Plaud One: New in-ear headphones with self-sufficient AI function presented

With the One Explorer Edition, the manufacturer Plaud presents intelligent AI headphones for everyday working life. Thanks to an integrated eSIM in the charging case, the in-ears record meetings and phone calls completely independently of the smartphone.

Self-sufficient AI headphones for everyday life

The audio manufacturer Plaud today introduced the Plaud One Explorer Edition. The wireless in-ear headphones are not only intended to play music, but also primarily to record conversations, telephone calls and meetings. The special feature lies in the built-in technology of the charging case: thanks to an integrated eSIM card that enables connections to the LTE mobile network, the system works independently of a smartphone. However, caution is advised in Germany: secretly recording a non-public conversation is fundamentally illegal and punishable.

The software processes the collected audio data directly in the cloud. The Plaud Agent, an artificial intelligence, analyzes what is spoken, creates transcriptions and summarizes the content. The system can independently design follow-up emails or create appointments via interfaces to services such as Gmail, Slack or Google Calendar. Three microphones in the headphones and four more in the charging case ensure the recording quality.

Subscription model and battery performance

As the company writes in a press release, the goal is a natural interface between people and software. Managing director Nathan Xu emphasizes that context for digital assistants is crucial and lies in everyday conversations. The battery life of the headphones is six hours with active noise cancellation disabled. If you just record phone calls, the running time drops to three hours. The charging case extends the total usage time up to 36 hours and offers 512 megabytes of internal memory. The earbuds themselves hold 16 megabytes each.

Prices and running costs

In addition to the hardware, the pricing model also includes ongoing costs for the software. The headphones initially cost 249.90 euros. The usage fee system is structured as follows:

The manufacturer is also introducing a credit system for the proactive tasks of the digital assistant. Buyers of the Plaud One Explorer Edition receive starting credit worth 176 euros. If the credits are exhausted, additional costs for automated document creation will be incurred. Even with an existing Pro subscription, units must be purchased separately. Pre-orders for select markets are open now, and delivery of the devices is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. At this point, the manufacturer plans to release app version 4.0, which will unlock the new functions for all of the company’s existing products.