It's an axiom of most wearable technology that they only work if they rise to the level of fashion. Anything less (or anything too much more) and they'll be relegated to the trash heap of AI gadgetry.
Vocci is the first AI wearable in a long time that does not make me want to stick needles in my eyes. It's not a dumb, ugly, oversized pendant. It doesn't try to project a screen on your hand. It doesn't get hot or ask for a battery like a whiny baby. It just slips onto your finger and awaits your command. Not even a voice command. If you want Vocci to get to work, you need to press the button.
Vocci is a new San Mateo-based company with an idea: what if we could make voice and idea recording and transcription seamless and smart without asking you to wear something odd or change your habits.
Vocci Ring, which will ship in June in the US and Europe for approximately $299 / £299, plus a monthly subscription fee, is the picture of stylish simplicity. I found this out when I arrived for the demo, and the company execs handed me a small black box and told me to open it up and get to work, or rather, set up this still-beta version of the Vocci ring.
Inside the Vocci Ring experience
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While the box is understated, the rechargeable case is a bit of overkill. The highly polished, slightly heavy chrome case is roughly palm-sized and looks suitable for presenting a diamond ring. The cover slides sideways to reveal a shiny Oura-ring-sized titanium band (I saw other upcoming colors like blue and something approaching amber). Its only nod to high fashion is the thin channel that traverses the circumference, and also hides a pair of occasionally visible LED lights (blue for recording, orange for battery).
That channel also curves around to meet Vocci Ring's only and all-important button that I used to launch and end recordings and capture or tag highlights.
Like most smart rings, you do need to get the proper size. When they asked me a few weeks ago, I gave them the size of my ring finger. Turns out that was a mistake. Vocci is very implicit about where the ring should be worn, and, to be honest, I get it. Because you launch recordings by double-pressing the button, you'll want the ring easily reachable by your thumb, which means the index finger is the spot. It's also, I later learned, far too easy to accidentally launch recordings if that ring is squeezed between two fingers.
I did struggle during my demo, which mostly involved recording and transcribing the presentation, to properly double-press the button.
Still, the rest of the process is very easy, and the ring's recording capabilities are good for its size.
A demo and a Vocci Ring trial
Company execs claim a 5-meter recording range and 8 hours of continuous recording. Our meeting space was a small conference room, and I was seated about 10 feet away from the speakers. Since the Vocci was on my finger, it moved around a lot. I was typing, putting my hand under the table, even absentmindedly fiddling with the Vocci ring.
I did the latter because I usually wear an Oura on that finger, and I am always worrying about the indent on that ring (which was currently in my pocket).
I did this so much with the Vocci Ring that at one point, I accidentally stopped the recording. You can know this because of the haptic vibration you feel from the ring, or, as I did, when I looked at my iPhone and noticed the Vocci app no longer said the ring was "Recording."
So I took that opportunity to transcribe my first recordings. To do so, the app downloads the audio to the phone and sends it to the company's secure cloud. Data for each locality is being processed in their home country. Nothing goes, say, to China, where Vocci does not even sell the ring.
It took a little while to upload and transcribe, but I was shocked by the quality — even more so when I listened to the captured audio. It's not great: a bit muffled and over-processed, as I think the AI does its best to clear it up.
Despite that, the text accuracy was very good. I found some mistakes, but considering how little attention I paid to where the ring was sitting (I'm not even sure where the microphone is on this thing), the quality was impressive.
The CEO claimed that when he wants to capture an idea, he can double-tap the Vocci while his hand is in his pocket, and it will still pick it up. I tried this in what has to be the most challenging environment: sitting outside in New York City.
I launched the recording while my hand was visible and then stuffed it into my pocket and spoke at something just less than a shout. I sent that up to the cloud for transcription, but no speech was detected.
My guess is the CEO did his test in a quiet and relatively controlled environment, but hey, inspiration can hit you anywhere, even in Lower Manhattan. I later tried this experiment in the quiet of my home — as soon as I put the ring hand in my pocket, transcription stopped, but the faint but understandable audio was actually still captured. That's a pretty good microphone.
As for the results of my initial demo meeting transcript, though, I found the AI-powered analysis generally excellent.
AI analysis FTW
Vocci's app is broken up into three main areas for each recording. The first two are the chat transcription that identifies different speakers and is synced to the original recording, and Highlights, which are special moments you capture with a single press during recording. In that area, there's AI insight for each one. The last area is Notes, which provides a detailed summary of key points, topics, decisions, to-dos, and more. It's incredibly detailed.
This, I think, could be a powerful tool for business and strategy.
A Base area lets you search across discussions, using natural language queries to gain insights.
Meanwhile, the Vocci Ring keeps it simple; it'll record up to eight hours and can get three more days of charge from the over-designed case. It's waterproof, so you can wear it in any environment (I wore it in the shower), and is light enough that it doesn't feel or look like you're wearing technology.
The cool AI stuff will be part of a subscription plan (between $15 and $29, depending on the plan), which may turn off some users, and the Vocci ring might be more appealing if it remains at the $199 preorder price.
That said, I like it. This is an incredibly low-profile AI-powered transcription tool that doesn't try to do too much. No step counting or heart rate measurement. Some might consider that a negative. After all, how many rings can you wear? Well, counting my wedding ring, I'm currently on three and, to be honest, I don't mind at all.
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