A briefing on voice-first and AI wearables — scoring notes, shipping news, and the record of what would change a position — with a scored ranking of shipping devices.https://wearable.toolshttps://wearable.tools/blog/fieldy-3-is-the-other-necklacehttps://wearable.tools/blog/fieldy-3-is-the-other-necklaceFieldy 3 is on sale at $129 as a pendant or a watch. It transcribes sessions you start, includes 150 minutes a month, and ships worldwide.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/halliday-g2-starts-shippinghttps://wearable.tools/blog/halliday-g2-starts-shippingHalliday G2 non-prescription pairs began shipping on 15 September 2026. Four mics, a 2 m table claim, no recording light, $599.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/manufacturers-contradict-their-own-specshttps://wearable.tools/blog/manufacturers-contradict-their-own-specsFour manufacturers in this ranking contradict their own published specifications, by up to sixteen times, and a fifth's website no longer resolves at all.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/operability-is-not-wearabilityhttps://wearable.tools/blog/operability-is-not-wearabilityOne-hand invoke is wearability and intelligence, not a third published crown. Grams decide whether you keep it on; a hold on the finger is how you use it.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/look-is-not-wearabilityhttps://wearable.tools/blog/look-is-not-wearabilityGrams and clips decide whether you keep a device on. Silhouette and materials decide whether a room reads jewellery or a gadget. Those are different failures.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/how-the-ranking-is-scoredhttps://wearable.tools/blog/how-the-ranking-is-scoredEach axis is 0–10 in half points, with a published note. The total is arithmetic. Ties go to capture, then privacy, then year-one cost.Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/three-hundred-minutes-is-a-trialhttps://wearable.tools/blog/three-hundred-minutes-is-a-trialPlaud and Vocci both ship a 300-minute starter cap. Value scored against that cap is a landing-page number. The templates live on Pro and Plus.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/sandbar-batches-sold-out-unshippedhttps://wearable.tools/blog/sandbar-batches-sold-out-unshippedBy late August 2026 Sandbar had sold out four Stream Ring batches. Summer became fall, then a mid-December fifth batch, still without a published weight.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/rings-make-poor-microphone-standshttps://wearable.tools/blog/rings-make-poor-microphone-standsVocci claims 5 m from one MEMS capsule. Plaud claims 5 m from four on a table. The integers match. The kinematics do not. Rings gesture, pocket, and wash.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/ring-pin-card-pendanthttps://wearable.tools/blog/ring-pin-card-pendantA titanium band disappears. A card hears a table. A pendant logs a day. Treating form factor as trim on one “AI wearable” is how this aisle stays confused.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/vocci-ring-goes-on-salehttps://wearable.tools/blog/vocci-ring-goes-on-saleVocci opened U.S. public purchase on 4 August 2026. The shipping claim is a 3–5 g ring, eight hours, a case, and a double-tap — not always-on capture.Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/cloud-asr-versus-on-devicehttps://wearable.tools/blog/cloud-asr-versus-on-deviceMost of this aisle sends audio to a vendor model. Omi can stay on the phone. Pebble’s Index 01 works in airplane mode. Those are different products.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/friend-pendant-adds-a-speakerhttps://wearable.tools/blog/friend-pendant-adds-a-speakerOn 30 July 2026 Friend listed a speaker pendant at $249. It still needs a paired iPhone, and memories fade after 30 days unless you pay $9.99 a month.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/verge-on-stream-and-index-ringshttps://wearable.tools/blog/verge-on-stream-and-index-ringsOn 28 July 2026 The Verge compared Sandbar’s still-unshipped Stream Ring with Pebble’s Index 01. Whisper dictation into any text field is the Stream claim.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/pebble-index-01-begins-shippinghttps://wearable.tools/blog/pebble-index-01-begins-shippingPebble’s 24 July 2026 note says the first Index 01 orders ship this week. It is still a 4.7 g dictation ring with a 5–20 cm microphone, not a meeting recorder.Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/only-shipping-devices-are-rankedhttps://wearable.tools/blog/only-shipping-devices-are-rankedSandbar has sold out batches of the Stream Ring without a customer unit. A first-place device you cannot buy is a press list. Shipping is the gate.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/battery-hours-are-not-a-unithttps://wearable.tools/blog/battery-hours-are-not-a-unitPebble’s Index 01 quotes 12–15 hours for the life of a sealed cell. Plaud’s 50 hours is a mode. Bee’s 160 is a week. The unit looks the same in a table.Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/battery-versus-always-onhttps://wearable.tools/blog/battery-versus-always-onBee’s week-long cell exists because the Pioneer never stops. Plaud’s 30 hours exist because the card does. Comparing those integers without the verb misleads.Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/capture-comes-firsthttps://wearable.tools/blog/capture-comes-firstIntelligence, privacy and battery only matter if the far end of the table is on the recording. That is why capture is 23 percent, not another lifestyle axis.Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/not-published-is-a-spechttps://wearable.tools/blog/not-published-is-a-specSandbar, Limitless and Bee omit weight, hours or mic count. Empty fields here are not unfinished pages. They are the manufacturer declining to be checked.Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/why-meta-glasses-are-not-rankedhttps://wearable.tools/blog/why-meta-glasses-are-not-rankedMeta’s glasses are a camera, a speaker and an assistant in a frame. This ranking is for devices whose job is capturing speech. Those are different products.Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/year-one-cost-is-the-pricehttps://wearable.tools/blog/year-one-cost-is-the-pricePlaud sells hardware next to a 300-minute starter cap. Year-one cost is purchase plus the plan the templates actually require, not the landing-page monthly.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/why-discontinued-devices-remainhttps://wearable.tools/blog/why-discontinued-devices-remainThe AI Pin and the Limitless Pendant cannot be bought. Their pages remain because battery claims, LEDs and remote bricks are still the comparison set.Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/bee-capture-led-turns-greenhttps://wearable.tools/blog/bee-capture-led-turns-greenAmazon’s January 2026 Bee brief lists Actions, Daily Insights and a green LED while capturing. That reverses the CES 2025 behaviour WIRED wore.Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/vocci-ring-shown-at-ceshttps://wearable.tools/blog/vocci-ring-shown-at-cesEngadget’s CES 2026 notes put the Vocci Ring in the whisper-and-meeting-ring wave. Claimed specs are eight hours, a 5 m pickup and a double-tap.Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/pebble-announces-the-index-01https://wearable.tools/blog/pebble-announces-the-index-01On 9 December 2025 Pebble opened Index 01 preorders at $75, shipping March 2026. On-device speech is the point; the 5–20 cm mic range is the limit.Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/meta-buys-limitless-stops-saleshttps://wearable.tools/blog/meta-buys-limitless-stops-salesOn 5 December 2025 Limitless joined Meta and stopped selling the Pendant. Remaining owners get the Unlimited plan free; support is promised through 2026.Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-note-versus-note-prohttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-note-versus-note-proFour MEMS mics and a screen are why the Pro exists. The rest is the Note: a card, a cloud, 300 starter minutes, and a 50-hour claim that needs a mode.Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/sandbar-opens-stream-ring-preordershttps://wearable.tools/blog/sandbar-opens-stream-ring-preordersThe Verge reported Sandbar’s Stream Ring on 5 November 2025: a whisper-dictation ring, U.S. only, summer 2026 shipping, from former CTRL-labs people.Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-note-pro-starts-shippinghttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-note-pro-starts-shippingPlaud’s four-microphone card is listed as shipping in October 2025. Enhance mode is 30 hours at 5 m; 50 hours is Endurance at 3 m.Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/tap-versus-always-onhttps://wearable.tools/blog/tap-versus-always-onBee and Limitless listen until you stop them. Plaud and Humane listened when told. Battery, consent and missed conversations all follow from that switch.Wed, 17 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-announces-note-prohttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-announces-note-proPlaud opened Note Pro preorders on 27 August 2025 at $179, shipping in October. Four microphones are the news; the 50-hour battery claim needs its mode.Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/amazon-acquires-beehttps://wearable.tools/blog/amazon-acquires-beeAmazon confirmed it is acquiring Bee on 22 July 2025. The Pioneer stays $49.99; the question is whether a week of battery still ships with a recording light.Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/open-source-is-the-privacy-claimhttps://wearable.tools/blog/open-source-is-the-privacy-claimOmi publishes Gerbers, an 88-part BOM and a path that never touches Based Hardware’s cloud. That is a different fact from a policy PDF.Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/the-recording-light-is-the-producthttps://wearable.tools/blog/the-recording-light-is-the-productLimitless made the LED undimmable on purpose. Bee, at CES, left capture dark to save battery. A microphone without a visible state is a different object.Wed, 14 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/when-the-vendor-disappearshttps://wearable.tools/blog/when-the-vendor-disappearsHumane bricked every remaining AI Pin on 28 February 2025. The Trust Light was hardware. The product was still a login, and logins expire.Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-bricks-every-ai-pinhttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-bricks-every-ai-pinOn 28 February 2025 at 12pm PST Humane bricked remaining AI Pins and deleted leftover user data. The privacy chip did not survive the cloud being switched off.Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/hp-buys-humane-assetshttps://wearable.tools/blog/hp-buys-humane-assetsHP’s $116 million asset deal was reported on 18 February 2025. Humane named 28 February as the day remaining Pins lose cloud service.Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/omi-shown-at-ces-as-open-hardwarehttps://wearable.tools/blog/omi-shown-at-ces-as-open-hardwareBased Hardware showed Omi at CES 2025 as an $89 pendant, consumer units in Q2. WIRED printed a three-day battery. Open source is the claim to check.Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/wired-on-bee-and-omi-at-ceshttps://wearable.tools/blog/wired-on-bee-and-omi-at-cesWIRED’s CES 2025 wear of the Bee Pioneer found a red mute LED and no light while capturing. Bee blamed the seven-day battery. That is a consent design.Wed, 08 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/bee-pioneer-sells-for-fiftyhttps://wearable.tools/blog/bee-pioneer-sells-for-fiftyBee put a clip-and-wristband microphone on sale at $49.99 with a 160-hour battery claim. Continuous capture at that price is a different category math.Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-recalls-the-charge-casehttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-recalls-the-charge-caseThe CPSC posted a 31 October 2024 recall of about 10,500 Humane Charge Cases after a lithium cell overheated. The Pin itself is not in the recall.Thu, 31 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-cuts-ai-pin-to-499https://wearable.tools/blog/humane-cuts-ai-pin-to-499Six months after a brutal launch, Humane dropped the AI Pin to $499. The $24 monthly plan did not move, so year-one cost is still the story.Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/limitless-pendant-starts-shippinghttps://wearable.tools/blog/limitless-pendant-starts-shippingCEO Dan Siroker said the first Limitless Pendant was delivered on 6 September 2024. August was the advertised window, not the day units shipped.Fri, 06 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-notepin-is-the-wearable-notehttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-notepin-is-the-wearable-notePlaud opened NotePin preorders on 28 August 2024 at $169, with pin, clip, lanyard and wristband mounts in the box and the same cloud stack as the Note.Wed, 28 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/reviewers-say-do-not-buy-the-pinhttps://wearable.tools/blog/reviewers-say-do-not-buy-the-pinLaunch reviews told readers not to buy Humane’s AI Pin the week it shipped. The objections were latency, heat and a product that did not work.Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/limitless-unveils-the-pendanthttps://wearable.tools/blog/limitless-unveils-the-pendantLimitless showed a wearable microphone on 15 April 2024 with a claimed 100-hour battery. The consent LED still matters if that number moves.Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-ai-pin-goes-on-salehttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-ai-pin-goes-on-saleOn 11 April 2024 Humane opened orders on the AI Pin at $699 plus $24 a month. It is a phone-replacement pin with LTE, not a tap-to-record meeting tool.Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-delays-ai-pin-shippinghttps://wearable.tools/blog/humane-delays-ai-pin-shippingEarly AI Pin orders slipped from March into mid-April 2024. Humane added three months of its $24 plan — an admission that the clock was the product.Fri, 23 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-note-arrives-as-a-cardhttps://wearable.tools/blog/plaud-note-arrives-as-a-cardAt CES 2024 the Plaud Note was already a MagSafe card you could buy: a meeting recorder with a cloud transcript, not a pin you forget on a shirt.Thu, 11 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT