Now gadgets must also have artificial intelligence. It is the new accessory of the devices that will accompany us in the coming months.
They record and summarize our conversations, promise to make us relax and sleep better, recognize what we eat and translate in real time what we are told into another language. But in the midst of this wave there are also those who return to offering "simple" devices.
Plaud, a second memory for work
We start with recorders who take notes while we talk, in meetings or on the phone. This is the case of Plaud. The Plaud Note model is the size of a credit card, is less than three millimeters thick and attaches to the back of the smartphone with a magnet. For phone calls it uses a vibration conduction sensor, which picks up the sound directly from the phone. Plaud also has a bracelet version. It's called NotePin S, it weighs just over 17 grams and in the package there is a bracelet, a clip, a lanyard and a magnetic pin: you can wear it on your wrist, on your jacket or around your neck. Record up to 20 hours straight. They all cost less than 200 euros. The principle is the same for everyone. The device records the audio, then the artificial intelligence transcribes what was said, distinguishes who is speaking and can write a summary for us. The transcription works in 112 languages and for summaries you can choose from over 10,000 templates. With the Ask Plaud function you can also ask questions about recorded conversations, as you would with a chatbot.
The sector is also of interest to large technology groups. In 2025, Amazon bought Bee, a $49.99 bracelet that listens to conversations and turns them into summaries and to-do lists. At the end of the year Meta acquired Limitless, the pendant recorder startup, which stopped selling it to new customers and closed the service in several countries, including those in the European Union.
The headset that promises to make us relax
Artificial intelligence also promises to make us relax. ZenoWell Luna Plus is an earphone that fits into the left ear and sends small electrical impulses to stimulate the vagus nerve, with the aim of promoting relaxation and sleep. The vagus nerve connects the brain to the heart, lungs, and digestive system. The technique is called transcutaneous auricular stimulation of the vagus nerve: the impulses pass through the skin in some areas of the ear reached by a branch of this nerve. The headset is connected to a small control unit. To use it, you moisten it with a gel or a little water, stick it in your ear and increase the intensity until you feel a slight tingling sensation. According to the startup, 5 to 20 minutes a day are enough. There are six modes: sleep, relaxation, relief and meditation can be chosen from the device, concentration and digestion from the app. In the application, artificial intelligence gives well-being advice. The assistant, called AI Coach, puts together the sensations we note, body data and session history, and suggests which mode to use. After a seven-day free trial, it works on credits.
The same startup also produces a wrist band, ZenoBand Mobi, which detects heart rate and sleep, as well as heart rate variability, i.e. how much the interval between one beat and another changes. Alternatively, the app can use data from Apple Watch and Oura Ring, or measure your heart rate with a face scan taken with your smartphone. Meditation is perhaps the most interesting use, but the kit can be a little expensive: we are around 500 euros. The set with earphone and headband costs 505 euros, the Luna Plus alone costs 399 euros. ZenoWell is registered in Hong Kong and claims to have been incubated at the Faculty of Medicine of Heidelberg University, Germany. Research on the technique is still ongoing. Luna Plus is presented as a wellness product, not as a medical device.
The necklace that keeps the meal diary for us
Another proposal concerns food and arrives in autumn. Odyss N1 is a necklace with a camera that recognizes when we eat and uses artificial intelligence to identify foods, estimate portions and nutritional values. Without having to write anything down by hand. The pendant, made of steel and sapphire glass, has a 120-degree wide-angle camera, two microphones and a motion sensor, while the battery is in a separate module. In total it weighs about 25 grams and, according to the company, the battery lasts up to 18 hours. To understand when we are eating, the necklace also observes the movements of the hand towards the mouth: the company claims an accuracy of over 99% in recognizing meals.
In the app, each meal receives three scores: quality, which measures nutritional balance; energy, which compares calories to your goal; rhythm, which looks at the times and regularity of meals. The app also explains how a meal impacts energy, recovery and sleep.
On the topic of privacy, the company has provided some protections. A physical button turns off the camera and microphones, faces are blurred and images are transformed into data and then deleted: the wearer of the necklace cannot browse or export them. When we don't eat, the sensors reduce activity. Booking costs around 200 dollars: the price reserved for first subscribers is 199 dollars, 100 less than the list price. The product is still being tested with a group of users.
Smart glasses that are controlled with a ring
Then there are smart glasses, which are increasingly widespread. Among the new features are the INMO Go 3, from the Chinese company of the same name. They show before our eyes the translation of what we are told, in many languages of the world, and the directions to orient ourselves on the street. The text appears in green on a small display visible to both eyes. Real-time translation covers 98 languages, and some even work offline. The directions, on foot and by bicycle, come from HERE maps. The glasses also have a teleprompter, teleprompter that scrolls with the rhythm of your voice, a voice assistant that uses ChatGPT and Gemini, and a camera with a physical privacy cover. They don't weigh too much, around 58 grams, and the batteries can be changed in a few seconds. They can also be controlled with a ring that acts as a remote control: with taps and swipes on the INMO Ring 4 you turn the pages of the teleprompter or change the direction of the translation. On the official website, from which they can also be ordered from Italy, the glasses cost 599 dollars, just over 500 euros, and the ring 119 dollars.
Among the direct competitors is the Chinese Rokid, founded in 2014, which in the spring brought its Rokid Glasses to Europe, with shipping also to Italy. They weigh 49 grams, have a green display on both lenses and a 12 megapixel camera, translate into 89 languages and offer navigation, teleprompter and an assistant that uses different artificial intelligence models, including Alibaba's ChatGPT and Qwen. Graduated lenses can also be mounted.
The return of devices without artificial intelligence
And amid this wave there is also the return of devices without artificial intelligence. Acer has relaunched Packard Bell, the brand born in 1926 in Los Angeles to produce radios, which became famous in the nineties with home computers and owned by Acer since 2008. For the centenary of the brand, a new colorful range arrives, with the slogan Tech it easy and a declared objective: to keep technology simple. There are telephones that are used to make calls. DotLine is a 4G feature phone, i.e. a mobile phone with essential functions, designed, explains the company, for families and for those looking for a more balanced relationship with digital: it costs 69 euros and arrives in November. And there are headphones, the DotBass, which cost 29 euros and are only used for listening to music. In the same collection there are also the DotLook audio glasses, costing 99 euros, which allow you to listen to music and answer calls without earphones and without a screen, as well as a laptop and a record player.
