Item: Owl Labs
Rating: 3
Author: Andrew D

Owl Labs makes a smart video conferencing station that enables simplified meetings and improves productivity.

Owl Labs is the first company to build AI-powered, 360-degree video conferencing solutions for hybrid organizations. Its suite of products makes meetings more inclusive and collaborative by leveling the playing field between remote and in-room participants. The company’s flagship product, the Meeting Owl® 3, is the first WiFi-enabled, 360-degree camera, microphone and speaker that automatically zooms in on whoever’s speaking. 

Owl Labs

Tech

Speakers & Headphones

This review was sooo close to being 4/5, but sadly we had so many issues. When the Meeting Owl worked, it was great. The only problem was that we experienced frequent technical problems. Often when plugging it into a laptop, nothing would happen and the Owl would have to be turned off and on again. 

The other issue is that it uses USB A, so needs an adapter to connect to most laptops. The last thing I want to be doing when setting up a meeting is searching for the missing USB C adapter. Hopefully newer models will include USB C out of the box.

Finally, is it possible to improve how accurately the Owl detects who is speaking? There's nothing more awkward than someone speaking, but having someone sitting there listening being on center stage.

I've used both Meeting Owl 2 and Meeting Owl Pro extensively over a few years. The concept is solid, and Meeting Owl helps solve one of the biggest problems in hybrid work - inclusive meetings.

Meeting Owl has an attractive design and the build quality is solid. It's also home to a relatively high quality camera, microphones and speaker. From what I can tell this is one of the best solutions available for hybrid meetings. Also, what's not to love about the plug in and use approach?

Owl Labs reviews