Review: Rode’s $129 AI-Micro transforms smartphone audio
A small $129 device by Rode can transform the audio produced by your Apple or Android phone.
A small $129 device barely 4 cm across can transform the audio produced by your Apple or Android phone.
I’ve been using the newly released AI-Micro by Australian audio legend Rode, and I haven’t looked back when it comes to producing decent audio from a smartphone.
You could be narrating a video you are shooting in a noisy environment, or making an audio or video podcast with a friend sitting across the table.
Smartphone internal microphones often can’t deal with these situations. They don’t produce the best voice recordings for starters, and any distance between the user and phone further deteriorates audio quality, as does background noise.
Now that smartphones have mostly ditched 3.5mm ports, there’s nowhere to plug in an external microphone and even if you can, there’s no guarantee it works.
The little 20 gram AI-Micro with its in-built technology solves these problems. It comes with short lightning, USB-C and USB-A cables so that it can plug directly into an iPhone, Android device, PC and Mac. The other end of AI-Micro has plugs for two standard microphones and headphones for monitoring sound quality.
You can use your own microphones with either two or three ring plugs. You don’t need to spend beyond $129. If you don’t have mics, Rode has just announced its high quality Lavalier II wired lapel mic costing around $130. The existing Lavalier Go is about $75.
The AI-Micro isn’t just a fancy audio adaptor. The little unit contains a microphone preamp for firming up sound and its own analog-to-digital converter. The quality is better than that produced by a phone internally.
I found the sound quality was clearer and louder than native sound recorded with iPhone 13 Pro. The difference was more pronounced with a Google Pixel 6 Pro. You can use your own directional mic or a mic with a wind sock for even better audio.
The company offers a free iOS and Android app called RodeReporter which records audio using either the internal mic or mics connected to the AI-Micro.
The app also lets you play, delete, share and save recordings to the phone’s file system. You can record high quality 24-bit/48kHz audio and output WAV and MP3 files.
The Central Mobile app lets you set up the volume for each channel and your headphones. You can opt to merge audio inputs, split them or record only one track.
The AI-Micro also worked with my Windows 11 system when plugged in using the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable.
You use the Rode Connect application to configure the AI-Micro when using Windows and Mac desktops. The desktop app handles four audio channels, manages recording and performs software updates. You can choose stereo or multichannel recording, tweak track audio, vary latency and configure an output speaker.
The Rode Connect application includes sound effects such as laughter and applause which is useful for podcasters. You can add your own sounds or a podcast theme song.
The cable clutter is kept to a minimum which is fine when sitting around a table. On the road you might opt to attach the AI-Micro to your phone case with velcro or mount your phone on a selfie stick and attach the AI-Micro with gaffer tape.
If you need just one microphone, Rode sells another lapel mic called the smartLav+ ($79) which has a three-ring connector. It will plug directly into phones with a 3.5mm audio jack, or you can connect it using a phone maker supplied Lighting/USB to audio cable. You won’t get the benefit of the AI-Micro’s pre-amp and analog-to-digital converter.
The company also sells a Vlogger mobile filmmaking kit ($199), which is a dedicated kit on a small tripod for iPhone users with its own microphone and light unit. But it doesn’t have the flexibility offered by the AI-Micro.
For me, the AI-Micro offers a connection system for recording audio with smartphones that just works. You can use your own microphones to keep costs down or buy Rode’s. Up to you.
Wireless option
The lapel mics have a cable that’s more than 120cm, but you may prefer a wireless set-up if you want to interview or narrate several metres from your phone when shooting on location.
The Wireless Go II kit ($399) consists of two microphone/transmitters that clip to your shirt or coat and a receiver that directly connects to your phone by cable. They may be small but Rode claims a massive radio range of 200 metres line-of-sight. Having two microphones is ideal for interviews.
Note that you don’t get a cable for connecting the Go II to an iPhone; you have to buy it separately. It should include one in the box. You’re fine for connecting the Go II to Android devices and desktops.
The Wireless Go II uses the same two apps for recording and for tweaking the settings as the AI-Micro – RodeReporter and Central Mobile – and they operate similarly.
Again, you can record the two wireless microphones to separate channels or merge them. The Go II system offers 2.4GHz digital transmission and uses 128-bit encryption for secure transmission.
The microphones come with small wind muff attachments for outdoor use and the receiver’s small LED shows the battery status, volume levels and connectivity status of the two mics.
As well as transmitting audio, the two microphone units store recordings locally in case of a transmission dropout. You have a backup. You turn on this capability using the app.
The company says the transmitters can store more than 40 hours of recordings. You can playback and export files from the app. The units’ lithium-ion batteries offer up to 7 hours of battery life.
You can choose between three output levels using a button on the mic; the app offers a “fine mode” with 10 audio output levels.
When using a single mic, you can activate a safety channel feature where your event is recorded on two channels at two audio levels. If there is background noise, you can use the two recordings to reduce background noise in post production.
As with the AI-Micro, you might want to use velcro or gaffer tape for securing the receiver unit to your phone when recording on the go.
It would be good if all software settings of these devices were combined into a single app.
Video quality produced by phones these days is amazing but is often compromised by poorer audio quality. Phone makers don’t emphasise recording quality as a key feature. But as Rode shows, you can fix this problem with chump change. None of this tech costs very much.