ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are playing a bigger role in our lives these days. Many of us use them to come up with better plans, write content, code, and do a lot more. All these models can be used to summarize and transcribe your meetings and analyze your content. Thanks to the Plaud Note, you can put these models to good use. This is a nifty audio and call recorder that combines with LLMs to create mind maps of your recordings and summarize large chunks of text. The good folks behind it were kind enough to send us one to test. Let’s see what was included:
Our Plaud Note shipped in a tiny package. The device looks pretty nifty, but is compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It also ships with a magnetic case, magnetic ring, charging cable, and manual. This recorder is about the same size as a credit card, so you can easily fit it in your pocket.
The battery lasts up to 30 hours. You will be able to monitor the remaining battery level and estimated recording time on your phone. This gadget has 64GB of storage space, which is plenty for your lectures, meetings, and calls.
Plaud Note works with magnetic cases. If your phone is not compatible, you can always attach the ring and put the device in the included magnetic case. We found the connection to be strong, so the recorder stayed put even when we went for a run. The case doesn’t block any of the functions, which is a plus.
Plaud Note has a convenient switch that lets you change modes. You can go from note to call recording mode by sliding it up. You can start a call by holding the main button until you feel a vibration. You can stop it the same way, which ends with 2 vibrations.
We found the companion app to be easy to use. It works like a charm with the recorder. The activation process was straightforward. Once you are set up, you can activate a recording and have it analyzed with the LLM of your choice. You can go with auto mode or pick from GPT 4.1, Claude 4, o3-mini, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Gemini 2.5 Flash. We tested a bunch of these models with a few podcasts. Claude 4 and GPT 4.1 do a great job with summaries, but the other models are also very capable.
I used this gadget to record a call with ChatGPT and had no issues. I was even able to record a conversation in Farsi and have it transcribed in that language. 112 languages are supported. The app gives you access to various professional templates. You will also be able to trim your recordings and remove unwanted parts. The free plan gives you 300 transcription minutes per month. Your recordings are protected with encryption.
Overall, we found the Plaud Note to be an amazing productivity gadget for students and professionals. It can summarize podcasts and meetings. The free plan is good for casual use, but you get a lot more useful tools with a paid plan. Even without a paid plan, the device stands well on its own. Its magnetic case sticks to your phone and stays put, so you can seamlessly record calls. If you are serious about bringing AI models to your workflow to make better sense of meetings, lectures, and long calls, you should give this gadget a look.
