The Viaim OpenNote may look like another pair of open-ear earbuds, but it actually has a useful AI productivity layer built underneath. And in fact, the AI features of the Viaim OpenNote comes first and audio comes second – this is a recorder and meeting assistant that happens to also play music. If you sit through back-to-back meetings, lectures, or interviews and hate scribbling notes while trying to listen, this is squarely built for you. The Viaim OpenNote is priced at around S$359, but I have seen it drop below S$300 at times.
Build Quality & Design
The case is quite a unique piece here. It’s finished in a well-textured leather that feels great in your hand, and it’s actually quite compact and pocketable than other open earbuds type of cases. It also has an LED indicator that lets you check charge status. The overall design feels quite premium as you don’t see leather used much, but it’s done well here and gives off a professional look to it.
The earbuds themselves also feature the same leather as its main surface material, and they are relatively lightweight 10.5g per bud. Viaim OpenNote is built around a titanium memory wire frame with silicone contact points, which is what lets them hold their shape around your ear without digging in. Water resistance is rated at IP55, so sweat, rain, and light jets of water aren’t going to trouble it – but I don’t think these are earbuds designed for such function.
Charging is via USB-C, so no dongles or proprietary cables to keep track of. Battery life is rated at 19 hours for the earbuds alone, stretching to 53 hours total once you factor in the case. Fast charging is available with a 10-minute charge giving you 3 hours of use, so even a quick top-up between calls is enough to get you through the next one. Do note that recording and live transcription are more power-hungry than plain music playback, so if you’re using FlashRecord constantly through the day, overall battery life is likely below 19-hours, but even landing at 12 hours is very impressive.
AI Recording & Transcription
Viaim OpenNote is marketing as an AI voice recorder built into a pair of wireless earbuds, and it is rightly so. The core feature is its AI recording feature – I see it as a AI note-taking tool first, then wireless earbuds as a secondary feature. The Viaim OpenNote does need to be connected to your phone for you to be able to leverage the AI recording features offered by Viaim.
There are two channels to initiate a recoding:
- Using the viaim app on your smartphone –Multi-mode Record
- Press and hold the earbuds when you’re wearing them – FlashRecord
Multi-Mode Record
This isn’t an official term from viaim, but I’m just going to call it Multi-mode Record as starting a recording from the viaim app offers you four modes of recording (see below): (1) Call Mode, (2) Audio & Video Mode, (3) Meeting Mode, and (4) Translate Mode.
Call Mode works best if you’re frequently in meetings on your device. When your Zoom or Teams call is running, just open the viaim app and select ‘Call Mode’ at the point of hitting record. The OpenNote is capable of picking up the audio streaming from the meeting app itself.
Audio & Video Mode is useful when you’re watching something like a lecture, panel, or podcast online and want to capture it. The viaim app only begins recording once it detects media playing from the connected device.
Meeting Mode and Translate Mode suit in-person situations best. Since the OpenNote has to stay paired with your phone, the earbuds must be taken out of their case. It can transcribe across 78 languages, with live translation happening at the same time.
FlashRecord
FlashRecord lets you capture any call or meeting as quickly as possible, using either the earbuds themselves or the case. Between both earbuds, there’s 4 hours of onboard audio storage, meaning recordings are saved directly onto the earbuds. To start, just press and hold on either earbud, and haptic feedback confirms the recording has begun. Once you reconnect to the viaim app, the OpenNote pulls the saved files off the earbuds and into the app.
With FlashRecord, an additional step is needed to transcribe the audio before any AI features can be applied to it. Worth noting: transcribing can take a while, particularly for longer recordings.
General Performance
The Viaim OpenNote performed well overall when I tested it transcribing an interview, a panel discussion, and a work meeting. It picked up what my colleagues were saying with good accuracy, which is notable given how tricky the Singapore accent can be to catch. While the output isn’t perfectly clean and needs some editing, the main points in the transcript come through clearly enough to act on.
The complete audio recording gets saved too, letting you play it back or export it as a file. As for translation, it held up well in my one testable case of Mandarin since that’s the only language I’m able to judge for accuracy.
App & Software
On the topic of transcribing, you get 600 free minutes of transcription each month with no subscription required, while the paid tiers (Pro and Ultra) cost S$13.98/month and S$27.98/month respectively. For most users, 600 minutes should be more than enough, especially when stacked against competitors like Soundcore’s Liberty 5 Pro Max, which caps out at just 120 minutes monthly.
Recordings get turned into summaries, action items, and searchable transcripts within the viaim app. There’s also a mindmap feature, which could be handy for anyone using the OpenNote to capture lectures. Beyond that, the app allows voice commands for controlling playback and calls, and it automatically pauses playback when a bud is removed, resuming once it’s back in. There’s also access to Viaim’s built-in AI assistant, Vitana, which lets you pick from several AI models (as of August 2026, the free plan includes GPT-5.4 Nano, Claude Haiku 4.5, and Gemini 3 Flash) to query your saved recordings – with premium plans unlocking access to more powerful models.
Rounding out the feature set, the app includes customisable controls and a custom EQ with selectable presets, plus finer settings for managing AI and recording permissions.
Sound Quality
I want to be fair here rather than harsh: as music earbuds, the OpenNote is fine, not great. Bass depth is limited even when compared to other open ear designs. There is a decent punch but nothing too textured. It’s enough to give some of that low end but not ideal for music enjoyment.
Mids and vocals come through cleanly, which makes it decent for podcasts and audiobooks, and the default EQ preset does have a treble peak that’s worth dialling down through the app’s 8-band custom EQ if you find it a bit sharp. If your main goal is critical music listening, there are better-sounding open-ear options out there for less money.
Comfort & Fit
The hook-style, over-ear design rests outside the ear canal entirely rather than sitting just at its opening, and once it’s on, it stays put.
For my ear size they do it pretty snug, though I think they might be a little tight for anyone with larger ears as the titanium memory wire frame does try to keep its shape.
Conclusion
At around S$359, you’re paying for the AI layer, not the driver. If you’re someone who spends real hours in meetings and hates losing track of what was said, the OpenNote earns its price back fast – the FlashRecord workflow and transcription accuracy are the kind of thing you don’t realise you needed until you’ve used it once on a real meeting. Viaim OpenNote is designed for productivity in mind, not musical enjoyment.