Rode Wireless ME FCC filing shows up online – Is Rode working on a new low budget wireless mic?

It looks like Rode has a low-budget wireless mic kit coming, perhaps for those that can’t justify the expense of the Wireless GO II. A filing with the FCC was recently published for a Rode Wireless ME wireless mic transmitter. There isn’t a massive detail about its feature set, it largely just covers its wireless capabilities, but what can we guess from this?

The “Wireless ME” name suggests a lower budget alternative to the Wireless GO II, presumably to compete with other similar products that are being launched by other brands, such as Hollyland, Godox, and SmallRig. It looks like it’s a single wireless lav kit aimed at solo vloggers that only need to hear themselves and are happy to record only in-camera (or on their smartphone).

The filing contains a photograph of the transmitter only. From the image, it would appear to have the same form factor as its more expensive sibling, the Wireless GO II. However, there is no information about the receiver, that much is only speculation.

The receiver could well have a similar form to the transmitter, in a similar manner to the Go II. Or, it could be a tiny receiver that plugs directly into the USB-C/Lightning port like the Hollyland one. We simply don’t know from the FCC filing at this point. Additionally, it might work in devices like the Rode Interview GO handheld mic adapter – but again, it might not. It’s all speculation at the moment.

We also don’t know if it’s a single or a dual lav kit. If a low budget is the goal, then it does make some sense to offer it as a solo device, even if there’s a kit option for two transmitters available. For reference, the Rode Wireless GO II currently retails at $299 for the dual lav kit and $199 for the single lav kit. I would expect that the Wireless ME kit(s) will be significantly cheaper.

The FCC report was published on December 13th 2022, so it’s been in the works for some time already. The report mentions a release date for product photographs and user manual of June 12th 2023, so we could be seeing an official announcement very soon.

Brands need to stay ahead of the trends, and the increase in demand for decent-quality audio recording devices that can quickly be used to make short videos for social media has seen an influx of such devices in the past year. It makes sense then that Rode would be jumping to capture this lower-end of the market.