AI pendants listen all day. What they cost and what caregivers should ask
We priced nine AI wearables on their makers' own sites. None is a medical device. California and Florida require everyone's consent before you record a private conversation.
AI pendants record the talk around you and turn it into notes. TechCrunch rounded up nine of these gadgets on Oct 25. We checked every price, fee and date on the maker’s own site the same day, and several had changed.
None of these is a medical or health device. Friend’s privacy policy says its service is “not designed or intended to be used to support or replace professional medical care” (Friend). Rabbit’s terms say its output “must never be used to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any health condition” (Rabbit).
Sandbar’s terms say Sandbar is not a licensed medical or mental health provider (Sandbar).
What they cost
Bee. The Frontier is $74.99 on Amazon (Bee). The Eclipse “will be available for $99.99” and is listed as coming soon (Bee). Bee Pro is free for 30 days, then $11.99 a month or $99.99 a year (Bee).
Amazon agreed to buy Bee in July 2025 (Reuters).
Friend. $249 (Friend). Friend’s shop calls it “worn on a necklace, always listening.”
Limitless. Limitless says Meta acquired it and it stopped selling the Pendant on Dec 5, 2025. Existing customers get the Unlimited plan free, with support “throughout 2026.” Service ended that day in the EU, the UK and other regions (Limitless).
Muse Charm. Meta showed it at Connect in September and said “We’ll have more to share later this year.” Meta has posted no price or ship date (Meta).
Nirva. Nirva’s site collects emails for preorder news. It lists no price or ship date (Nirva).
Omi. $129, a limited time price that is $50 under its $179 list price. Omi says no subscription is required and a free plan is included (Omi).
Plaud NotePin. $159, with a free plan that covers 300 minutes a month. Pro is $8.33 a month, billed annually, for 1,200 minutes. Unlimited is $20 a month, billed annually (Plaud).
Rabbit R1. $199, “no subscription required” (Rabbit). It is a handheld device, not an always on pendant.
Sandbar Stream. Preorders for the ring are $249 against a $299 list price and are fully refundable. Batch 6 ships in January 2027. Three months of the Upstream service are included, then $10 a month for preorder members (Sandbar).
Where the audio goes
Friend’s policy describes the device as “passively recording your surroundings.” It says your data “may be used to train the models that power Friend.” It says Friend can keep data “longer than 5 years” (Friend).
Omi advertises always on capture and records offline (Omi). Its policy says Omi “may store conversation audio in encrypted form” in Google Cloud Storage. Omi sends text to OpenAI, not raw audio (Omi).
Omi promises no training without permission. Deleting a conversation deletes its audio (Omi).
Bee says audio “is processed instantly and then deleted.” It says “Not even Amazon can access your data unless you choose to share it” (Bee). The Eclipse turns its microphone off after silence, on a timer the wearer sets between 5 minutes and 24 hours (Bee).
Sandbar says Stream is “designed to only record your voice.” Sandbar trains a personal model on your information and trains its own AI models on data stripped of identifiers (Sandbar).
Consent laws
Federal law lets you record a conversation you are part of. One party’s consent is enough under 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) (Cornell LII).
California requires the consent of all parties to record a confidential conversation. The fine runs up to $2,500 per violation (California Penal Code 632).
Florida requires the consent of all parties. A violation is a third degree felony (Florida Statutes 934.03).
Friend puts the burden on the wearer. “You are solely responsible for ensuring that you comply with all applicable laws” (Friend). Plaud asks users to “let others know and get their okay” before they record (Plaud).
A pendant worn to a doctor visit, a family dinner or an adult day program records people who never agreed to it.
One safety note
Plaud says the NotePin’s magnetic pin and clip produce fields “up to 2100 gauss.” It advises pacemaker users not to wear the NotePin on the chest (Plaud).
Questions caregivers should ask
- Is the microphone always on, or does the wearer press to record?
- Where is the audio stored, and for how long?
- Does the company train AI models on the recordings? Can you say no?
- Does deleting a conversation delete the audio?
- What does it cost each month after the trial ends?
- Who else will be recorded, and does your state require their consent?
- Will the company still sell and support the device next year?
Why it matters
Prices moved between press coverage and the makers’ own pages. Friend now lists $249 and Omi $129 (Friend, Omi). Limitless stopped selling its pendant after Meta bought it (Limitless).
The fees add up. Bee Pro is $99.99 a year after the trial (Bee). Plaud Unlimited is $20 a month, billed annually (Plaud).
Before a family buys one for an older parent, read the privacy policy and check the state’s recording law.
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