I've tried just about every AI productivity tool you can imagine. From chatbots that help me research to wearables that act like an external brain, I lean into AI for productivity often.
But when it came to AI note-taking devices, I was on the fence. I've tried several, like Otter.ai and Gemini for notetaking, but to be completely honest, nothing could beat my physical notebook and pen. That is, until the Flowtica AI pen caught my attention.
Rather than changing how I work, this real-working pen allowed me to keep writing with pen and paper while quietly recording the conversation, then let AI organize everything afterward. It sounded almost too simple, here are my thoughts after using Flowtica AI pen for a month.
What is the Flowtica AI pen?
At first glance, you'd never guess the Flowtica AI pen was AI hardware at all. It simply looks like a cool metal pen that writes on ordinary paper. But what's great about it is, with a quick tap on the button, it also records conversations while you take notes, syncing everything to a companion app that can generate transcripts, meeting summaries and action items. Talk about a productivity game-changer!
Now as I write, I don't have to worry about catching everything. Flowtica will always pick up the slack. One feature I found especially interesting is something Flowtica calls FlowMark. If someone says something important, you press a button on the pen to create a marker. The idea is that the AI pays extra attention to those moments when it builds your summary later.
There's also a feature called Snap It, which lets you photograph notebook pages or whiteboards so the AI can combine your handwritten notes with the transcript.
What surprised me most
As a journalist, I spend a surprising amount of time juggling three things at once. I'm listening in briefing calls or interviews, asking follow-up questions and writing — all while trying not to forget what someone just said.
Even with years of experience, it's easy to miss a quote or lose track of an important point. I've experimented with AI transcription apps before, but they usually require pulling out another device, opening another app or remembering to hit Record before a conversation starts.
A pen feels...normal. No one thinks twice when you take notes with a pen. Of course, I always let them the person in front of me know when I'm recording — something most have come to expect from a journalist anyway.
But what surprised me most about this unique pen is how little I had to actually think about the technology at all. As someone who has become so used to AI demanding my attention, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to just tap the button on the side to get started.
Because instead of changing your workflow, Flotica AI adapts to a workflow that's existed for decades.
Where Flotica really impressed me
The obvious audience for this product is people who spend their days in meetings. I also think this would be great for college students who don't want to miss anything during lectures. But the more I use the pen, the more use cases came to mind.
In fact, I now keep it with me whereever I go. With 32GB onboard storage that stores approximately 4,000 hours of audio and a built-in studio-grade MEMS microphone for recording conversations while I write, it's a no-brainer.
One thing to note, unlike similar AI notetakers, no special paper is required. I use it on my own notebook or journal.
Charging is easy and the battery life is incredible. Flowtica AI offers up to 30 hours of continuous recording on a single charge and up to to 100 hours of recording with the optional charging case. Standby time is up to 5,600 hours — that's a whopping 233 days. The charging cable, included, uses USB-C.
The speaker recognition is incredible. It can capture up to 15 speakers in a room, but to be fully transparent, I didn't try it with that many since I work remotely. But it did pick up my voice from about ten feet away. The company promises it works up to 16.4 feet (5 meters).
It also labels people by name after they've been introduced once, which is great for keeping track of who said what in a meeting — even in a conversation between two or three.
The app works on iOS and Android and users get unlimited recording with no subscription required. That's the tier I used, which has been plenty. There is a paid plan, which unlocks even more AI features.
What I didn't like
I think Flowtica is great for many reasons, but it also frustrated me on occassion. For instance, sometimes the pen would stop pairing or syncing recordings. I usually solved this by clicking the pen on and off again and doing the same to my phone. That did the trick, but took time.
The summary accuracy was also something I think the company really needs to improve. The summary was often too short and some details were missed completely at times. Sometimes the Bluetooth pairing would drop off, but for the most it worked as it should and the transcript quality seemed up to par.
The takeaway
Anyone who regularly fills notebooks with pages they'll probably never revisit should check out this pen. Because AI can automatically organize those notes into something searchable and actionable, that's potentially a meaningful time saver that you never even realized you needed. I certainly didn't until now.
This has become my favorite AI note-taker yet because it is easy to use and let's me write by hand, which I don't think I could ever give up.
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