Plaud One AI Earbuds Debut With eSIM-Enabled Case for Remote AI Agent Control at $249.99

Plaud's new earphones come with an eSIM-enabled case for talking to AI agents

Hardware companies have realized that note-taking is one of the easiest AI use cases to build for, and consequently have been busy shoving mics into everything from pendants and rings to credit-card-sized pucks and wristbands. Still, despite the variety of devices, only a few companies have been able to stand out. One of these companies is Plaud, which has over 2.5 million people using its hardware or software. It is now launching a note-taker in a new form factor: earphones. Called Plaud One, these adopt the simple bare-bones style of Apple's Airpods, and can record calls, while their case can be used to record in-person conversations or take notes. Plaud isn't the first to this form factor. Its rivals Viaim and Anker already have similar note-taking earbuds in the market. But the company is betting on its software and AI chops to set these apart. Plaud said that once the earbuds transcribe your conversation, its AI agent -- which can connect to tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack -- can do things like writing follow-up emails and creating documents or presentations based on the contents of the conversation. By itself, that isn't a unique pitch. Software note-takers like Granola, Fathom and Read AI have been offering similar workflow automation for a while now, transcribing calls and conversations, and allowing you to subsequently get an AI agent to do various tasks. The Plaud One takes that a step further, though, with its case, which supports an eSIM card. That feature, the company says, allows users to instruct Plaud's AI agents remotely without using their phone or computer. The Plaud One has 12mm drivers and features active noise cancellation. The company says the case can capture voices clearly within a range of five meters, and the earphones can record six hours of in-person meetings and three hours of calls on a single charge. Combined with the case, users can record up to 25 hours of conversations on a single charge. Buyers get 300 minutes of free transcription per month, after which they will need to buy additional plans, which start from $8.33 per month (paid annually). That said, this launch seems to be more of a trial run. The Plaud One will be limited in quantity, as the startup likely wants to gauge demand for such AI-focused earphones before it commits to the format. Plaud is also working on building agentic capabilities, which is expected to arrive as part of an update in the coming months. The company says it will introduce a credit-based system for different tasks, and buyers of the Plaud One will get $200 in credits for these tasks. The company has had a good run so far, claiming in June that it had reached annual run-rate revenue of $100 million. However, competition in the market is intense, with new hardware note-takers releasing every week. Its rival, YC-backed Pocket, has also reached that milestone, and tons of other companies like Anker, Comu, Viaim, and software startup Genspark are building in the space. Plaud's CEO Nathan Xu holds that there should be an interface to talk to AI to invoke it from anywhere, and earbuds meet that need. "[For AI] we need to have a wearable and an always-ready interface, one that people love to wear, is socially acceptable and private by design," he said in a briefing. Still, the company may find it challenging to draw people away from using their AirPods, Google Pixel Buds, Samsung Galaxy Buds, or wireless earbuds from any number of audio companies, which can pretty much do the same job when paired with any note-taking app. But Xu says Plaud is not necessarily competing against these companies, but positioning its meeting-recording tech to adopt a popular wearable format. Users can pre-order the device now for $249, and it will ship in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Plaud One Is a Reinvention of Headphones for the AI Note-Taking Age - CNET

Katie is a UK-based news reporter and features writer.... Read full bio Last year, I made a bold declaration: There's no need to invent a new AI wearable, because the ultimate wearable technology is one you already own. I was referring to headphones -- something most of us have used for decades. Plaud -- one of the world's biggest AI note-taking companies -- seems to agree, as it's now built its industry-leading agentic AI into a pair of headphones. The company announced its latest device ahead of IFA 2026 in Berlin next week, where I'll be able to see the headphones in person for the first time. At first glance, they don't look any different to any other earbuds. They have a sleek and discreet design, and they come in an off-white color. I'm keen to find out how comfortable they'll be and how good the audio quality, is in addition to the device's AI capabilities. Plaud is known for its slim, wallet-like device, which attaches inconspicuously to the back of your phone, and for its wearable pins. Both of these devices function as hardware gateways to the company's true secret sauce -- its agentic AI and software platform. The same is true of the Plaud One headphones, which have the same software built in. The headphones will capture and upload ongoing conversations around you, as well as phone calls, using the built-in eSIM with 4G LTE. We'd always recommend informing people that you're using a recording device, and it's important to note that recording phone calls without permission from all participants can be illegal in some states. Plaud's software will then provide automatic transcriptions of your meetings, and can turn these into summaries, follow-ups or reports. The company's agent allows for native integration with other tools you likely rely on, including Google, Gmail, Slack and Notion. "AI agents become truly useful when they understand the context in which human intent is formed," said Nathan Xu, CEO and Co-founder of Plaud. "That context lives in conversation." The added bonus of Plaud One is that it allows for a two-way dialog between you and Plaud's AI. You can speak directly to the agent, asking it questions or giving it instructions in a way that hasn't been possible with Plaud's previous devices. To activate the AI, you either need to say "Hey Plaud" while wearing the earbuds, or hold down the agent button on the case. The Plaud One Explorer edition is available for preorder now for £229 ($311) and will come with £150 ($204) of Plaud credits. Plaud expects devices to start shipping later in the fall.

Plaud is launching AI earbuds

Plaud has introduced a new AI wearable that's designed to record, transcribe, and summarize your conversations, only this time it looks like earbuds instead of a pin. The Plaud One Explorer Edition can be worn like traditional earbuds or used through its standalone charging case, and the case includes built-in 4G to upload and process conversations without relying on your phone or Wi-Fi to stay connected. Each earbud features 16MB of local storage (for a total of 32MB) and three microphones that can record at a distance of up to two meters. They can record for up to six hours according to Plaud, which is also the maximum estimated battery life. The earbuds also include noise cancellation features and force-activated sensor controls on the stem. The charging case includes four microphones with a five-meter recording range, a built-in speaker, 512MB of storage, and provides a combined battery life of up to 36 hours, which can be recharged via USB-C. Plaud On's AI transcription and summarization capabilities use Plaud Intelligence, which the company says is designed to "understand and execute on human intent." An AI button on the Plaud One charging case can be used to activate "Plaud Agent," which natively integrates with tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack, to prevent users from having to switch between various platforms. The Plaud One costs $249.99 and is available to preorder "in selected markets" starting today, with shipping expected to start in late September.

Plaud's first AI earbuds have arrived - what they can do

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways: * Plaud's latest wearable are the Plaud One Explorer Edition earbuds. * AI earbuds historically over-promise and under-deliver. * The earbuds mark a more hands-free future for AI tools. AI wearables company Plaud, known for its AI notetaking devices, has entered the earbuds game. Will it capture skeptics? Also: Why I'm not buying 'AI earbuds' until they have these 3 specific upgrades The company's new Plaud One Explorer Edition, a pair of AI-enabled earbuds, is available for preorder today at $250. Plaud also offers the clip-on NotePin and NotePin S, released in January, as well as the Note and Note Pro (a card-style recorder). These devices are carryable or wearable in some form, but that the Plaud One Explorer Edition are earbuds is a new style for the company. How they work In the release, Plaud argues that earbuds are an optimal interface for increasingly agentic AI systems to assist users. "In the agent era, just speak," the company wrote. Users can wear the earbuds traditionally, but they also work from within their case, placed on a table during a meeting to capture audio, for example. They capture in-person conversations, calls, virtual meetings, or just the wearer brainstorming aloud to themself. As for who's listening, it's Plaud Agent, integrating with platforms like Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack to carry out actions you dictate to the earbuds. The agent runs on "a combination of proprietary and third-party model technology," a Plaud representative told ZDNET via email. Also: This handy AI voice recorder has changed the way I work (and it's easy to use) "Plaud Agent also produces finished work products, from emails to documents and presentations," Plaud said. "These artifacts are ready to edit, share, or export the moment they are generated." While that will ultimately be up to the user, Plaud emphasized the agentic capabilities of the intelligence behind the hardware. The workflow it envisions lets you build rapport with the agent as it builds context from your interactions over time. Much like its other products, Plaud said the pair "captures the live conversation, understands intent in real time, and acts across your tools proactively." The earbuds also connect with Plaud Intelligence, a platform that lets users pick from a selection of frontier models. Plaud said it's also upgraded Intelligence with better memory and stronger context alongside the new earbuds. Also: I recreated OpenAI's Codex Micro for a lot less - and mine is more customizable That ability to use whichever LLM they prefer with the earbuds is what Plaud hopes will set it apart from Apple and Google's earbuds, which connect to each company's respective AI, as well as forthcoming and rumored hardware from AI-first companies like OpenAI. Rather than being bound to the provider's specific LLM, Plaud One aims to attract a variety of brand-agnostic wearable enthusiasts. Privacy Plaud's website says its devices adhere to several global privacy standards, including GDPR and HIPAA. The company encrypts user data and stores audio recordings on devices themselves and in the Plaud App, but does upload recordings to the cloud when you use transcription and summarization features. Still, Plaud's policy indicates that process is encrypted as well. The company does not use data for model training, though you can opt in, and it does not allow its AI lab partners to train on your data either. Plaud is a Chinese company, but reiterated during a briefing for Plaud One that it processes US-based user data on servers located in the US. That said, several Redditors expressed concerns about the viability and details of that claim as long as two years ago, when Plaud was still new on the scene, and what appears to be a Plaud rep addressing those concerns left some questions unanswered. Then there's the transparency concern these devices present. By being so discreet, they make it hard to tell if your friend or coworker is recording you, especially if you're in a state that doesn't require two-party consent. Can AI-enabled earbuds deliver? For some experts, including our own, AI earbuds have thus far felt like a bit of a stretch. The idea often overpromises capabilities that simply relay AI features already available on a phone or other device into a wearer's ears, rather than offering new or missing functionality unique to the earbud form factor. Also: I put Siri AI through the same tests I use for ChatGPT and Gemini on MacOS 27 - here's how it did Some would prefer more standard upgrades to fancier, AI-forward features. Still, Apple is anticipated to release earbuds outfitted with tiny cameras -- to better support visual context for Siri AI -- at its annual hardware event next month. Regardless, Plaud believes its earbuds' real edge is the clarity with which they can record audio -- making its competitors recording devices and regular earbuds, not necessarily other AI-enabled gear. "Our focus is more on the capture side," Plaud CEO Nathan Xu said during a briefing, when asked about what sets Plaud One apart. How to order You can preorder Plaud One Explorer Edition now in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. Plaud said. Each device comes with $200 in Plaud Credits, which you should be able to use on the forthcoming Plaud App 4.0 upgrade, slated for later this year.

New Plaud One Headphones Are Part Wireless Earbuds, Part AI Recorder

AI-powered note-takers aren't a novel concept, but Plaud's new One Explorer Edition combines the tech with a pair of earbuds to listen in on conversations, make detailed notes, and even instruct AI agents to undertake tasks on your behalf. Following the Note and NotePin devices, Plaud's next innovation is to build its extensive note-taking AI into a pair of true wireless earbuds housed in a microphone-equipped charging case, designed primarily for professionals. "It captures the live conversation, understands intent in real time, and acts across your tools proactively," Plaud says. If you're wearing the earbuds, Plaud can listen in on what you and others are saying on phone calls or online meetings; the case also acts as a recording puck you place on the table during in-person meetings. You can also talk directly to Plaud Agent to request AI-generated work based on the recordings. Examples include preparing a report from recent conversations or drafting a follow-up on what was discussed in the latest meeting. You can use what Plaud calls Skills to build workflows working alongside plug-ins, or you can connect third-party tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft Teams, Notion, or Slack to automate even more tasks. Plaud is particularly proud of being "the only company...that is model agnostic and a truly open platform," Plaud CEO Nathan Xu said during a recent briefing. "For example, if OpenAI with Jony Ive comes with their...wearable AI device, they probably would mandate using the OpenAI models." He argued that other rivals, like Amazon and Google, would likely preference their own models on forthcoming gadgets. "We're going to be a true open platform that enables users themselves to customize their own preferences and their own personalized agents," Xu said. The Plaud One comes with a built-in eSIM for 4G connectivity wherever you go, so you can use its AI features away from your phone. It supports Bluetooth 5.4, has active noise cancellation up to 40dB, and uses 12mm dynamic drivers. Plaud claims a battery life of six hours of in-person recording or three hours for phone calls through the earbuds, with the included charging case extending recordings by up to 25 hours. The Plaud One costs $249.99 and is available to preorder now, but won't ship until an undisclosed date in Q4. A free tier of Plaud's AI service includes 300 minutes per month, with an extended tier for longer periods coming, though we don't yet know the price. Every purchase also comes with $200 in Plaud Credits, which can be used to power future agent capabilities on its platform.

Plaud made earbuds for people who want to record every meeting and call - Engadget

Nearly four years after the debut of ChatGPT, no company has managed to convince regular people to replace their smartphone with an AI gadget. Certainly, more than a few have tried (and failed miserably), but the phone remains the dominant way people interact with modern technology, including large language models. Now, a company called Plaud is trying to tackle that nutshell in a way that's different from the likes of Rabbit and Humane. If you're not familiar with Plaud, don't worry, you're not the only one. The company is perhaps best known known for the Plaud Note and Note Pro, a pair of devices you can magnetically attach to your phone to record in-person conversations to be later automatically transcribed and summarized for you. With its latest device, the Plaud One, the company is releasing a pair of earbuds that don't need a phone at all to record and transcribe in-person and online conversations. The device can also connect to the company's AI agent without a companion device. Plaud has managed to do this by integrating LTE connectivity into Plaud One's charging case. The company has also negotiated terms with carriers in more than 80 countries and regions to allow the earbuds to connect to the internet without a cellular contract. Each earbud has 16MB of local storage, with the charging case offering an additional 512MB of onboard storage. With just the case, Plaud says users should have enough space to record up to 30 hours of audio. The earbuds can also natively capture audio from video calling apps like Google Meet and Zoom. The case has its own set of microphones so that you can record meeting, conversations or personal voice memos without wearing the earbuds. Either way, the idea here is that the Plaud One can automatically upload those recordings directly to Plaud's servers so that the company's software can then transcribe and summarize everything that was said, all before you ever get back to your desk. Afterward, Plaud's personal assistant is there to do things like generate reports for you, prepare follow-ups and take action across a selection of supported third-party apps, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack. You can invoke the agent by saying by "Hey, Plaud" or pressing the dedicated button located on the side of the case. If you want to use the Plaud One earbuds for listening to music and podcasts, you can, though that's a use case that will require pairing them with a phone or other device. For that exact purpose, the earbuds offer Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, with multipoint support included, meaning you can connect them with up two devices. However, Bluetooth codec support is a mixed bag. Outside of SBC, you get LDAC. In theory, that means the earbuds are capable of Hi-Res audio playback, but if you're iPhone user, you won't get the benefit of Sony's protocol and your phone will default to SBC. Even some Android users might be left out in the cold without support for any of Qualcomm's AptX codecs included. I imagine Plaud One's primary audience won't mind, but the limited codec support will probably limit these from being a pair of great all-around earbuds. That said, the earbuds do offer active noise cancellation, with Plaud advertising up to 40 decibels of ambient noise reduction. You also get a handful of EQ presets and IP54 dust and splash resistance. Additionally, you can add the device to Apple's Find My network, and Google's Fast Pair protocol is supported as well. Battery life comes in at a claimed six hours with ANC off and if you use the earbuds primarily for must playback. Plaud says users are more likely close to four hours of uptime if they use the earbuds mostly for calling. The case's 830mAh battery offers up to 36 hours of additional battery life. With 10 minutes of USB-C charging, you get can two hours of additional usage out of the device. A full charge takes approximately a full hour. All of that is pretty standard for a pair of modern Bluetooth earbuds. Plaud is releasing a $250 "Explorer Edition" of the Plaud One aimed at early adopters before making the device more broadly available. Pre-orders open today in select markets. The company expects shipments to begin sometime before the end of the year. Around that same time, Plaud will release version 4.0 of its app, which will roll out to all of its existing devices. Each Explorer Edition will come with $200 worth of complimentary Plaud tokens, which you'll need to use the device's agentic features. Plaud is still deciding on just how many tokens it will offer through each of its different account tiers. Even if you don't intend to use the AI features, making full use of the transcription features will almost certainly require one of Plaud's subscription plans. There, each tier comes with a different amount of included minutes. For instance, the free Starter plan offers 300 minutes of monthly transcription minutes, while the $20 Pro plan gets you 1,200 minutes every 30 days. Either way, you're looking at potentially spending quite a bit more to use these earbuds than their $250 price suggests.

Plaud's $250 earbuds record your conversations and act on what they hear

The Plaud One carries an eSIM and an assistant that acts on what it overhears, in a form factor that gives nobody in the room any sign it is running Plaud has announced $250 wireless earbuds with 4G connectivity that record conversations and let an AI assistant act on what was said, with pre-orders open in eight countries including Germany and France. Both criminalise recording another person's private speech without consent. Plaud has put a cellular microphone in your ears. The $250 Plaud One earbuds carry an eSIM that works on networks in more than 80 countries, recording conversations for an AI assistant without a phone in the loop. The assistant does not wait to be asked. Plaud says it listens for conversational context and executes tasks mentioned during a meeting, drafting an email or a document from action items it overheard. The first run is deliberately small. Two thousand units ship in the fourth quarter as an "Explorer Edition," bundled with $200 of credits, while the company gathers feedback in Discord before deciding on a wider release. Six of the eight pre-order markets are European. Alongside the United States and Canada, buyers can order in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. Two of those make this a criminal question rather than a privacy one. German law punishes recording the non-publicly spoken word of another person without authorisation with up to three years in prison, and an attempt is enough. France sets a lower ceiling and a sharper test. Article 226-1 of the penal code carries up to a year and €45,000, and consent is presumed only where a recording is made openly, in everyone's knowledge, with nobody objecting. Earbuds fail that test by design. There is nothing for the other person to see, which is precisely the difference between this and a camera with a light on it. Not that the light works either. TNW reported in July that $17 stickers defeat the LED on Meta's smart glasses without triggering tamper detection. The exposure sits with the buyer, not the seller. Plaud ships a product, while the person wearing it through a meeting in Munich is the one those statutes are written about. The category is expanding regardless. Meta is building an AI pendant and a business subscription to go with it, and Plaud expects earbuds to help it reach $500M in sales this year. So the interesting question is not whether these sell. It is what a German court makes of the first person who wore a pair into a room without mentioning it.

Plaud's new earbuds take notes, then take action

The earbuds are available to pre-order now and ship in late September, with no required subscription and $200 in Plaud credits included. Plaud, the AI startup behind note-taking devices like the Note and NotePin, is taking its ambitions beyond simple recording hardware. Just ahead of IFA getting started next week, the company is already showing off its latest expansion: earbuds. Plaud just announced a pair of AI earbuds called the Plaud One Explorer Edition, and it's designed for users who want more from a note-taking device than basic recording and summarization. Plaud's argument here is that although AI is now everywhere, it mostly remains separated from real-time conversations. We know that isn't necessarily the case, considering readily available tools like Gemini Live can already have natural, back-and-forth conversations. However, Plaud is attacking this from a convenience standpoint. Instead of having to manually open an AI app to start a conversation, the company wants its AI to always be ready in the background with the Plaud One earbuds. For what it's worth, this approach, too, isn't entirely new. We've seen constantly active AI tools in the past, with tech like the Humane Pin failing spectacularly. Plaud is betting that it can avoid making the same mistakes that others have made, leveraging something that it already knows well: recording, transcribing, and summarizing conversations. Plaud has shared virtually no audio specifications that you'd normally expect from a pair of modern earbuds. There's no information about sound quality, codecs, drivers, or other audio-related features. That makes it pretty clear that the Plaud One is an AI product first and an earbud second. Operating on the Plaud Intelligence platform, the earbuds capture live conversations whenever engaged, which are then uploaded to be understood, transcribed, and summarized. You don't need to constantly wear the Plaud Ones to leverage its AI tech. They can also work through the standalone charging case, giving you a more comfortable alternative to capturing conversations. Plus, the earbuds don't rely on a companion device for connectivity. Built-in 4G keeps the buds connected without having to rely on a phone, which means conversations can automatically be captured and uploaded for transcription and summarization as they happen. Those conversations eventually get turned into an ongoing source of context for the AI agent that powers the Plaud One. This is mainly where the new buds start to diverge from Plaud's existing portfolio. The company explains that the Plaud One becomes more valuable every time you use it. The AI is trained to build up memory and context continuously, meaning that over time, it will be able to connect information from different conversations and meetings. For example, if during one conversation you mention that you need to send an email to a client, the buds will remember that detail and bring it up later when you ask the AI about your pending tasks. Alternatively, if you have several different meetings with the same client, Plaud could connect key information from each when you ask for a briefing on said client. From there, it's easy to take action. Plaud Agent supports native integration with tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack, so action can be taken directly from your words. Plaud Intelligence's improved capabilities will roll out to all Plaud products via the Plaud App 4.0 update in Q4 2026. If the Plaud One Explorer Edition sounds like the kind of always-on AI you've been waiting for, you're looking at a fairly reasonable (relative to most AI audio hardware) $249.99 price tag. There's no separate AI subscription required to get started, so that's really all that you need to pay upfront, unless, of course, you want a more premium experience. For that, Plaud is giving buyers $200 in Plaud credits to spend on additional AI features and services. And if you want that 4G standalone connectivity, you'll have to shell out for wireless service. The earbuds are available to pre-order now, with shipments expected to begin in late September.

Plaud's First Wireless Earbuds Crank AI Productivity to Max Volume

Wireless earbuds have quite a few inescapable trends, but if there's one thing that's proven to be a gravitational force in the space, it's AI. In that vein, Plaud, the company known for its AI recorders, is launching Plaud One Explorer Edition, which it calls an "AI system" that can record conversations and then turn them into notes, summaries, and other actionable items. The main hardware component in that "system" is a pair of wireless earbuds and a case that look like this: With the Plaud One, you can capture audio from the wireless earbuds but also through the charging case, and you don't have to be having an IRL conversation to record -- the earbuds/case support call recording and online meeting recording. You can trigger recording from the earbuds, the case, or the app, and, like other Plaud devices, there's a light (on the case this time) that illuminates when recording is in progress. One nifty addition here is that Plaud included built-in 4G, so you don't have to worry about not having Wi-Fi. Each earbud has 16MB of storage, for a total of 32MB between both. The Plaud One has active noise cancellation (ANC), and the company says they'll get 6 hours of battery for music playback when ANC is turned off. By most people's wireless earbuds standards, that's a fairly subpar battery life -- 6 hours with ANC on is about average nowadays. Recording times are a bit better, though. The Plaud One are rated for 6 hours of recording in person with the wireless earbuds, but only 3 hours of call/podcast recording. Plaud says its AI earbuds aren't like the other AI earbuds, though. Instead of just capturing audio for you to parse later on in an app or on a laptop, Plaud says the Plaud One are agentic (the AI world's favorite word right now) and can actually work to take action while they're listening. For example, during a meeting, the Plaud One could draft a follow-up email for your review so that it's ready to send when you're done. Likewise, it could theoretically draft some other kind of document or presentation. Powering all of this is what Plaud is calling "Plaud Agent," an AI tool that can be integrated into third-party apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, or Slack, which it says "eliminates the need to switch to a different platform to complete your tasks." Plaud says that Plaud Agent "produces finished work products, from emails to documents and presentations," and that those "artifacts" are "ready to edit, share, or export the moment they are generated." Bad news if you're planning on using Plaud Agent a lot, though: there's a credit system. Each agentic task requires Plaud Credits, and Plaud says that Explorer Edition customers get $200 in Plaud Credits included. Anything beyond that will cost more. Those credits "sit on top" of existing subscriptions, according to Plaud, so if you pay for a Plaud subscription, you'll still need to buy Plaud Credits if you run out. The company tells Gizmodo that they're "intentionally using this Explorer phase to learn how customers use Agent before finalizing the longer-term credit structure." Transcription is similar to that other Plaud gadgets. There's a Starter Plan that provides a "base level of transcription," according to Plaud, but you'll have to pay to increase capacity -- there are Pro and Unlimited tiers, which cost $100 and $240 per year, respectively. It all sounds very useful in theory, though whether any AI is ready to take the wheel to this extent is highly debatable. I'll have to see Plaud Agent in action to really believe it. I've asked Plaud about what subscriptions are needed, if any, to use Plaud One and will update this post with any further information. The Plaud One Explorer Edition costs $250, and preorders are live today.

Plaud's new AI recorder is a pair of earbuds

Plaud got its jumpstart in popularity with a view on agentic AI that centered around recording summaries for students and professionals. Now, it wants to become a full-time assistant with the Plaud One earbuds. You might be familiar with the Plaud Note Pro, and that might be just because it looks like a modern retro voice recorder. It essentially is - recorded audio gets turned into highly detailed AI summaries through the Plaud app. Over the last year or so, Plaud has implemented more features to position the app as not just a summary tool, but an assistant of sorts. The Plaud One is the next step, starting at $249. Unlike the Note Pro, the Plaud One Explorer Edition looks and acts like a pair of earbuds. The case has a lot of the same new-age retro design cues as the Note voice recorders, and it doubles as its own sort of recorder when the earbuds aren't in use. It isn't an always-listening device, but it seems to skirt the line before it becomes invasive. Plaud says users can record everything the Note can, but the earbuds can also capture online meetings. It sounds like the Plaud One earbuds can capture the audio it plays, which could circumvent the difficulty of recording a call with a third-party device. The earbuds themselves have all of the expected features, like ANC and transparency mode. Plaud notes they are equipped with 12mm dynamic drivers and support LDAC audio, surprisingly. With the charging case, the battery life is stated at 36 hours. On a single charge, the earbuds can record or play audio for up to 6 hours (without ANC). The case, however, can record for up to 25 hours continuously on a charge with 21 days of standby power on the 830mAh battery. The big thing here seems to be Plaud Agent, which runs on Plaud Intelligence. In all respects, it's an AI agent that handles tasks using the context surrounding your recorded meetings and conversations. Plaud says the Plaud One will integrate with apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack to perform tasks. Just like another agentic AI platform, the user has the option to manage skills so it does the job right. The Plaud One earbuds seem like a logical evolution of the Note Pro and the app itself. How it handles summaries has always been extremely helpful in my personal usage, but it can be pricey. It sounds like Plaud One will use usage credits the same way the Note recorder does. It's unclear whether Plaud Agent usage counts towards those credits, or if, like the previous recorders, generating summaries on recorded material is what drains your limits. The Plaud One Explorer Edition earbuds are available for pre-order starting today. Shipments will begin in Q4 2026.

Exclusive: 'The point isn't that it never misunderstands; it's that the user stays in control' -- Plaud tells us why its new AI earbuds want to do more than record your meetings

* Plaud One records and transcribes calls and conversations, but its broader agent capabilities will arrive in a future update * High-stakes actions require approval, while recording is manually triggered, and users are responsible for obtaining consent * It features built-in 4G connectivity at no additional cost It's certainly an interesting time for AI wearables, with smart glasses in particular attracting a lot of attention -- and raising privacy concerns around the potential for users to video people without their permission. Announced for pre-order today, Plaud One Explorer Edition is a new wearable AI device, primarily aimed at professionals, that's designed to capture your conversations, so that it can produce actions and reports based on the discussions you're having during your working day Worn as earbuds or used through its standalone case, Plaud One can capture calls and in-person conversations. Recordings are uploaded automatically for transcription and summarization as they happen, so (in theory at least) you'll never need to write anything down again. Plaud One also has agentic capabilities that Plaud says can take actions across tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack based on your conversations. However, when we quizzed Plaud about exactly what will be available at launch it told us: "Explorer Edition is the complete Plaud One hardware, but broader new Plaud Intelligence agent capabilities will be available in a future update." That caveat pushes the agentic features further into the future. So what agent abilities will work at launch, rather than arriving later in App 4.0? I spoke to the Plaud team to find out. They told me that, "At launch, users can press and hold the Agent Button and speak to the agent. Hands-free 'Hey Plaud' activation through the earbuds is coming in a future firmware update." Privacy concerns Given the obvious privacy concerns, I asked the team if recording is manually triggered, and how other people know it is happening. "Yes, recording is manually triggered with the press of a button," they told me. The team didn't mention any audible or visible indication that recording is taking place, instead placing responsibility on the wearer to inform the people around them: "Plaud encourages users to follow local laws and best practices for recording consent," they added. "Where consent is required, users should inform participants before recording." Plaud Agent uses the context of your conversations to identify possible actions, such as preparing a follow-up email after a client meeting or producing a finished report based on a discussion. But can it actually send an email, post to Slack or create a calendar event without confirmation from the user? "It depends on what the action is", said the Plaud team. "Anything that changes something or leaves your environment, the agent pauses and asks you first. For example, editing or deleting your files, sending an email on your behalf, pulling in outside data -- those always need your approval. Reading and querying your own data inside Plaud is different. That's a closed, trusted environment, so the agent can do that on its own. That's what makes it actually useful. If it had to ask permission to look something up in your own notes, it wouldn't feel like an agent at all." What happens when the agent misunderstands a decision? "The design assumes a misunderstanding can happen, so it's built to be caught before it turns into a wrong action," the team told me. "All higher-stakes actions -- changing or deleting internal files, sending an email externally, or calling external data -- require the user to approve them manually. So if you spot something the Agent got wrong, you can fix it yourself before it goes anywhere, or ask the Agent to revise it. Nothing high-stakes acts on its own "On top of that, the Agent's outputs are grounded, not guesswork -- they're built from the context the user actually provides, the real transcripts and recordings, so they trace back to what was genuinely said and a misread is easy to spot. "And as with any AI, we're clear that important outputs should be checked before they're used -- the same principle behind the 'AI can make mistakes, please verify' note you see across these tools. The point isn't that it never misunderstands; it's that the user stays in control, and the work stays grounded, reviewable, and correctable." That approval system is only one part of how Plaud says the agent will work. To handle different kinds of tasks, Plaud Agent draws on a library of workflows known as Skills, alongside curated collections designed for particular professional roles called Plugins. As well as agentic actions, Plaud Agent can also generate finished work products, from emails to documents and presentations. Independent of your phone Interestingly, Plaud One is designed to work independently of your phone thanks to a built-in eSIM and 4G LTE connectivity. That immediately raises another question: will the eSIM require a separate subscription? The Plaud team told me it will not: "No, Plaud One comes with a built-in eSim, which is provided at no extra cost to the consumer." I also asked whether users can inspect, correct and delete the information Plaud retains about them, and the team told me: "Users retain full control over their data. Plaud processes user data to deliver core product functionality, and users can access, correct, export, and delete their data -- and withdraw consent -- at any time through the Plaud App." Finally, I asked if these are fully functional music and calling earbuds, or primarily recording devices, and the team explain that, "The earbuds are recording devices first, capturing what you hear and say, so they can be used for calls. The earbuds also have High-Res LDAC audio, however, Plaud One is first and foremost an AI notetaker." Availability Plaud One is priced at $249.99 / £229 and includes $200 / £150 in Plaud credits. That made me wonder exactly what those credits buy -- and how much continued use will cost once they've been spent. The team did not disclose the ongoing costs, but explained that, "credits are used for the new Agent capabilities across Plaud Intelligence: agent tasks, Routines, Skills and Plugins, and the Artefacts the Agent produces. Everything else about Plaud One works out of the box." Pre-orders are open now in the US and UK with shipping of the Explorer Edition expected in Q4 2026. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Plaud unveils wearable earbuds with built-in agentic AI interface

Plaud unveils wearable earbuds with built-in agentic AI interface Plaud Inc., the maker of artificial intelligence-enabled note-taking devices, today introduced the Plaud One Explorer Edition, a pair of earbuds and a charging box that connect people to AI agents for work and everyday digital tasks. Both the Plaud One earbuds and the case can act as listening devices to record nearby conversations, and the buds act as a mobile interface between humans and AI chatbots and agents. With the press of a button or a voice command, either can capture conversation. Earbud users are already used to carrying a charging case. With Plaud One, the case acts as a charger, a recording interface and a wireless connection. It includes a built-in eSIM with 4G LTE to keep itself and the earbuds connected without relying on a smartphone. Users can use it or the earbuds to upload conversations automatically from anywhere. The earbuds look similar to Apple AirPods, all white, with a long flange that lets them sit in the ear. While wearing the earbuds, users can have Plaud listen in on conversations, take notes or speak directly with the company's AI agent, Plaud Agent. It can be hooked up with native integration tools such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack to maintain a full view of a person's needs. Or users can connect the earbuds to a third-party agent such as Anthropic PBC's Claude or OpenAI Group PBC's ChatGPT. "AI agents become truly useful when they understand the context in which human intent is formed," said co-founder and Chief Executive Nathan Xu. "That context lives in conversation. Plaud One brings agents closer to the real-world work people do every day, while Plaud Intelligence gives them the context and capabilities to act." The charging case is larger than the usual case, shaped like a small box. It contains a microphone that gives it a fair listening range. That means it can be placed in the middle of a table during a meeting to capture an entire group conversation for a team meeting or a client update. Afterward, a user could pop in the earbuds, call up Plaud Agent, and ask it to produce first drafts of deliverables for the internal team or clients. For example, it could produce a summary of the meeting, email it to the appropriate people who might have missed it in person, or draft reports based on metrics that need to be sent to upper management or the client by end of day. Pluad is betting this in-the-moment interface will let users quickly get up to speed while they're in the hallway, between meetings and their workstation. It allows them to let their agents get to work so that they can sit down and look at drafts, update them to their liking and then get going. A lot of information and context is lost between meeting notes and the keyboard. Plaud provides a contextual memory of what was said, what people needed and what they want. It also gives users a way to connect quickly with their AI agents discreetly, get updates and put AI bots to work. The company offers numerous other AI-enabled note-taking devices. These include the Note, a wallet-sized form factor that attaches to the back of a smartphone, and the NotePin, a pill-like microphone device that attaches to a lapel or lanyard. The company said the Plaud One Explorer Edition is available for pre-order starting today for $249.99 and includes $200 in credits, which power the company's upcoming AI agent capabilities and other features. Although the company offers a free subscription for note-taking and many AI features, credits come through monthly paid subscriptions. Shipments will begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.