Transcription has always been a useful thing to have for work and creative purposes, and that’s only increased with greater access to AI models. There are already a handful of purpose-built devices you can buy for this, but the Soundcore Work is a new AI voice recorder that looks to have nailed all the practicalities beyond just recording audio and turning it into text.
The Work debuted at IFA 2025 in Berlin, and will be rolling out to Soundcore's various international markets between September and November. You'll pay $99/£99 for the hardware, with the option of a $15.99/£15.99 monthly subscription for additional functionality, such as collecting transcripts on the same subject together with suggested to-dos and more.
Recording begins with a simple press of the side button, with a light indicating to you and anyone you're speaking to that you've got a live mic on you. This isn't designed to be active 24/7 like some AI devices are meant to be - only when you need to specifically make use of it.
Using dual mics, the Work promises to capture speech within a 5-metre (roughly 16-foot) radius, using GPT-4.1 (later to be upgraded to GPT-5) to provide what it says are 97% accurate transcription in over 100 languages. These are then processed into text in the cloud, but Soundcore promises that the data is deleted once the processed audio and transcript is delivered to the companion app on your mobile device of choice.
The transcripts feature speaker ID and structured text for easy reading, focusing on any key passages that you've marked (via a double tap on the recorder), with these appearing at the top of the transcription for easy reference. A haptic buzz confirms you've done this, which is a smart way to confirm that your command registered without interrupting proceedings.
Soundcore's specs say that the Work has a 10-day stand-by time, and can record for up to 8 hours, or up to 32 hours total when accounting for the charging cradle. With USB-C charging, you can apparently refuel the Soundcore Work fast enough in 10 mins to get 2 hours of recording.
You can either have the coin-shaped recorder magnetically clipped to an included lanyard, or attached to your clothing like a traditional microphone. You can even keep it in the charging case while recording for marathon recording sessions, which you can then affix to the back of a MagSafe or Qi2-ready device to keep your stuff together in one convenient pile.
That said, when you consider the recorder is only 0.91 inches across and weighs just 10 grams (0.35 ounces), it's not going to be that noticeable wherever you put it. It's also worth noting that the Work is rated IPX4 for water resistance, which is good news in the event you need to conduct your meetings or interviews out in the rain.
The closest comparable device to the Soundcore Work is the Plaud NotePin, which comes with additional AI features and recording modes, but is also much more expensive, both in terms of hardware and optional subscription fees. The Soundcore Work's promised basic but comprehensive transcription system, plus its affordability, could encourage more users to try out an AI voice recorder, and potentially be the smarter buy overall. But we'll reserve full judgment for a future review.
If you want to know what else has been on show at the Berlin Messe, check out our Best of IFA awards to see what exciting new tech there is across a variety of categories.
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