pin and the Rabbit R1 was a flop. I was also wondering what the Plaud Note could do that the AI ​​features built into my Pixel 9 Pro's voice recorder don't.

After several weeks of testing, I must admit that I am won over. The Plaud Note stands out for its ability to capture voices and interlocutors with incomparable precision. The transcription, summary, translation tools and integrated models save a lot of time in many professional and personal situations. The question of price remains. Between the purchase of the device and the annual subscription, it is better if the Plaud Note is used very often.

Finally, the structure of the company raises questions about the management of personal data. Plaud is a San Francisco start-up whose parent company, based in Wyoming, is a subsidiary of a Chinese entity. We've known more transparent things.

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