Hey Pocket

Hey Pocket, by Open Vision Engineering (San Francisco, a Y Combinator W26 company; CEO Akshay Narisetti previously built Omi), is a screenless AI voice recorder and 'thought companion'. The 52-gram device works standalone and MagSafe-attaches to the back of a phone, with dual studio microphones plus a contact microphone for calls and on-device storage, running multi-model cloud AI (routing across GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini) for transcription in 120+ languages, summaries, mind maps, action items, and an Ask-Pocket Q&A feature. It sells for $99 at launch against a $199 regular price, with a free core and, distinctively, no subscription required (an optional Pocket Pro plan is $19.99 a month). DEPLOY records it at commercial maturity: a real, shipping product (live iOS and Android apps), not vaporware, and its AI substance is genuine. The editorial throughline is the no-subscription-core posture, a direct contrast to subscription-required rivals like Plaud.

Readiness

Hey Pocket is shipping now at $99-$199 (actual sale price), no capability claims are on file, 1 verified deployment is on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

shipping-now

Shipping now.

see evidence →

Price honesty

actual-sale-price

2 prices on file: $129 (actual sale price), $99-$199 (actual sale price).

see evidence →

Capability honesty

no-claims

No reviewed capability claims on file for Hey Pocket.

see evidence →

Real-world use

commercial

Maturity: commercial. 1 verified deployment in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

What it claims to do

No reviewed capability claims on file.

Price

• $129actual sale price · as of 2026-06-17
• $99-$199actual sale price · Open Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket) ↗ · as of 2026-01-01

Real-world use

• Global

Safety record

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

Privacy

Privacy practices disclosed by Open Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket) for Hey Pocket, with verification status.

• Cloud uploadverified

  Pocket captures audio only when the user explicitly initiates recording and can work offline with recordings stored on the 64GB device until synced; however, transcription and AI summarization rely on cloud-based models including GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini, meaning audio data is shared with third-party AI service providers for processing.

  Source: https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy

• Training data useverified

  Pocket's privacy policy states the company will not use personal recordings to train AI models without consent; however, the policy also states data may be used for research and development, and third-party AI providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google process user audio for transcription and summarization.

  Source: https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy

• Third-party sharingverified

  Pocket shares personal information with service providers including cloud hosting, transcription and AI processing vendors, analytics providers, and payment processors; interest-based advertising partners may receive cookie and device identifier data, which may be considered a sale under the CCPA though the company states it does not sell personal information to advertisers or data brokers.

  Source: https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy

• Bystander recordingverified

  Pocket's privacy policy places responsibility on the user to obtain consent from people they record; the device has no camera but its dual studio microphones and contact mic capture conversations, and there is no technical mechanism preventing recording of non-consenting bystanders beyond the user's obligation to notify them.

  Source: https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy

• Data deletion controlverified

  Users can review and update personal information via account settings, request correction or deletion of data subject to legal exceptions, and manage cookie and SDK preferences; the privacy policy states personal information is retained only as long as necessary and is deleted, de-identified, or anonymized when no longer needed.

  Source: https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy

• Location trackingverified

  Pocket collects name, email address, mailing and shipping address, phone number, account credentials, audio recordings captured with the Pocket Device, related transcripts, summaries, mind maps, and AI-enabled outputs, IP address, device and browser type, operating system, device identifiers, mobile advertising identifiers, crash and diagnostic data, in-app events, and general location derived from IP address.

  Source: maker privacy policy · 2026-06-17

• Data saleverified

  Pocket may disclose aggregated or de-identified information without restriction; in some jurisdictions such as California, third-party cookies and SDKs for interest-based ads may be deemed a sale or sharing of personal information, but Pocket does not disclose information that directly identifies users like name or email to advertisers without consent.

  Source: maker privacy policy · 2026-06-17

• Data deletion controlverified

  Pocket users can review and update personal information in account settings, request deletion of personal information, request correction of inaccurate data, opt out of marketing emails, manage non-essential cookies and SDKs via cookie banner and browser controls, adjust mobile ad-identifier settings, disable push notifications, revoke OS-level permissions, and disconnect third-party integrations; Pocket honors Global Privacy Control signals where required by law.

  Source: maker privacy policy · 2026-06-17

• Data retentionverified

  Pocket retains personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in the privacy policy, then deletes, de-identifies, or anonymizes it, though residual copies may remain in routine backups and system logs for a limited time; the policy describes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards but does not explicitly mention encryption and notes no method of transmission or storage is 100 percent secure.

  Source: maker privacy policy · 2026-06-17

Specs

notes

• Verdict: REAL (not vaporware): Hey Pocket surfaced in AlsoAsked 'Wearable AI' data; audit confirms it is a REAL, actively-marketed, shipping device - NOT vaporware. Legal entity: Open Vision Engineering, Inc. (San Francisco; founded 2024). Founders Akshay Narisetti (CEO) + Gabriel Dymowski (ex-CEO DoxyChain). YC W26; ~$500K seed (Jan 2026). maturity=commercial (shipping now, iOS+Android apps live).
• Lineage cross-link: CEO Akshay Narisetti PREVIOUSLY BUILT Omi (the open-source AI note-taker, in registry as model omi under based-hardware) before founding Pocket. Separate companies/products; worth a cross-link.
• AI-substance: genuine: Cloud AI transcription (120+ languages), auto summaries, mind maps, action-item extraction, Ask-Pocket Q&A; multi-model routing (GPT-5/Claude/Gemini). Captive-vs-sale: hardware SALE + freemium SaaS; the no-subscription-core positioning is its differentiator vs Plaud/Compass.
• Claimed but NOT verified: Exact unit sales/shipment volumes; 'world's first AI thought companion' superlative (marketing); real-world speaker-separation accuracy (not independently benchmarked in a tier-1 review yet).

specs

Screenless AI voice recorder, 52g; standalone wearable that also MagSafe-attaches to the back of a phone; dual studio mics + contact mic (for phone calls); on-device storage + battery. $99 launch (reg $199); FREE core, NO subscription required; Pocket Pro $19.99/mo (speaker labels, 100+ summary styles, unlimited Ask Pocket). iOS + Android. Multi-model cloud AI ('powered by GPT-5, Claude, Gemini') transcription in 120+ languages, summaries, mind maps, action items, Ask-Pocket Q&A. Proprietary.

formFactor

wearable (screenless AI voice recorder / 'thought companion'; standalone + MagSafe phone-attach)

What's under the hood

No brain on file for Hey Pocket.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Hey Pocket actually available for purchase?

Yes, shipping now.Source: Hey Pocket: screenless AI voice recorder; $99; free core; multi-model (GPT-5/Claude/Gemini)

What does the Hey Pocket cost?

Hey Pocket has 2 prices on file: $129 one-time (actual sale price) and $99-$199 one-time (actual sale price).Source: Open Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket)

Does the Hey Pocket require a subscription?

No. Pocket is a one-time purchase whose free tier includes unlimited standard transcription; a Pro plan (about $19.99/month) is optional.Source: Open Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket) pricing page

Where is the Hey Pocket being used?

Hey Pocket is in use at: Global.Source: Hey

Is the Hey Pocket safe?

No incidents on record across 1 verified deployment.

How does the Hey Pocket handle privacy?

Open Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket) has disclosed 9 privacy practices for Hey Pocket: cloud upload (Pocket captures audio only when the user explicitly initiates recording and can work offline with recordings stored on the 64GB device un..), training data use (Pocket's privacy policy states the company will not use personal recordings to train AI models without consent; however, the policy also..), third-party sharing (Pocket shares personal information with service providers including cloud hosting, transcription and AI processing vendors, analytics pro..), bystander recording (Pocket's privacy policy places responsibility on the user to obtain consent from people they record; the device has no camera but its dua..), data deletion control (Users can review and update personal information via account settings, request correction or deletion of data subject to legal exceptions..), location tracking (Pocket collects name, email address, mailing and shipping address, phone number, account credentials, audio recordings captured with the..), data sale (Pocket may disclose aggregated or de-identified information without restriction; in some jurisdictions such as California, third-party co..), data deletion control (Pocket users can review and update personal information in account settings, request deletion of personal information, request correction..), and data retention (Pocket retains personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in the privacy policy, then deletes, de-i..).Sources: https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy, maker privacy policy

Who makes the Hey Pocket?

Hey Pocket is made by Open Vision Engineering (Hey Pocket), based in San Francisco, California, USA.Source: Hey Pocket: screenless AI voice recorder; $99; free core; multi-model (GPT-5/Claude/Gemini)

Video

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Sources

1. Hey Pocket: screenless AI voice recorder; $99; free core; multi-model (GPT-5/Claude/Gemini) · https://www.heypocket.com/ ↗
2. Pocket (YC W26); Open Vision Engineering; founders Akshay Narisetti + Gabriel Dymowski · https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/pocket ↗
3. Open Vision Engineering Inc. (~$500K seed Jan 2026; YC W26) · https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/openvision-engineering ↗
4. Hey Pocket AI device transcribes your day (independent coverage) · https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/this-sleek-new-ai-device-will-transcribe-your-day ↗
5. Hey · https://hey.inc/ ↗
6. https://heypocket.com/pages/privacy ↗
7. maker privacy policy · https://heypocket.com/policies/privacy-policy ↗ · 2026-06-17