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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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)

[@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.

[@ThePerradox]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@Monkeymeep]

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

[@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!

[@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.

[@1mezion]

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

[@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.

[@ruxcooking]

Props to mrmobile for the due diligence

[@linuxhereproductions]

Shiny e-waste

[@Matanumi]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@skool-dude]

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!

[@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!!!

[@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.

[@JJ-ud1xr]

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

[@Ben-vu4jn]

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

[@MrKooderna]

This review doesn't scratch the surface of how insane this thing is. Touch the button during a meeting. It automatically detects and organizes every single "to do #or actionable item for you, it doesn't just sumarrise the meeting and allow you to search, you can record the weekly meeting with your boss being fully engaged not taking any notes, and it will automatically sort any to dos and actionable items and even calendar due dates for the that were stated during the meeting. It does this BY ITSELF. it even splits who is speaking in the meeting into multiple speakers if you're on a weekly team meeting, it does way more than summarize the meeting, it literally is the entire end of note taking all together.

[@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

[@michaelgrayson409]

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

[@PaulDominguez]

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

[@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...

[@DarshanShah10]

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

[@joer8386]

Exactly!

[@KROMO50]

TGI Friday 😂😂😂 miss the old days

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@TarasBuria]

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

[@qwertzy121212]

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

[@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.

[@MarkDell]

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

[@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.

[@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?

[@monkeybarmonkeyman]

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

[@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

[@deanchur]

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

[@mightyskull]

Love the background tracks Michael!

[@shahreiftaylor1687]

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

[@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 👍 .

[@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.

[@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!

[@flybriur]

As you said Michael, it's not necessarily bad that they don't seem to actually be a U.S.-based company (as most of their employees look to be outside the U.S.). The problem for me, that you highlighted, is that they are saying they are a U.S.-based company which seems to be only in the sense that they have a registered agent here. And to me, that is very misleading. For example, imagine being able to label product as "Made in the USA" if only 1% of it was actually made in the United States -- for me that is wildly misleading. And so, getting back to Plaud, I'm sorry, but for me they are being extremely misleading in claiming they are based in the U.S.; for that reason alone, it's enough that I wouldn't even consider using their product.

[@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.

[@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)

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@darrenmorin]

Cat: Hey, I was playing with that!

[@youngalientype]

"Anything not nailed down is a cat toy."

[@JustinSCampbell]

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

[@chrislehr6547]

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

[@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.

[@Pahadidank]

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

[@Purplmoose]

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

[@chrancylewhern4443]

Great review. Thanks for pointing out those red flags

[@kevinpaulmyrick]

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

[@DinoCardoza]

Is a Samsung s23 ultra refurbished from Best buy safe to purchase?

[@vystorm]

I would buy it if it had unlimited hours of recording

[@moranmono]

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

[@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?

[@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.

[@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

[@jeremycarter3361]

I forgot Yak Baks existed until you said the word!

[@Bodotibodo]

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

[@whatr0]

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

[@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

[@Infernoman64]

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

[@fsmeza]

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

[@steveoverstreet5635]

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

[@DPD92]

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

[@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..._

[@mohammadabuata3013]

Will you be doing a review on the Zenbook Duo (2024)?

[@Thirk]

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

[@bairnonessie]

Put it this way, I can listen to just about any song I listened to countless times as a kid and, when I actually focus on the lyrics, the poignancy hits me like a truck. I can go back and listen to pretty much any pop song in the last 20 years and... Yeah nah. You want real lyrics in today's music? Hit the metal scene. Especially underground.

[@Nithin_Coorg]

Love ur history! Old age stuffs❤

[@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.

[@Gary0557]

I don't know about the US, but in the UK we can record phone calls but have to advise the other person that we are doing so first. Recorded calls can still be inadmissible in court if the other party refused permission to record.

[@lmitz]

Here in the US some states allow recording without permission and some require permission from all parties.

[@tremarley9648]

In the UK, we only have to advise the other person we are recording the phone call if we are calling on behalf of a business. Personal phone calls do not need the alert

[@Gary0557]

@@tremarley9648 Thanks for clarifying.

[@Bacender]

You can get whisper on your phone or self host it at home. Such a weird piece of tech.

[@Elduderino9097]

Yayyy more quick landfill

[@almaq2078]

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

[@Gary0557]

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

[@onlynexus]

The charger reminds me of the original Pebble watch!

[@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. 😂

[@GoldenBeholden]

The only way I see these AI devices find any foothold is if they include novel hardware accelerated processors built specifically to run their model architecture on-device. Anything that can be achieved with general purpose processors will be achieved by your smartphone anyhow.

[@abcdqwerty3562]

On IOS, the free app Aiko uses the whisper model for transcription.

[@zooedca]

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

[@dexterdiolata]

nice rockin the Sean John fashion!