Plaud is expanding its lineup of AI-powered note-taking hardware and software ahead of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, introducing a new wearable recorder called the Plaud NotePin S and a desktop app designed to capture and summarize digital meetings across popular conferencing platforms.
The announcements signal a broader push by Plaud to move beyond its roots in in-person recording and compete more directly with software-first meeting assistants such as Granola, Fathom, and Fireflies. The company says it has now sold more than 1.5 million devices, and the new releases mark its fourth device generation.
NotePin S: a smaller wearable recorder built for quick capture
The Plaud NotePin S is the company’s latest pin-style AI notetaker, following the original pin device launched in 2024. The new model adds a physical button intended to make recording simpler in fast-moving situations: users can start and stop recording with a press, and can also tap during a recording to highlight key moments for easier review later—an interaction similar to the company’s recently launched Plaud Note Pro.
Priced at $179, the NotePin S ships with multiple wearing options in the box, including a clip, lanyard, magnetic pin, and wristband. The company is positioning the device as a flexible, always-available recorder for people who move between meetings, commutes, and on-site work.
Find My support and familiar hardware specs
One of the most notable new features is support for Apple Find My, which should help users locate the device if it’s misplaced—an increasingly common expectation for compact accessories that are easy to lose.
On the hardware side, the NotePin S largely retains the previous generation’s core specifications. It includes 64GB of onboard storage and is rated for up to 20 hours of continuous recording on a charge. Audio capture relies on two MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) microphones, with the company claiming clear pickup within roughly 9.8 feet.
For transcription, users receive 300 minutes per month at no additional cost. Compared with the Plaud Note Pro, the NotePin S is positioned as a more compact option, trading off some performance—such as recording range and battery life—for portability and everyday wearability.
Desktop software expands Plaud from in-person to digital meetings
While Plaud built its reputation around capturing real-world conversations, the company is now making a direct play for the growing market of AI-driven meeting notes in remote and hybrid work. Alongside the NotePin S, the company is rolling out a desktop client intended to work across meeting apps and streamline note-taking for digital calls.
According to the company, the desktop app can detect when a meeting is active and prompt the user to capture a transcript. On macOS, the app uses system audio to record the meeting, then applies AI to structure the transcript into organized notes.
This approach puts Plaud into more direct competition with software-only tools that automatically join calls or integrate with calendars. The company’s pitch, however, appears to be a unified ecosystem: a wearable recorder for in-person moments and a desktop app for online meetings, both feeding into the same AI note workflow.
Multimodal note-taking comes to the desktop
Plaud also says it is bringing multimodal inputs to the desktop experience. The feature, introduced previously in its app ecosystem, lets users supplement audio transcription with images and typed notes, providing additional context that can be useful for project work, training sessions, or meetings with diagrams and visual references.
As AI note-taking becomes more common, multimodal support has emerged as a key differentiator: many users want summaries that incorporate not only what was said, but also what was shown or shared during a discussion.
What it means for the AI notetaker market heading into CES
The launches arrive at a time when the AI meeting assistant space is crowded and fast-moving. Software-first competitors have gained momentum by offering quick setup and automated note delivery, while hardware makers have emphasized reliability, privacy preferences, and frictionless capture in environments where laptops and phones are impractical.
By pairing a new wearable device with a cross-meeting desktop app, Plaud is attempting to cover both ends of the workflow: spontaneous in-person recording and structured summaries for scheduled video calls. With CES approaching, the company’s timing suggests it is aiming to stand out in a gadget-heavy news cycle by framing its products as productivity tools rather than novelty hardware.
Availability details beyond the announced pricing were not provided in the input, but the company’s messaging indicates the NotePin S is intended as an everyday carry device for frequent movers, while the desktop app is designed to reduce the manual effort of capturing and organizing online meetings.
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