Imagine you’re talking on the phone with a friend who speaks a different language. This new Samsung Galaxy AI feature, Live Translate, helps you both understand each other by translating what each of you says in real-time. This can be helpful in various scenarios, such as booking a table at a non-English restaurant, coordinating with locals during your foreign trip, or even talking to a colleague from a different region. Here’s a quick guide on enabling and using Live Translate for phone calls on your Samsung Galaxy S24.
Note: Some AI features like Live Translate and even Circle to Search, Note Assist, and Photo Assist will make their way to the S23 series.
Table of Contents
What Is Live Translate for Phone Calls
Introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, Live Translate Call is a two-way voice translator for phone conversations. When activated, it seamlessly translates the phone conversation for both participants into languages they understand. This happens in real time, regardless of the device the other person uses.
Let’s consider a scenario where you need to book a table at a Korean restaurant, but there’s a language barrier – the staff doesn’t speak English. That’s when you fire up the Live Translate feature on your Galaxy S24, and your words magically transform into Korean as you speak to the receptionist. It doesn’t end there; their responses are translated right back into English for you.
You not only hear what they’re saying in your language but also see its transcript on your screen. It’s like having your own language bridge, which allows effective communication even when you speak different languages.
The feature is integrated into Samsung’s native Phone app and uses the company’s on-device AI technology for real-time translations. All data is stored and processed locally on your device, ensuring both speed and privacy.
Currently, Live Translate supports 13 languages across 17 regions, and more are expected to be added in future updates.
Note: Samsung’s Live Translate differs from the Live Translate feature on Pixel phones, which translates speech to text across the device but cannot voice translate phone calls yet.
How to Enable Live Translate for Calls on Galaxy S24
Before talking to people who speak different languages, make sure to turn on Live Translate on your Samsung Galaxy S24. You can do this in Settings or through the Phone app. Here’s how:
Method 1: From Settings
1. Open Settings on your Samsung Galaxy S24 series phone.
2. Tap Advanced features and choose Advanced intelligence.
3. Here, tap Phone.
4. On the next screen, turn on the switch for Live translate.
5. Scroll down. Choose your language in the Me section and the other person’s language in the Other person section.
If a language isn’t downloaded, tap the Download icon next to it. Then, select the language from the top of the page.
Method 2: From the Phone App
You can also enable Live Translate from within the Phone app. Here’s how to do it:
1. Open the Phone app on your Galaxy S24.
2. Tap the three vertical dots on the top right and choose Settings.
3. Here, tap on Live Translate.
4. You can now enable the feature and choose languages for yourself and the other person.
Live Translating a Phone Call on Galaxy S24
Once you’ve turned on Live Translate, follow the steps below to activate it during a phone call on your phone:
1. Make or receive a call on your Samsung S24 series phone.
2. Tap Call Assist on your screen, and then select Live Translate.
3. Bixby will automatically begin translating your conversation in real time based on your chosen language settings.
You’ll receive both audio and on-screen text translations of the conversation. The interesting part is that it remembers the language used for each person you contact and sets it automatically for all future calls. Plus, it will work even if the other person is using a traditional landline or a feature phone.
Note: The other person will be notified that the call is being translated and live-captioned in the selected language when the call begins.
Fine-Tuning Live Translate for Calls
When enabling Live Translate, you’ll come across other options that might appear confusing. Here’s what they do.
- Mute my voice: When this option is enabled, the other person will only hear a translation of what you say.
- Mute other person’s voice: You’ll hear only the translations of what the other person says, not their actual voice.
- Voice: Some languages have multiple voices to choose from. It’s just like how you choose a voice for Google Assistant or Siri. You can also increase or decrease the speech rate. Opt for a slower pace if you or the other person needs more time to comprehend.
- Language and voice Presets: You can pre-define the language and voice for calls with specific phone numbers or contacts. For instance, if your friend speaks Japanese, select their contact and specify the language. Your phone will remember to translate from Japanese to English and vice versa in real-time during your next conversation with them.
How Live Translate Works for Calls in Real Life
Here’s what we did to test Samsung’s Live Translate for phone calls: we dialed up our colleague’s number, who isn’t well-versed in Hindi, and turned on the feature. With my language set to ‘Hindi’ and his set to ‘English,’ Bixby translated his words into Hindi for me. Meanwhile, my responses—originally in Hindi—got translated into English for him.
The conversion went better than expected. It could easily translate what we spoke on the phone clearly, except for a few tricky parts. Even though he didn’t understand the language I spoke, the feature made it simple for him to grasp my words by translating the audio in real time.
That being said, dealing with two different voices at once can be a challenge. I’d recommend enabling the Mute My Voice and Mute Other Person’s Voice options to avoid overlapping voices and the confusion that comes with it.
We’ve tested Live Translate for Calls multiple times on our Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphones. Gotta say it’s been a pleasant surprise! No gimmicks here— this thing works well in real-life situations. Live call translation is still in early stages so it will only get better with time.
Is Live Translate Coming to Older Samsung Phones
Samsung has already confirmed that Galaxy AI will be available on the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold 5 and Flip 5, and Galaxy Tab S9 series by the end of the first half of the year.
However, it’s still unclear whether Live Translate will join the party. We might not see it on older phones after all, considering the feature uses on-device AI technology, which heavily relies on the capabilities of the Exynos 2400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the new models.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy AI features are only free until the end of 2025. Live Translate, being a part of it, may not remain free thereafter.
