itel’s Zeno AI Weaver is an intriguing device. A sleek digital voice recorder that claims to log every spoken word it captures, transcribe, summarise and make structured notes for you, it promises quite a bit. While it might seem like something that might appeal to journalists who work on interactions and interviews, it can also prove to be useful for those who attend a lot of meetings and need an assistant that can give them a gist of everything that transpired. Read on for more.
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Design and build
A thin piece of metal, the Zeno AI Weaver is the size of a credit card and about as thick as three cards stacked together. What’s more, using the bundled MagSafe-enabled wallet, it can be stuck on to the back of phones that have this feature (iPhones, Google Pixel 10 series), or those with MagSafe-enabled cases. The back of the AI Weaver device has four pogo pins where the supplied charging cable attaches magnetically, while the front has a tiny display flanked by a sliding key and a button on the sides.
Usage and app
While the device can record standalone, you need the AI Recorder app on your phone (works with both Android and iOS) to listen to and process the audio recordings. A single press of the button on the device turns the device on, while a long press starts and ends recording. It can be a bit fiddly at first but things become smoother once you get the hang of it. The multi-microphone array claims to intelligently cancel out ambient noise and isolate voices.
The app allows you to listen to, transcribe and summarise the audio, using ChatGPT 4.0 to do the heavy lifting on the AI front. Translation between different languages is supported as well. 300 minutes of free transcription is provided per month, and if you need more, you can purchase a pro plan. Subscribing to that also unlocks additional note templates, mind maps and enhanced speech recognition.
In my usage, the Zeno AI Weaver worked well, especially in small to mid-sized meeting rooms, with a few people speaking one by one. The transcription quality was above average, but not without mistakes. The 32GB internal storage claims up to 40 hours of audio recording capacity, with the battery promising up to 40 days of standby time.
Verdict
The Zeno AI Weaver is priced at Rs 11,816, and that isn’t a small price to pay for something that, on the face of it, handles tasks that can be managed by a recording app on your phone. After using it though, I think it’s handy size, simple operation, and usage that not only handles interviews but also meetings and regular work conversations, there’s enough in it to warrant a second look. It might not appeal to everyone, but professionals and those who spend most of their time in meetings should be able to make use of it.
Pros:
- Sleek design
- AI-powered transcription
- Good battery life
Cons
- Usage can be a bit fiddly
- Won’t appeal to everyone
- Pricey
