More Solid AI Notetakers

This is a nascent category that's growing. Here are others I've tested, but I'll also be keeping an eye on upcoming new hardware from companies like Omi, Boya, Mobvoi, and SwitchBot.

Plaud NotePin S for $179: The 18-gram NotePin S is one of the smallest and most versatile notetakers on the market (you can wear it as a lanyard, even!), but it’s expensive given that it offers just 300 minutes of transcription unless you pay for a subscription. Transcriptions are not displayed in real time, though their eventual analysis is solid. It’s a handy little device with multi-language support (though not translation), 20 hours of battery life, and 64 GB of internal storage—but it’s just too costly in comparison to the field to recommend. A subscription will set you back $100 annually for 1,200 minutes per month or $240 per year for unlimited transcription time.

Vocci Ring for $299: AI notetaker, but make it a smart ring. At a mere 3.5 grams, you won’t find a smaller AI notetaker, or arguably a more convenient one, either, as the Vocci Ring slips onto your index finger, where it’s always at the ready. It took some finessing (and two units) to get the ring working for me (the magnetic charging case is also very finicky), but when I finally did get going I was pleasantly surprised by the results: It delivered good transcriptions with rapid turnaround, and relatively terse but useful summaries. The form factor won’t work for everyone, but it may be absolutely perfect for others. You'll get 300 minutes of service free each month, then up to 1,200 minutes for $16 per month or unlimited time for $30 per month.

Memoket Gem for $200: At a mere 11 grams, Memoket’s Gem gives the Soundcore Work a run for its money for one of the smallest wearable notetakers you can buy, and while it can be worn as a pendant or clipped to a lapel, it’s really designed to be worn on the wrist, either on its own or on the flipside of your wrist, opposite an Apple Watch. The device has no face (and no watch features), working entirely off a single button used to start and stop recordings. Memoket’s app is dead simple to use, producing legible transcripts, smart summaries, and—uniquely—an infographic-like one-pager which, while simplistic, offers one of the most approachable conversation digests I’ve seen in the category. It’s also one of the few notetakers whose Wi-Fi-driven “boost mode” worked the first time out of the box, rapidly speeding up file transfers from notetaker to phone. Unfortunately, the $200 asking price is high, as is Memoket’s subscription. Users get 300 minutes of transcription for free; 1500 minutes/month runs $18 per month or $100 per year, while unlimited service runs a hefty $30 per month or $240 per year.

Viaim OpenNote for $229: These AI headphones are an open-ear design version of RecDot (above). They look great and are very comfortable, but I found the 11-gram devices much harder to use than the standard earbuds. The gesture-based controls are so finicky I had to check the app religiously to see if they were actually recording. Transcripts and summaries were identical to RecDot’s, since they use the same back-end, as are the subscription terms.

iFLYTEK AI Recorder P1 Pro for $159: iFLYTEK is best known for its audio translation hardware, but this handheld device is primarily a transcription system. What’s immediately unique about the sizeable (56 gram) device is its 3.2-inch touchscreen. It’s a recorder for folks who wish they still had something with some heft, a throwback to the microcassette days. It can display transcriptions on the fly and even play back recorded audio, just like a traditional recorder. The P1 Pro also allows you to record in directional or omnidirectional modes, its impressive triple microphones able to pick up voices from a range of 30 feet. The catch? Transfers are on the slow side, transcriptions are a bit muddy, and translations take significant extra effort to get working (with just 11 languages supported). I found the P1 Pro’s summaries to be fair but nothing special, and the Deepting mobile app is hot garbage. Subscription runs $13 per month or $86 per year for 1800 transcription minutes.

Other AI Notetakers I’ve Tested

HiDock P1 for $169: HiDock’s P1 is a big (91-gram) device that’s closer to an old-school tape recorder than a modern AI notetaker, complete with a bevy of onboard controls. It’s far more complicated than other notetakers, though its microphone is powerful, and its analyses are fast (at least when connected to a PC). It’s best for desktop scenarios rather than on-the-go usage; I couldn’t get it working with my phone. AI transcription is free, but additional features are available with a subscription.

OSO AI Earbuds for $160: OSO’s quirky earbuds do double duty as standard Bluetooth headphones and AI notetakers, letting you record anything you hear—ambient world or phone calls, namely—and they even support recordings (but not translations) in more than 100 languages. Alas, OSO’s app is finicky, and it can abort recordings if you look at it funny. The free plan gets you 300 minutes of work per month. $120 per year ups that to 2,000 minutes monthly.

Flowtica Scribe for $159: AI notetaker, but make it a pen! The Flowtica Scribe may be the largest writing implement you’ve ever held, a 33-gram ballpoint that lets you take written notes alongside recorded ones. Other than the form factor, the concept is the same as other notetakers, with recordings quickly turned into intelligent summaries—but wholly unusable transcripts. One recent test stripped out all spaces from the transcribed recording, giving me a wall of gibberish. And while 39 languages are supported, some summaries of foreign (non-Chinese) speech randomly appeared in Chinese. You get 300 free minutes per month; the premium plan is $15 per month or $120 per year (for 1,500 monthly minutes). Unlimited service is $30 per month or $240 per year. New to the ecosystem as of late 2026 is the Folio Traveler’s Notebook ($40), a companion notepad that can sync handwritten notes with recordings and transcripts – and give you a place to store your Scribe pen.

Genspark SecondBrain Note for $179: Nearly identical in design to the older Comuyltic Note Pro (sans the small LCD display), this slim, 27-gram notetaker is intuitive enough and produces acceptable transcripts and digests of its recordings, but it’s hampered by a high initial price and a costly subscription plan, which runs $25 per month or $240 per year for 10,000 “credits” per month (which equates to 2000 minutes of transcription). On the plus side, it comes with a nifty MagSafe carrying case/kickstand that also includes room for a few credit cards.

SwitchBot AI MindClip for $120: Of course do-everything gadget shack SwitchBot would come up with an AI notetaker, and the $120 AI MindClip – a 17-gram wearable that clips onto a lapel or strap – is both cute and affordable. It works outside of SwitchBot’s massive smart home ecosystem, relying on its own mobile app, which is largely designed to capture a day’s worth of ideas and action items and convert them into your to-do list for tomorrow. While it’s fine for casual thought collection, it doesn’t have enough oomph to generate serious summaries. Get 1,200 minutes per month for $16/month or $100/year. Unlimited minutes cost $240/year.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max for $230: These H.R. Gigeresque earbuds are absolutely huge (though they weigh just 5.9 grams each) to the point of unwieldiness, but while they provide amazing audio quality and can do double duty as real-time language translators, it’s the case that does all the AI notetaking work, independently of the earbuds. Transcriptions come across quickly, but summaries are way too verbose, accounting for nearly every sentence of a discussion. As well, you only get a paltry 120 minutes of transcription per month for free; $100/year gets you 1200 monthly minutes; $240/year for unlimited usage.

Boya Notra Neo for $100: It’s the cheapest notetaker on the block, and there’s something to be said for that. The hardware, a 35-gram plasticky square, features a single button and a small status LED. Recordings transferred quickly enough, but transcripts and summaries took an eternity to load. When they did, I found them either extremely overblown or laughably brief. It also does translations (though I can’t find a list of supported languages anywhere). Those who want a very simple notetaker may find this acceptable, but a slightly higher outlay will get you a more robust solution. 320 minutes/month are free. $18/month or $100/year gets you 1.280 monthly minutes; $30/month or $240/year upgrades to unlimited usage.

SpeakON for $129: This quirky device, weighing 27 grams, is more of an enhancement to your phone’s speech-to-text system than a true notetaker. Its main problem is that it only records while its singular button is being held down. That’s fine for capturing a few thoughts but a nonstarter for recording and digesting an hour-long presentation. (It doesn’t offer any real summary features, anyway.) Translations are included for 12 languages. No subscription needed.

Looki L1 for $249: This oddball gadget is worn around the neck and is difficult to describe. An integrated camera means the system, 42 grams with its necklace, can capture not just audio but also video, allowing you to turn your boring old days into exciting vlogs, digital stories, and “unique comics” that you can then spam to TikTok and Instagram. Oh, it can also summarize (but not transcribe) meetings, but the feature feels like an afterthought. The digests are extremely short compared to other notetakers, and painfully slow to process online. It’s just not the best solution if you’re focused on audio work. No subscription needed.

iFLYTEK AI Recorder P1 for $119: Why, look at the cute emoji on the tiny LCD screen of the P1 from iFLYTEK. That’s sadly the most interesting part of this 23-gram clip-on device, which is so half-baked the manual doesn’t even tell you what app you have to use with it. (Tip for similarly confused users: It’s called Deepting.) Recordings regularly stopped saving after just a few minutes (despite the activity light on the P1 indicating the mic was still on), and summaries were either very short or failed to generate anything other than an error. A Pro subscription gets you 1,800 minutes per month for just $13 monthly or $86 annually, but I wouldn’t bother.

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