Plaud Note Review: Mini Metal Memo Maker (with AI)

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[PLAUD NOTE REVIEW]
If I have a gadget weakness beyond mobile phones … it’s probably audio recorders. I came of age in that very special time of the mid-90s when Home Alone 2 was constantly playing on HBO, and I became enamored of Kevin’s Talkboy, with its famous voice-changing feature.
I was so obsessed with the Talkboy that I bought myself a little microcassette recorder from Radio Shack, which I used to document my day-to-day as a middle-school student, trade voice memos with my Dad, and record self-conscious captain’s log entries. By the time I went to college, mobile phones had already started to usurp the role of those dedicated recorders by bundling in no-frills voice memo features, which I used mainly to give my future-self advice while drunk at parties. And today, of course, those voice recorders are a standard component of most of the convergence devices that most of us carry.
But we’re also in a time when countless companies are riding the buzzy bubble of “AI” to resurrect gadget categories long ago subsumed by the smartphone. Plaud is one such company, and its debut product, the Plaud Note, is a totally-2024 upgrade to the microcassettes, MiniDiscs, Talkboys and YakBaks of yesteryear. The question is: does blending beautiful design with ChatGPT make the Plaud Note worth the premium you’ll pay for it?
[ABOUT MRMOBILE'S PLAUD NOTE REVIEW]
This video was produced following six days with a Plaud Note retail unit purchased by MrMobile's publisher, and a second Plaud Note review sample provided by Plaud.
MrMobile does not offer manufacturers the opportunity to preview, edit or approve content before publication. Neither Plaud nor any other manufacturer provided compensation in exchange for this coverage. The lone sponsor of this video is DeleteMe.
[PRODUCTS IN THIS VIDEO]
Plaud Note:
www.plaud.ai/
[LINKS]
The Gatekeepers Who Open America To Shell Companies And Secret Owners [The Washington Post]:
www.washington...
Turns Out Wyoming Plays a Huge Role in Global Financial Shenanigans [Esquire]:
www.esquire.co...
The Secrets Factory [Wired]:
www.wired.com/...
Another scam recorded from business related to 30 N. Gould St. registered agent [The Sheridan Press]:
www.thesherida...
[CHAPTERS]
00:00 Talkboys & YakBaks, MiniDiscs & Microcassettes
01:50 Mini metal memo maker
03:17 The power of simplicity
06:31 DeleteMe
07:35 "Why can't this just be an app?"
09:22 Who is Plaud?
11:13 Should you "take Note?"
[SOCIALIZE]
/ themrmobile
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/ captain2phones
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/ captain2phones
mrmobile.tech
[DISCLOSURES]
This post may contain affiliate links, which afford Future plc a commission should you make a purchase. This does not affect MrMobile’s editorial content. See Future's disclosure policy for more details:
www.futureplc....
Additional information concerning MrMobile’s ethics policy can be found here:
mrmobile.tech/...
#plaudnote #plaud #voicerecorder #tech #chatgpt #ai #voicememo

[@bottomtext5872]

What a joke, paying over a hundred dollars for a slab of metal with mics and processors and you still have to pay a subscription ontop for advertised features.

[@Mmmmilo]

The irony being that you’re sticking a slab of metal with mics and processors… to your slab of metal with mics and processors.

[@mabey8048]

@@Mmmmilo yep, I would get the appeal if it had excellent recording quality but it doesn't even sound good lol

[@Matanumi]

I really hope people start rejecting this "subscription models" en masse

[@bawbsmith]

@@MatanumiWith AI, there’s no way. Operating cost is directly proportional to usage. Nearly any company would go bankrupt offering a free AI service, unless you’re a juggernaut like Microsoft or Google. Even then they’re just selling your data, with these AI tools as a perfect gateway.

[@poeterritory]

I would have prefered to hear just how good it was at recording calls.

[@kezyka6775]

I feel like 95% of all these AI gizmos will reach EOL after just about a year of being out in the market at most.

[@musman9853]

a year? wow, you're optimistic

[@John-du2mq]

For now until the tech gets way better. Then it will get to a point where improvement is minimal.

[@quentenburnett7296]

That's what happens when companies have the Gold Rush mentality. They aren't making these things to fill a certain need, they are making them because AI is the hot buzzword for investors, just like Crypto/Web3. Or how IoT was in the early 2010s.

[@duffin.caprous]

They are incredibly short term, for sure. Why would I want a device that does one thing when my phone can do so many things and do them mostly well? Why would I want to talk to a lapel pin to interact with it at all times? I don't even like speaking to my smart watch in public.

[@xbxb]

I mean, they have to pay for the chatgpt right?

[@Sb129]

>Subscription into the trash it goes

[@ulischmidt03]

Yup.

[@OliverStapley]

Looks great, but subscription models kill great products

[@TheDragonfriday]

Indeed there too many subscriptions services that is usually rarely used specific used

[@bigblueocean]

Exactly. I don't mind paying for something, I just don't wish to carry on paying for that thing.

[@jefffrederick258]

They really do

[@qiwentan5318]

They have to pay fees to Open AI for using their API, keeping it forever free will not be sustainable as product like these certainly won't be able to convince you upgrade every year. It just sad truth for these small companies that have great product, but because they are small and have to relies on services from companies like Open AI API, Amazon AWS or Azure server

[@MuitoDaora]

​@@qiwentan5318Everybody understood the reason for the subscription. But still a hindrance to the product.

[@DannerBanks]

$160 😂. And a $180/yr for transcription service 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@alexlam24]

Just another product from techbros who promise their product will finally change the world.... When phones already have this feature for free

[@ingusmant]

And you're limited to 10 hours a month, there goes the pro market

[@Gavo172]

All these AI pin products seem like a solution looking for a problem, except there's other solutions out there that don't cost an arm and a leg

[@Reckless-mindfulness]

and other solutions that give your better results with better UI. i.e. Phones.

[@Matanumi]

Yeah phones can be modded to do these things 9 times out of 10 We are going backwards with tech it seems

[@bawbsmith]

​@@Matanumi Not "we", just a handful of startups that are rushing poorly thought out products in order to cash in on the AI hype.

[@UnusedChar]

the hubris of charging a subscription while giving them all the training data for free

[@ingusmant]

Training? They're using the openAI API, they didn't develop anything

[@ksh6]

I do not think these can be used for training, because for that, you need the correct version of the audio in text format, and the audio clip. A better training can be achieved by just using human subtitled videos on youtube, and subtitles movies and tv shows.

[@ThePerradox]

Thanks for letting us get to hear Kid Mobile. :)

[@hermanstoop264]

Why is it not just an app???

[@PierlucF]

Because if it was an app, they would just blend in with thousands of other apps and most people would not care. A physical product with a cool design is a way to catch people’s attention

[@giowawa5035]

There is already a recording app in your phone 😂

[@ulischmidt03]

Because if it was an app, they couldn't charge 160 for a lump of metal to coerse people to pay 180 a year to use the product that they just purchased, instead most people who would be interested in this app would download it, realize it's another subscription service and then uninstall the app.

[@Matanumi]

So they can get VC funding. same reasons for the rabbit being harswae

[@ninjatogo]

I think it could be a nice gadget that works better than an app if the mic quality was noticeably better than the average phone. I have used my phone to try to record meetings but found that most phones aren't that great for picking up voices from afar. This product however doesn't sound all that great

[@DijaVlogsGames]

An instant NO for software subscriptions. It‘s enough.

[@Matanumi]

Cooler products have failed harder for less (jibo)

[@ziginox]

Those simple ferrous (not magnetic, they're just metal) rings suck if you want to continue using Qi. At best, they'll make a Qi charger shut down due to foreign object detection. At worst, they get extremely hot and present a burn or even fire hazard. I really appreciate that you dug into the company's terms of service and privacy policy. I feel that these have been glossed over far too much with almost every company we deal with for the past forty some-odd years, and we've ended up in this awful state for it.

[@MobiusGT]

I still think expensive unitaskers whose only crutch is ai are stupid. If my galaxy s24 didn't have some of its ai features baked in i ironically might be happier with the phone. (mostly bc the ai features i have used just are pretty terrible like photo editing)

[@Monkeymeep]

I love how the child version of himself has the same pauses when he speaks

[@TarasBuria]

The audacity to charge you $180/year (!!!) and limit to just 10 hours of recording per month. What a joke.

[@pasky7777]

The production quality in this video is over the top. I have subscribed just for the very reason that it is so well done.

[@linuxhereproductions]

Shiny e-waste

[@Matanumi]

A lot of this stuff with AI baked features have become just that

[@1mezion]

wow u as a kid, cool and really awesome that you still have them to listen to

[@JerzyLasica]

I believe it has a place (especially because of call recording and all the drama related to that), BUT it needs to offer everything there is related to that -prompt programming option, labeling speakers (not just 2 in calls, but everyone in the meeting) - also an option to rename those speakers manually afterwards and unlimited (or memory limited) recording. I understand subscription for AI summary (there are resources needed that cost money; I don't agree with it) but it needs to be lower and there should be tiers. This is the only way it has value IMO.

[@JJ-ud1xr]

Excellent review and most importantly I appreciate the mention about true ownership of the company

[@okojijoko]

I'm not one for this type of product. Great video either way. On a side note: I bought a Clicks case for my wife's phone and she's been loving it ever since.

[@TheMrMobile]

Thanks for the support! Hope she continues to enjoy Clicks!

[@seanmachan6551]

OH MY GOD you did Captains logs too?? I still have my microcassette from the 90's and...so many captain's logs. Me and a friend had a blast logging like, everything we saw.

[@EducatedEngineer]

As someone who daily drives this, it's been absolutely phenomenal. It's a tool that does exactly what I need it to do.

[@robinrai4973]

I hate to be a downer, but man I for one cannot wait till the tech industry gets over the AI fad and needlessly shoehorning it into everything they can see or touch

[@ruxcooking]

Props to mrmobile for the due diligence

[@MetalMedly]

Thank you so much for including a small privacy research in the review. Most reviewers just ignore that part, but it is a glaring problem with all the new cloud based AI systems. Almost none of the advanced features are available on device without some sort of upload.

[@PaulDominguez]

Great information about protecting personal information. Thank you for honest review!

[@ulischmidt03]

Hold on, $180 per year, but only 10 hours of recording per month!? Thats $15 per 10 hours! YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST USE CASSETTE TAPES!!!

[@EXiLExJD]

Most of these AI powered devices seem pointless when I already have an AI app on my phone that pretty much does the same things. I give these devices 6-8 months before the company dies and the servers are shut down, making it an expensive paperweight.

[@DarshanShah10]

Couldn't the action button on the iPhone just do that?

[@joer8386]

Exactly!

[@JimIBobIJones]

I don't think many employers would be comfortable having this listen in on meetings and allowing a third party's AI summarising discussions that might be commercially sensitive.

[@daidai01200]

But there’s nothing stopping employees from using this or other products that do similar things.

[@JimIBobIJones]

@@daidai01200 if they are willing to risk getting fired and possibly sued over it

[@Freak80MC]

Transcribing and then summarizing voice recordings actually sounds like a use for AI I can get behind. But like everyone else has said, the subscription kills this for everyday use.

[@qwertzy121212]

Why waste time shipping this to customers when you can simply send it straight to the landfill instead?

[@Ben-vu4jn]

Phew the amount of voice data they are shipping overseas with this device is terrifying... GREAT reporting

[@KROMO50]

TGI Friday 😂😂😂 miss the old days

[@MrPatonMarshall]

I feel like this one might survive and evolve. Very interesting idea indeed. Especially for places that don't allow cameras but still allow audio recorders. The transcription service definitely sets it apart from current audio recorders.

[@JustinSCampbell]

I had one too. Home Alone 2 was a big deal when I was a kid.

[@quentenburnett7296]

I have a feeling that the 2020s will be remembered in the tech world as the decade where many great products were destroyed by using a subscription model. I think we'll eventually get to the point where subscription becomes a dirty word because consumers are so tired of them and have so many. They are so anti-consumer that people will eventually say enough is enough. At least I hope so.

[@michaelgrayson409]

The Home Alone quick cuts gave me the nostalgia chuckles. Well done.

[@CF542]

So, what happens to this device if/when the company closes its doors? Can you still use it? Can you even use it without a subscription at all?

[@marcinhf]

Thank you! I think this is the first time I saw a review where someone goes deep into "who" is the company. So needed, so important 👍🏻 Kudos!

[@darrenmorin]

Cat: Hey, I was playing with that!

[@youngalientype]

"Anything not nailed down is a cat toy."

[@hugoool0512]

Hey boss, I don't know if you been told this before but you been doing the cleanest sponsorship introductions in the industry. How i wish other creators would do it like you: the disclaimer at the beginning of the video. Keep it up! And have a great day.

[@rudito22]

So as someone who has used whisper before, are they really using the API and then fronting the costs to users? You can easily run whisper directly on phone hardware, what a weird grift if that's the case.

[@luizbiazonbiazon7110]

The Best..... Mr Mobile

[@AMPProf]

Naww WE need A pocket smart watch with Scifi steampunk cases

[@ThePerradox]

​@@AMPProf A Pocket smart watch with two foldable screens

[@NeoDaOne]

as said by many, this is a no go. if I ever cared about using this process daily, my phone already does it. the smartphone has solved a bunch of tasks we use or eventually will if it hasnt already...

[@shahreiftaylor1687]

That cat is so cute! 😍 Question: Are you captain two pets as well😉?

[@monkeybarmonkeyman]

Naming it Claude or even Clod would have upped cool factor by at least 11%. At least.

[@rrad8106]

As soon as the term "subscription" came up, the interest went to zero. Not paying for something I already have on every other device I own... for FREE. And without the data feed into some AI.

[@Gary0557]

Michael had the same speech style and intonation even at that age.

[@deanchur]

The single button argument is out of the window as well with many phones having a programmable side button.

[@JerzyLasica]

Regarding reviews, It'd be great if you did PhoneCam - essenitally a $70 AI pin, Schiffmann's Tab AI (around 600$) and Rewind Pendant: Rewindai - a 60$ Tab. It would be great if one reviewer compared those similar devices to see why is there a 10x$ difference and if it's justifiable.

[@SirNarax]

They looked up 'overpriced' in a dictionary and thought: 'that is too cheap.'

[@lifehackertips]

subscription kills it. Imagine if all those gadgets we had years ago required subscriptions, none of them would work anymore.

[@chrislehr6547]

Love these reviews, helps make sensible purchases. Thank you.

[@Purplmoose]

iOS 18 is going to make this device obsolete. It has the option to record and transcribe notes.

[@mstheman10]

I just don’t get it. Why would you carry around an extra product which is meant to go on the back of your phone, that does the same thing that the phone already does? This 100+ dollar product with a subscription is already a free app

[@AsharabAhmed]

Call recording is such a small yet important option for me. I've set my oneplus 9 to automatically record calls from unknown numbers and it tells the other side when it starts/ ends recording and i've saved a lot of time because scammers and time wasters listen to the phone tell them that it is recording and just end the call themselves.

[@onlynexus]

The charger reminds me of the original Pebble watch!

[@vystorm]

I would buy it if it had unlimited hours of recording

[@paulboakes3680]

Just use the voice recorder on your phone ? As soon as I saw where it was made and the subscription price it ended for me 👍 .

[@mightyskull]

Love the background tracks Michael!

[@JamesTheHuman]

What voice memo app do you use? What is the voice memo app shown at 8:21?

[@Xalmr]

It was confusing because the video appeared to compare to other voice memo apps, but the voice memo app shown with the different summary structures was actually the Plaud app.

[@steveoverstreet5635]

Thanks, Mr. Mobile! You just saved me a sack of cash!

[@chrancylewhern4443]

Great review. Thanks for pointing out those red flags

[@Chemy.]

It's an interesting technology, I wonder if the real point of that many gadgets being developed around AI is to create something to be bought by a bigger company

[@TylerKupferer]

Yeah seems like we're in another boom of tech that isn't really being made for consumers. They are sham products that just need to be plausible enough to appeal to VCs and larger companies, and once the founder cashes out, the whole brand gets abandoned.

[@ardas77]

yeah, and if it were to be released last year it would have BLOCKCHAIN

[@TimN-5]

I use Google's recorder for work and it does a serviceable job for free. The transcriptions and AI summaries aren't perfect but the app works well enough to go back and remember a conversation.

[@Elduderino9097]

Yayyy more quick landfill

[@Mandakins347]

Accurate describing and relating to the audience. You dialed in ... on many marketing aspects (relatable, ADHD style- I enjoyed processing the various ways you expressed value through content styling. Proud of you. I appreciate the effort and value the content.

[@Mandakins347]

Circumspect review. High value content.

[@MarkDell]

I'm now interested in a video about your void kitty! I've not seen them before!

[@RandomTeq]

I'm tempted. If you're a content creator, you want a recorder on the go to capture your fleeting thoughts without having to use your phone as it can distract the thoughts.

[@DaytonPruet]

Glad to see a cat in the video.

[@insertnamehere6559]

Not sure if there was an AV equipment upgrade or the lighting was just extra kind today but wow, the video looks extra crisp!

[@makwikus]

So... YOU pay THEM $180 a year, so THEY can use your voice to train their AI engine? Is there ANY AI thing that does not seem like a grift? Edit: lol just got to the shady part XD

[@ninjatogo]

I've been in search of a super compact voice recorder for long meetings at work. Using my phone isn't that great because it has trouble picking up voices far away. If this had better mics and didn't have a subscription, I would be all over this.

[@Infernoman64]

I'm a sucker for gadgets like this...but not enough to warrent yet another subscription

[@moranmono]

If the call recording works good, this could be a game changer for a lot of people

[@BlueJayWaters]

And this product is DOA. Absolutely absurd price for a subscription for a product that has zero rational for having it. They have to disable the AI aspect for a free version subscription access to even have a chance

[@AtrocityEquine01]

I was on board until they flat out put the subscription service and of course, the sheer suspiciousness of their privacy. Also...Michael saying how excited he is for the Rabbit and Humane AI Pin... _ouch..._

[@amirshokouhi3126]

On one hand, the new generation have shown some interests in limiting their smart phone usage. On the other hand, the majority are still simply leaning more toward all-in-one device direction. It is hard to imagine a day that such secondary devices can find their place back in our pockets unless the software/hardware solution can be truly unique... (which I doubt)

[@whatr0]

it's funny you say this at 7:31 considering the Rabbit has been subject to it much more than the the Plaud

[@kevinpaulmyrick]

I had a talkboy when I was a kid! Loads of fun!

[@thejollyredgiant5714]

I’m in a sales position, I was thinking that this could be great for when I’m on a sales appointment so that I can take notes during the appointment without being distracted from the client. Any thoughts?

[@AmadeusAlmighty]

"I recorded Kirk's incriminating captain's log entry from Star Trek VI from memory. Don't judge..." Don't judge?? I'm legit impressed!!

[@axa993]

Models are going to be useless until we can run them on local hardware

[@DPD92]

huge missed opportunity not having stellar audio, i would totally buy this with better fidelity even if it meant it was much thicker

[@jeremycarter3361]

I forgot Yak Baks existed until you said the word!

[@vinnypiazza4851]

If it had a companion app that utilized open source/portable models like Vicuna and ran locally to avoid much of these red flags I'm seeing at the cost of some speed then I'd actually buy one. However that's not the case unfortunately

[@ilpoheikkila4773]

Great video again! I wanted to watch more your videos after this one, the ones I haven’t watched yet. I had to scroll 3 years back to LG Crystal video. 😂

[@iamaricky]

this would be great if it worked with google ( and without the plaud subscription, they make plenty money just on the hardware and replacing the ones that fall off a building, or get dropped in concrete) . This is great for people who do site visits, as the phone microphone would be busy during video taking.

[@lumpython5351]

I can run Whisper from OpenAI completely offline on my iPhone for free, the maximum length of audio I've tried is about one hour due to the RAM limitation on iPhone. The limitation doesn't exist on iPad or Mac.

[@Pahadidank]

They are essentially trying to do a new version of Shell companies to Shell Addresses (because there is no vetting or threshold)

[@fsmeza]

Do you do a comparison and review of the apps that you mentioned?

[@almaq2078]

So this is basically an audio storage device? The actual intelligence / processing is my phone or PC right?

[@mastergecko1178]

Like all the other AI powered gizmos and gadgets these companies are trying to sell us, it’ll be infinitely better as an app on a smartphone than a standalone device

[@zsmorr92]

Was so cool until subscription was mentioned.. nope, doomed to fail with that model.

[@Jazzy-kz6wd]

i don't even care about transcription or audio recording, i just wanna carry such a cool looking device around

[@zooedca]

So can't these just be an app on your smartphone?!

[@CrashloveXO]

Ironic Sean John reference as this was released the same day Diddy's homes were raided 😂

[@Thirk]

But how does the VCS sound compared to the normal mic?

[@Bodotibodo]

Do you know if transcripts and their summaries output can be modified say on a word doc?