Ahead of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, hardware manufacturer Plaud has announced a new AI note-taker called Plaude NotePin S, along with a desktop app to help you take notes in digital meetings.
The company first launched its pin-shaped note taker in 2024. This was something that my former colleague Brian Heater really liked. The new pin features a physical button that allows you to start and stop recording. Additionally, you can tap a button to highlight specific points while recording, just like you can with the newly released Plaud Note Pro.
One of the nice things about the $179 Plaud NotePin S is that it includes a clip, lanyard, magnetic pin, and wristband in the package. That means you can wear your device however you like. The company is also adding Apple Find My support for PINs to make it easier to find your device if you can’t find it.
The main specifications of the device remain unchanged from the previous generation. Equipped with 64GB of onboard storage, the battery capacity allows for 20 hours of continuous recording. The device is equipped with two MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) microphones that can capture clear audio within a range of 9.8 feet. Users get 300 minutes of transcription for free each month.
Compared to the Note Pro, this device has a shorter recording range and shorter battery life. However, it is smaller in size to carry with the accessories mentioned above. The company says the pin is suitable for people who are always on the go.

This is Plaud’s fourth device, and the company has sold more than 1.5 million devices to date. These devices focus on face-to-face meetings. However, Plaud also wants to support meeting note takers like Granola, Fathom, and Fireflies with a new desktop client that works with multiple meeting apps. The company says the app can detect when a meeting is in progress and prompt you to capture a recording.
The Mac app uses system audio to capture meetings and uses AI to structure transcriptions into notes. Last year, the company introduced multimodal input for note-taking in the app, which allows users to add images and typed notes along with audio transcription. Plaud is also bringing that functionality to its desktop app.
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