BOYA is known for its cutting-edge audio equipment, and takes a stab at a new market that is great for anyone’s notetaking needs. The BOYA Notra is the world’s first AI note taker that can be used in a general room, and on Bluetooth and phone calls. Out of the box, the BOYA Notra comes with one USB-C to USB-C cable, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and a magnetic ring. Getting technical, this notetaking device utilizes 2 MEMS mics and 1 VPU sensor.
The BOYA Notra is smaller than a credit card, in terms of width, but thinner than most phones and tablets. It also comes in four colours: black, silver, cosmic orange, and purple. The device’s chassis is made of microblasted aluminum alloy, making it feel solid and cool—even through longer recording sessions. For practicality, a secure magnetic mounting can be attached to one’s phone to attach the BOYA Notra to it.
BOYA claims this is the first device to support three recording modes: in-person conversations, phone calls, and Bluetooth earbud audio. I can attest that switching modes with the onboard switch is seamless. Another great aspect is that this device has 64 GB of local storage, along with unlimited cloud storage. All of my recordings could be easily accessed through the dedicated Notra app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play Store.
Ambient recording mode is perfect for meetings, client interviews, or lectures. Thanks to its 10-meter pickup range, it clearly captures everything, even if you are not in the front row of the classroom. And when inspiration hits on the go, it doubles as a quick voice memo. For private conversation with your earbuds, enable Bluetooth mode for hands-free recording. So whether you’re joining a virtual meeting or taking an online class, you can stay focused and never miss a word.
“In terms of overall build and purpose, the BOYA Notra was solid.”
Simply snap the BOYA Notra to the back of your phone to record calls. The built-in bone-conduction sensor captures conversation clearly without any alerts for the other person, so your conversations can be just natural and easy. Whatever the purpose, this device can also transcribe in more than 140 languages. Additionally, it can label separate speakers within a conversation through the app transcription.
The biggest feature that makes the BOYA Notra possible is its AI capabilities. It supports some of the most used AI models: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok. So, what can AI do to help users with notetaking that phone recording apps cannot do? The AI noise cancellation attribute allows for clearer audio, even in noisy environments. Before using this, my Google Pixel 9 Pro could record and dictate at the same time, most likely with the help of Gemini.
However, my phone can be interrupted by incoming notifications. This notetaking device is the solution to that issue, plus it does not drain a user’s phone battery. Speaking of battery life, this notetaking device is said to last about 24 hours. I can say I limit-tested it for a few 10-minute spurts of conversations and interviews, over about five times and drained about 10 percent of the battery. So, this device can record a good amount of conversations or calls.
“The BOYA Notra has end-to-end encryption for every recording. Users can keep their data in a paid, unlimited cloud storage or store it locally.”
Security is a big concern with a device like this, especially if someone loses it. The BOYA Notra has end-to-end encryption for every recording. Users can keep their data in a paid, unlimited cloud storage or store it locally. What sets this notetaking device apart from others is its 64 GB of onboard storage; that way, users do not need to pay for any subscription service to use it.
In terms of overall build and purpose, the BOYA Notra was solid. The magnetic strip feature to easily store the device on the back of one’s phone is perfect. The ability to quickly record off the device itself is super convenient for making audio notes to refer to later, or quickly turning it on when joining a meeting or lecture in a rush.
However, this BOYA product lacked its full functionality. While it may be a compatibility issue, I could not get the handset recording mode to work on calls. Also, I tried to record Discord calls on my phone to see if it would work. Unfortunately, this device was not able record that way. Another disappointing factor was the AI transcription generation tool. For some reason, it was a bit dodgy to pick up the exact words of other people on the call.
For the BOYA Notra’s $150-dollar price point, this was a versatile device—offering a lot of free perks that similar tech may have hidden away behind a paywall. I feel like it has some major kinks to work out, but it works extremely well for in-person audio capture. The convenient design intentions put this notetaking tech above many others that either rely too much on their respective apps, or have a relatively long boot-up time. Anyone looking for a reliable, in-person notetaking device will find this item extensively useful.
