PANews reported on June 16th that, according to Bloomberg, AI note-taking hardware startup Plaud plans to launch a new wearable device with an AI agent later this year and projects sales of approximately $500 million by 2026. Plaud's existing products include the Plaud Note, which attaches to the back of a phone, and the Plaud NotePin, which can be clipped to clothing, worn around the neck, or on the wrist. Starting at $159, these devices, bundled with a mobile app, offer approximately 300 minutes of free audio transcription per month. The new device is expected to have a battery life of at least 8 to 12 hours and may incorporate cellular connectivity for "always-on" voice interaction and AI functionality. Plaud claims to have over 2 million users, with approximately 80% of its business coming from the US, Japan, and Europe. The company employs a model-agnostic strategy, with an internal evaluation team selecting the optimal transcription model for different languages.