Samsung's 'Live Translate' breaks language barriers
- By Joseph Meyers
- May 4
- 3 min read
By Joseph Meyers
On one phone, the calling party speaks Korean; on the receiving end, the listener hears and responds in English. The Korean caller hears Korean. They communicate seamlessly as if speaking the same language.
This was a live demonstration of Samsung AI’s translation in real time, which was one of several built-in features formally “introduced” at the "AI For All" event hosted jointly by GTA and Samsung on May 1 at GTA's flagship store in Tamuning.
GTA representatives noted that many of Samsung’s free AI features have been available on devices for more than a year, but they are often left unused because users are either unaware of them or intimidated by AI.
One of the most astonishing AI functions was the Live Translate, which is particularly relevant to Guam’s diverse business community and tourism sector. Instant translation can break down language barriers, making communication faster and more efficient.
Samsung’s Live Translate interprets languages in real time through a built-in AI software, using the phone’s native app. The phone conversation between two people speaking different languages goes uninterrupted as the speaker and the listener automatically hear the speech in their respective languages.
The translation feature also allows the user to simply highlight the text on screen and it would appear in the desired language in the window below.
The language-translation feature is touted to result in the “democratization of AI.”
At the GTA event, Isabelle Kim, a Samsung AI marketing expert from the Philippines, was on hand to give live demonstrations and answer questions from the crowd.
She started the crowd tutorial by showing the “circle to search” feature, which is initiated by pressing the home button. “Circle to search” works exactly as it sounds like it would. Circle a phrase, an item in the picture or a math problem, and the AI will do an internet search for entries related to the encircled content.
So, no more copy-and-paste into the search bar.
For the match problem, the search results may include complex algebra. For those of us who slept through math in school, this can be more helpful than just using a calculator app.
Kim also showed how to use AI to identify a song playing on YouTube or Spotify, or a melody you are humming. This function is similar to Shazam, but without having to install the app. The song identification through melody humming is also a new service.
Other AI tasks include integrating various Samsung apps, such as the calendar, with Google apps like YouTube and Google Maps.
Spotify, WhatsApp, Doordash and several others have partnered with Samsung for AI support and are working to get more on board, Kim said.
She said all Samsung AI features are provided free of charge—at least through the end of 2025—and there is no current plan for a premium or subscription model for the service.
But in a rapidly changing industry, most of the large consumer AI services offer a tiered approach to using their AI technology.
Samsung partners with Google on “Gemini” AI for the internet search. But Samsung also utilizes “on-device” AI with its neural processing unit for language translations, which acts as an AI accelerator.
Gemini is one of the large language models globally competing for dominance along with OpenAIs ChatGPT, Meta’s Llamma, and Anthropic Claude and newcomer XAI’s Grok.
Now that Apple—one of Samsung’s and Google’s main competitors—has delayed the rollout of some of its similar AI features until next year, it’s an opportune time for Samsung to promote its current lead with local partners like GTA.
However, there is a risk of a technological gulf emerging between those who use AI and those who don’t. Despite the “AI for All” marketing campaign, several device users who have access to advanced AI features currently don’t use them.
But it will catch on eventually; it’s only a matter of time.
No part of this article was written with AI assistance.
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That's promising news for AI users! While free services are great, I wonder about long-term sustainability. I recently tried some AI features while shopping at Monkey Mart and was impressed by the potential. The technology seems to be evolving rapidly, and even if some users are hesitant now, I believe AI integration will become increasingly natural and user-friendly as time goes on.