Røde, one of the leading microphone and audio equipment manufacturers in the world, announced a new compact audio interface today, called the AI-Micro. You might find it familiar as it very closely resembles the company’s own SC6-L interface for Apple devices. Well, this new one comes with the cables to connect to Apple, Android, macOS and Windows devices. No favouritism here.

To start with, at only 40 x 38 x 11mm and 13 grams, it’s a rather tiny little guy so it’ll have no trouble fitting in a handbag, camera bag, mobile recording bag or even your pocket.

Røde is bringing professional sound to your smartphone

The dual-channel audio interface features two auto-sensing 3.5mm inputs that can detect if you’re using two mics to record two mono tracks or a single stereo microphone. The AI-Micro uses high-quality preamps allowing you to record high-res 24bit/48KHz audio which is far better than recording directly to your smartphone, tablet or laptop. You could use it on a PC or Mac as well but its size makes it especially useful for on-the-go podcasts or interviews.

The middle 3.5mm jack serves as a high-powered headphone output through which you can monitor what you’re recording.

The AI-Mirco works with Røde’s companion app suite (as it should) like Røde Connect, Reporter and Central. With Røde Connect and a couple of AI-Micros, you can pretty much set up a professional-sounding podcast studio with your laptop.

The Røde AI-Micro is available today for pre-order in the US for $70, or just over R1,000, converted. We’ll need to wait a bit for them to land on our shores before we have a better idea of local pricing and availability.