I just tested these AI-powered earbuds that let you record and transcribe meetings and phone calls with the push of a button — here's why I'm impressed (and confused)

The Viaim RecDot are some interesting earbuds. Are they the best earbuds in the world? It completely depends on what you’re looking for. If you want an AI assistant — a la Plaud NotePin — then maybe. But if you want something that can compete with AirPods Pro 3 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, then… no.

As the RecDot are angled as an AI assistant-meets-earbuds device, I’m in two minds. The AI features are plentiful, and they work most of the time. However, the companion app struggled to differentiate between speakers, and the claims that you can record without an app fall flat when you have to transcribe via the app. Even so, I enjoyed the mind-map and summaries generated in the Viaim app — native Apple and Samsung Galaxy buds can’t do this.

But in 2026, the majority of flagship earbuds — AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro included — can transcribe, live translate, and record calls directly into your phone… so why wouldn’t you just do that? On top of the AI functionality, AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro sound miles better than the Viaim RecDot.

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Could these underdog AI native earbuds still be for you? Keep reading to find out the full story in this Viaim RecDot review.

Viaim RecDot review: Specs

Viaim RecDot review: Price & availability

The Viaim RecDot are $209 from Amazon U.S.. They do not seem to be available in the U.K. except on second-hand sites like eBay.

At this price point, there’s not much room for error. As you can get flagship earbuds — Apple AirPods Pro 3, Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro — for just $40 more (less during sale periods), I’m not sure why you wouldn’t simply buy the native software version. Personally, I would buy AirPods if I had an iPhone, and Galaxy Buds if I had a Samsung phone.

The RecDot are laden with impressive AI features like live translation, direct call recording and transcription, and can even act as a dictaphone for interviews. However… so can AirPods and Galaxy Buds. I can understand the need for these features if you’re often calling clients or colleagues and need a transcription, but, again, flagship Apple/Samsung buds can do this.

I’ll discuss more about the AI features and sound quality below, but I think the $209 MSRP is a real shot in the foot. If you want similar performance for even cheaper, I’d recommend the $99 EarFun Air Pro 4+, which have live translation, or the $69 CMF Buds 2 Pro, which have ChatGPT integration.

Viaim RecDot review: Design

Considering the price of $209, I was a little disappointed by the design of the RecDot. They’re very plasticky and look more like EarFun Air Pro 4+ than AirPods Pro 3. I wish the plastic nozzle and stem were more matte.

Comfort

I love that the RecDot come with four sizes of ear tips. I went for size small, but you can choose from XS-L. After selecting my ear tips, I then did an ear fit test, which sends a series of frequencies through the buds and seems to analyze your ear’s response.

Although I have very small ears, I was able to listen for hours without my ears aching. I’d recommend these for other small-eared folk without hesitation.

Controls

As these are stem earbuds, all the touch controls are done via the stem, exactly the same as AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. I found these easy to master — pinch for pause, long press for call recording — and it’s easy to adjust said controls in the Viaim app.

Connectivity

I was surprised to find these earbuds had Bluetooth 5.2, as they were only released in 2025. EarFun released the Air Pro 4+ with Bluetooth 6.0 at around the same time, so in the future, I’d like to see Viaim release its earbuds with the newest version for futureproofing.

I had some trouble reconnecting the RecDot after periods of use on my second device. I had to ‘Forget’ and re-pair the earbuds with my phone after using them with my laptop and vice versa — despite setting up dual device connectivity.

Viaim RecDot review: Sound quality

To test sound quality, I listened to music on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles. The RecDot are great in some genres, and quite mediocre in others. If you listen to heavier genres, you might want to skip these $209 earbuds.

First, I listened to ‘Body’ by Estrons, a rock track with immersive, gritty guitars and powerful female vocals. However, the instrumental sections were muddy and cluttered rather than grungey. The heavy section towards the end of the track felt squashed and flattened, steamrollered into something bland and ineffective.

I switched genre to soul for ‘TARDIS (hardest)’ by Greentea Peng. This song sounded much better, with drifting bass and melodic, twinkling keys dappling the background of the track. While the percussion sounded a little tinny, overall, this genre sounded far superior.

Last, I switched to pop/acoustic for ‘Solar Power’ by Lorde. This song is built over Lorde’s layered vocals and gentle, sunsoaked acoustic guitars. At the start of the song, the guitars sounded surprisingly clear, and I could hear the fingers moving on the strings. But the bass was a little stuck, trapped in one earbud, and didn’t provide much depth. Towards the end of the song, more instruments came in, which was detrimental to the overall performance. The vocals were pushed back and the percussion a little tinny.

The RecDot perform much better in sparser, more acoustic genres like dub, acoustic, singer/songwriter, or ambient electronic. If you mostly listen to these genres, I’d say these are a great option. However, if, like me, you’re a rock lover, you might want to skip these for the detail-focused EarFun Air Pro 4+ or bass-heavy CMF Buds Pro 2.

Viaim RecDot review: ANC

ANC on the RecDot is good, but it’s not better than AirPods Pro 3 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. I played a city noise track at 65dB, which I could hear through the music. When I tested them side-by-side with my AirPods Pro 3, I couldn’t hear the noise track at all.

While I think RecDot would cut it for everyday use, if you’re on airplanes or the like often, I think you’d be better off with the aforementioned options.

Viaim RecDot review: Call quality

I’ll discuss actual AI call recording features in the ‘App’ section below, but I’ll mention microphone quality here. To test call quality, I phoned my boyfriend, who has listened to every pair of earbuds I’ve reviewed so far, so he’s the perfect lab rat.

He said my voice sounded mostly clear, albeit a little fuzzy in some sibilant words. He couldn’t hear any ambient noise from my end of the call.

Viaim RecDot review: App

The Viaim RecDot boast a plethora of AI features, however you need the Viaim app to take advantage of said features. When I recorded calls and voice notes, the transcription was generated into the Viaim app. Recording calls was beyond easy — I just held down the stem until I heard “Recording start” and the recording was automatically viewable in the Viaim app.

While Viaim claims you can record directly into the earbuds, this is a little more nebulous than I first expected. While you can record using the earbuds/charging case, you do have to transcribe into the app… so you do need the Viaim app to take full advantage of these features.

You get 600 free minutes a month, and here are a few screenshots of what the transcription looks like.

Unfortunately, the transcription was unable to discern between the two speakers — despite one being female and one male — and transcribed laughter and “um” as Chinese characters.

Despite these AI hiccups, as you can see, the app is well laid out and easy to navigate. While these AI features are nice to have if you find yourself often needing to record calls or voice notes, they’re not exactly groundbreaking; it might take an extra step or two but it’s possible with both the Samsung earbuds (you have to configure the long-press button to voice record) and on the AirPods Pro 3 (you can record FaceTime Audio calls natively).

You can also live translate using Samsung and Apple’s flagship earbuds. While the live translation on both the RecDot, Samsung, and Apple models is laggy and imperfect, I found the RecDot’s summaries to be useful if you have a long conversation with someone. Sometimes these summaries were a little off-piste and struggled to differentiate between questions and statements, but overall, it worked better than Apple and Samsung’s native apps.

Viaim RecDot review: Battery

The RecDot buds last for 9 hours on a single charge, and 36 hours when paired with the charging case.

I listened to them for 8 hours and the overall battery went down to 80%, so that math checks out. This is a pretty great battery life given all the processing and listening that's happening.

By comparison, the AirPods Pro 3 last for a measly 24 hours, while the Samsung Galaxy Buds don't fare much better at 30 hours. Still, there are budget options like the EarFun Air Pro 4+ and CMF Buds 2 Pro last for 46 and 43 hours, respectively, so it's not a clean sweep.

Viaim RecDot review: Verdict

If you want AI earbuds capable of transcribing in various formats and can record calls in the earbuds themselves, the Viaim RecDot are a great investment. However, they don’t really do anything you can’t do with AirPods Pro 3 or the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and an AI-enabled smartphone.

Unfortunately, the Viaim RecDot are so focused on being “game-changing” AI-powered earbuds that they’ve lost sight of their purpose: to be earbuds. With a $209 MSRP, there’s very little room for error — muddy bass in the most common genres and confused transcriptions are rookie errors, and $209 isn’t a rookie price tag.

If the price was $150, I’d be able to recommend these earbuds for the smart features and middling sound. But at $209, you can get flagship sound and equally as impressive smart features for just $40 extra, which makes me a little reticent.

When you can get 90% of the same performance with the $99 EarFun Air Pro 4+ — AI translation, and recording with third-party apps — and 99% of the same performance with Apple or Samsung’s flagship earbuds, I just can’t recommend the RecDot for everyone. If you need recording-capable earbuds more than you care for sound or value, you might get on great with the Viaim RecDot. But for most people, I’d get the EarFun Air Pro 4+ — at least then you have excellent sound and AI features.