Verdict: You can translate live phone calls natively on your Samsung Galaxy device using the ‘Live Translate’ feature within the stock Phone app. All processing happens on-device, meaning it works without Wi-Fi and the other person does not need a Samsung phone.
Booking a dinner reservation in Tokyo or negotiating a cab fare in Paris used to require awkwardly handing your phone back and forth with Google Translate open. Thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy AI, modern Galaxy smartphones (S24 series and newer, including the Z Fold/Flip series) can translate voice calls in real-time, injecting a synthetic voice translation directly into the live audio stream.
How to Enable Live Translate
Before making a call, you must activate the feature and download the specific language packs.
1. Open the Settings app on your Galaxy phone.
2. Scroll down and tap Advanced Features > Advanced Intelligence > Phone.
3. Toggle Live Translate to the ON position.
4. Under the Language section, tap “Me” and set it to English. Tap “Other Person” and download the language pack you need (e.g., Japanese, Spanish, Korean). Note: These packs are roughly 300MB each, so download them over Wi-Fi before your trip.
How to Use It During a Call
The genius of Live Translate is that the person on the other end can be using a landline or a 10-year-old flip phone. The AI processing happens entirely on your phone’s Neural Processing Unit (NPU).
1. Open the Samsung Phone app and dial the number.
2. As soon as the call begins connecting, tap the Call Assist button on the screen, then tap Live Translate.
3. When the other person answers, your phone will automatically read a brief automated message in their language explaining that the call is being translated by AI.
4. Speak normally in English. Wait a second, and the AI will read your translated sentence to them. When they speak, you will hear the AI read their response to you in English.
Pro-Tip: Muting the Original Voice
By default, you will hear the person speaking their native language faintly in the background, followed by the louder AI translation. Many users find this distracting.
To fix this, during the call, tap the Settings gear icon on the translation screen and enable Mute other person’s voice. This completely cuts their raw audio track, so you only hear the clean, translated AI voice. You can also toggle Mute my voice so the other person only hears the AI, ensuring a much smoother conversation flow.