iFlyTek P1 review: transcription of AI in a compact body

Many people use specialized recording devices every day, from students wanting to record their lectures to professionals wanting to record meetings. However, with the advent of AI, these devices are becoming much more useful, given that these recorders now not only record audio but can also accurately transcribe what was said. That’s the idea behind the iFlyTek P1, which is a small, reasonably inexpensive AI recording device that works with an app and can summarize transcriptions.

To be clear, though, the P1 works like a regular offline recorder without the companion app, but that’s not really why you’d buy it. Its value depends almost entirely on the software side, i.e. cloud services and, depending on your usage, subscriptions. Of course, it’s not a ultra-complex idea. But that’s why there are also a lot of competitors. How does the $119 iFlyTek P1 actually work? I use it to find out.

One advantage of this device over others is that it is quite small, which is preferable considering you will be carrying it. It’s also lightweight: if it’s on your collar, you probably won’t forget It’s there, but you could do it if it’s in a less visible place. You may or may not appreciate but I wear it. Many people prefer something portable that can be placed on a table rather than worn on clothing. This is certainly true for me. Of course, no rule tells you to have to carry it if you prefer to carry it everywhere.

On the back of the device there is a small magnetic clip that makes it relatively easy to attach the device to different items of clothing. You can use the clip itself or use the magnetic back in cases where a clip doesn’t make sense.

The body of the device is gray plastic and it’s not necessarily the most premium version. It doesn’t look too cheap, but you’ll know it’s made of plastic when you pick it up. The record button sits on the top of the device, while a power button with a status LED sits on the left edge. At the bottom is a USB-C port for charging.

The device also has a small screen. The display is a lot However, it’s smaller than you think: most of the front is a bezel that houses the microphones. THE real The screen is a small square in the middle of the front, and it is not yet used to its full potential. All it really shows is a winking emoji when it’s ready to record and a microphone when it’s recording – and that’s it. You’ll see other information in the accompanying app, and if you want to do things like track recording duration, you’ll have to depend on it.

This is the biggest interface difference compared to the P1 Pro, which has a 3.2-inch OLED touchscreen for navigating files and viewing transcriptions directly on the device. The P1 standard doesn’t give you any of that. Whether it bothers you depends on how you work. If you don’t mind using your phone rather than the device’s controls, this probably won’t be much of a problem.

The P1 uses dual mono microphones with options for 360-degree omnidirectional shooting or directional shooting. Strapped to your chest, the device picks up your voice and that of nearby speakers without the need for precise aiming. The recording quality is actually pretty solid. If you’re recording for real content, you’ll probably want a microphone designed for that purpose, but it captured my voice clearly. Based on the recordings I’ve captured, I wouldn’t worry about not being able to hear what was said in the spoken content, as long as the recorder is close enough to the person speaking.

iFlyTek rates the P1 for clear recording up to 5 meters away, although the quality was certainly better when the speaker was closer than that. Once you reach the edge of that 5 meters, you may find that the device starts to struggle to provide an accurate transcription, especially if the person speaking is relatively quiet.

This is also another difference between this device and the P1 Pro. The Pro adds a third directional microphone, extends the effective range to 10 meters, records in high-resolution 96kHz/24-bit, and includes a built-in speaker for standalone playback. If you often find yourself in a large conference room where the recorder is in the center of a long table, the Pro is the best tool. The P1 standard is intended for situations where you control the distance – worn on your body or placed in a small room.

Storage is not a problem in all cases. The P1 offers 64 GB of internal memory, which is approximately 700 hours of audio. That’s way more than most people will accumulate between syncs. What you don’t get is a speaker of any kind, so there’s no way to check a recording on the device itself. You will need your phone or computer for any reading.

The P1’s battery life is actually pretty solid, probably in part because of the small screen that doesn’t require a lot of power. The device has a 300mAh battery that can power up to 25 hours of real recording or last up to 85 days on standby, so you can leave it in a drawer for weeks and not worry about running out of juice if you need it in a pinch. During my testing period, I never really worried or thought about the device’s battery. Interestingly, that 25 hour figure actually beats the P1 Pro’s 20 hours, despite the Pro’s larger battery. The Pro’s larger screen and high-resolution recording likely account for the difference.

Charging is handled via USB-C and it’s passable. Five minutes on the charger gets you about two hours of recording, and a full charge takes about an hour and a half. The P1 also supports direct charging, so it continues recording while plugged in, which is handy for all-day conferences where you’d rather not play on battery power, even if you rarely need to. I will say that this would be the perfect form factor for wireless charging (which the P1 doesn’t support), although it might be difficult to implement with the clip on the back. Alas, you’ll have to stick to wired charging here.

In reality, the device itself is little more than a microphone in a box – everything interesting comes from the connected app, which is iFlyTek’s Deepting app. Recordings sync over Wi-Fi (an hour-long file transfer takes about 30 seconds), are transcribed at about an hour’s worth of audio every five minutes, and come back with speaker identification, summaries, and extracted action items.

iFlyTek claims transcription accuracy of up to 98%, although in practice your mileage may vary, especially if your transcriptions contain a lot of jargon, product names, etc. However, even 95% is pretty good, especially compared to AI-free transcription services from just a few years ago. The app also has an “Ask-AI” feature, powered by ChatGPT, which allows you to directly query your transcripts. So you can do things like ask what was decided about a deadline, and it will pull the response from the recording.

That said, the software experience isn’t amazing. The app works quite well, but it’s a bit basic and can be slightly confusing at times. There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to locating things like Settings, Accounts, and other features and menus.

And of course there is a subscription. You get unlimited cloud storage and 300 minutes of monthly transcription included, which covers occasional use very well. Power users will need Deepting Pro, which extends this limit to 1,800 minutes per month. If you regularly use the device for work, you will probably want to upgrade. It is also worth remembering that the data is processed on remote servers. So if you’re recording anything involving legal consultations, medical information, or something highly confidential, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere for an on-premises option.

The iFlyTek P1 is a truly powerful little device. For near-field recording, it captures decently clean audio and handles transcription quite well. The biggest win is its small size: your phone can also handle recording and transcription just fine, but you probably won’t want to attach it to your clothes.

That said, the P1’s best features reside in the cloud, which means subscription fees for heavy users and privacy questions for the more sensitive. And it just won’t reliably pick up distant voices in a large conference room – that’s the P1 Pro’s job.

The competition

At around $119, there’s plenty of competition. The P1 sits above a basic dictaphone, although it’s less expensive than many professional recorders and some AI alternatives like the Plaud Note Pro. If you’re looking for an AI recording and transcription device, this isn’t a bad price. Remember, the devices you already own can probably do the job just as well.

Should I buy the iFlyTek AI Recorder P1?

Perhaps, if you specifically want a compact external device for AI transcription.