We’re proud to share that Plaud NotePin S has been named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026, recognized in the Consumer Electronics category.
Each year, TIME highlights 300 inventions it believes are making the world better, smarter, and more useful. This year, NotePin S is among them.
TIME describes NotePin S as “A small stenographer”—a compact wearable that can be pinned to clothing or worn on a necklace, quietly capturing and transcribing conversations at the press of a button. TIME also highlighted how Plaud’s AI turns those conversations into useful summaries through customizable templates, whether someone is in a lecture hall, a doctor’s office, or another real-world setting.
For us, that recognition speaks directly to why NotePin S exists.
Technology that helps you stay present
Some of our most valuable information is still exchanged through conversation: ideas in meetings, decisions made between colleagues, insights from a class, or details we need to remember later.
But capturing those moments often means dividing our attention between listening and documenting.
NotePin S was designed around a different idea: technology should help people engage more deeply with the world around them, not pull them away from it.
Its small, wearable form allows users to capture conversations and spoken thoughts naturally, then use Plaud AI to structure that information into notes, summaries, insights, and next steps.
As Plaud CEO and Co-founder Nathan Xu said in announcing the recognition:
“We believe some of our most valuable information still lives in conversation. Our goal is to make that intelligence accessible and useful, while giving people the freedom to stay focused on the moment itself.”
Built for the way people actually work
The power of NotePin S is not only in capturing a conversation, but in helping make sense of what comes next.
TIME specifically highlighted Plaud’s growing template ecosystem. Earlier this year, Plaud launched the Template Community, allowing users to create and share templates designed around specific professions, workflows, and needs.
That community reflects a larger belief behind Plaud: the best AI tools should adapt to the people using them.
A lawyer, engineer, student, physician, founder, or researcher may all capture conversations—but what each person needs from those conversations afterward can look completely different.
A milestone for Plaud
Being included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 is an important milestone for NotePin S, but it also represents something broader for Plaud.
Since 2023, more than 3 million people worldwide have used Plaud products. Our ambition continues to grow beyond AI note-taking toward building a real-world AI interface that can capture, structure, and compound the intelligence generated in everyday conversations.
The recognition from TIME is meaningful validation of that direction—and of the many teams across Plaud who have worked to make NotePin S useful, intuitive, and easy to integrate into everyday life.
We’re incredibly proud of this moment, and even more excited about what comes next.
Read TIME’s Best Inventions 2026 feature on Plaud NotePin S.
