Viaim RecDot Review: AI Earbuds With Pro-Level Transcription Power

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Lately, it seems that companies across the spectrum of products have been doing anything and everything possible to integrate AI into everything, no matter how much utility or actual functionality it adds. Often, the result is more pointless than anything. However, sometimes the AI addition turns out to be not only novel, but useful. That's been my experience with Viaim's RecDot earbuds. Not only has this AI been integrated into some largely standard earbuds, it's been given a real purpose.

Viaim RecDot earbuds transform personal listening devices into a mobile secretary of sorts by listening to whatever conversation you might be engaged in and not just record them, but transcribe them as well. This makes them what might be the first set of earbuds marketed squarely at business customers and creating a niche market in the process. Catering to business needs has long been a reliable way to differentiate a product in the market and gain reliable customers by offering something that cannot be found in popular consumer products. To test whether this newest AI proposition stands up, Viaim sent me a pair of RecDot Earbuds for this hands-on (and in-ears) review.

RecDot earbuds come in sturdy packaging of minimalist design, opening up to present the earbuds and case encased in molded cardboard with a booklet and accessories underneath. While not as extravagant as some products – those emblazoned with a certain fruit come to mind – everything in this first impression suggests the product is of high quality.

The charging case lays flat with a sliding cover for access to the earbuds, and features one internal and one external button. The flush-mounted external button is used for pairing and resetting the device while the internal button is used as a separate function button paired with the earbuds, a unique feature I will detail later. These buds come with four interchangeable sets of tips to properly fit the insides of a wide variety of ears. The only other accessory in the box is a USB-C cable for charging the case. While it is nice that a cable is included, its length of only a few inches makes it somewhat impractical beyond the bare minimum functionality. 

While most earbud manufacturers present their products harping on the sound quality, battery life, or other gimmicks people may enjoy, Viaim's RecDots are targeted at business users. Using AI, the Viaim app connects to the earbuds to record and transcribe conversations in real time. With the live transcription, the need to go back and forth through a recording while trying to type out key points is eliminated. You have the option to export the transcription as a text file (.txt) or as an email, although it will include html tags, which makes it a bit awkward to use. Furthermore, recordings can also be exported, and they can be saved in the earbuds themselves or the phone and set to upload to cloud storage using one of Viaim's account options.

In addition to straight transcription, the AI automatically provides a summary of a conversation and can create a to-do list without providing any prompts. This could be endlessly useful, particularly for an executive assistant tasked with keeping up with a busy executive's schedule — or for personal dictation or for a student's reference of important lectures. 

They also do real-time translation, writing on screen a transcription in both languages while speaking the translated text into the user's ears. Dozens of languages are available from Croatian to Swahili as well as different dialects, including more than 20 in Spanish alone. The use case for this feature goes way beyond business and would be indefensible for any world traveler.

While the transcription and translation features are central to this product, it is first and foremost a pair of earbuds, so sound quality remains paramount. Fortunately, Viaim seems to have put the work in to ensure rich tones from across the spectrum shine through. When properly seated in the ears, bass response is excellent while highs remain clear. With noise cancellation active, music is bold and brilliant, with sufficient volume to blow your eardrums out if you so choose. However, with reasonable volume, I found the built-in EQ settings proficient in adjusting levels appropriately. Perfectly tuned for Latin, jazz, rock, podcast, and more, each setting enhances the chosen genre adeptly – I did not feel an urge to manually adjust anything.

Justin Owen/SlashGear

When applying the RedDot earbuds to conversational settings, they excel. The same sound quality given to music applies equally to conversation, and that extends to the recordings captured by the earbuds. Those recordings are stored on each earbud, with 69 minutes of recording captured by each before requiring being paired to a phone for storage. The transcription is quick and generally accurate, differentiating between speakers relatively well, but not perfect, even when they overlap. The transcription is good, but not perfect.

Justin Owen/SlashGear

AI-generated summaries proved to be surprisingly useful, particularly on long conversations, and the ability to create appropriate to-do lists is uncanny. Lastly, the speed at which it transcribes text in two languages while speaking the translated text is nothing short of impressive. Even when engaging three of my Spanish-speaking neighbors, it was able to keep up and differentiate their voices quite well.

The unique transcription and translation features make for obvious pros for anyone with a specific need for them. And to that point, the summary feature and to-do list could prove invaluable to certain professionals. With a basic plan at no charge, Viaim offers 600 minutes of transcription, but higher paid tiers are available up to the unlimited plan for $19.99. Regardless of which plan, you can record live conversations as well as phone calls, including translation. Pro and Ultra plans also offer the Vitana AI helper, powered by Chat GPT-4.1, and an advanced AI model promising smarter performance for users who require a bit more. With the basic plan only, I was not able to evaluate the advanced features.

The Viaim app is another bright spot in the RecDot experience, providing multiple useful features along with a few novel options for engagement. The file management for recordings works well enough, and its layout is logical and easy to navigate. Aside from the optional AI helper, Viaim has also included a place for feedback in the "Share an Idea" tab in settings. This gives users an opportunity to suggest different functions directly to the manufacturer, with tags added showing whether it is under consideration, in development, or is already included. Furthermore, a direct link to the Viaim Discord server provides a more interactive option to get help, offer suggestions, and discover upcoming changes.

Like many tech products on the market, the RecDot earbuds utilize touch buttons for controls. And while they require a dual-touch pinch on both sides of the stem to prevent accidental touches, I found myself somehow missing the exact place to touch to achieve the desired effect. This left me fiddling with them a bit more than I cared for. However, the sliding touch volume control worked well enough and was rather useful. Perhaps this is a qualm with this type of earbud not specific to the RecDot, but to get a proper fit, I felt closed off from my surroundings and switching from noise canceling to transparency to allow for ambient noise sounded artificial, leaving me wanting for some natural airspace directing sound into the ear, sacrificing sound quality.

Other functionality issues I experienced include the random Bluetooth disconnection and reconnection that seemed to occur if I used the earbuds without opening and initializing the app. The connection sounds in my ears would repeat on and off in a rather annoying fashion, but seemed to quit once the app had been started. Battery life when using as typical earbuds is also a bit lacking. These earbuds weren't able to last me a full day — but if I had them charged fully, I did not find an activity where I couldn't get through fully before needing to fold the buds up in the case.

While I have a few small complaints about these earbuds, I generally come away from this evaluation with a positive view of them. Certainly, the sound quality for music and even phone conversations excels while the unique transcription and translation features offer something unique without straying into gimmick territory as new tech features tend to do. Other earbuds can do translation, some with transcription, but the RecDot appears to be individual in providing such a robust transcription option supported and enhanced by AI.

At the full retail price of $249.99, Viaim is competing head-on with the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Google, which means the RecDot will need to push hard on its potential niche market or receive a heavy marketing push through non-traditional channels. RecDot packs a lot of tech into this small package, and the overall build quality is excellent. Certainly for those specific use cases mentioned before, the Viaim RecDot is surely a solid buy and remains worth having a look (and a listen) for everyone else (especially if you can find them for under $250).