Galaxy AI is jumping from the Galaxy S24 to your favorite Samsung earbuds

News
By Michael L Hicks
published

With a Galaxy S24 and the right Galaxy Buds, you'll be able to translate conversations in person and in real time.

All three Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro colors

What you need to know

  • Samsung announced an OTA update on February 13 enabling Galaxy AI on its latest earbuds.
  • Supported Galaxy Buds will work with Live Translation for phone calls and in-person Interpretation mode. 
  • The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Galaxy Buds 2, and Galaxy Buds FE currently support the feature. 

Samsung's new Galaxy AI is leaping from the Galaxy S24 onto the Galaxy Buds 2 to help you better communicate with people worldwide. 

On Tuesday (Feb. 13), Samsung emailed owners of the Galaxy Buds 2, Buds 2 Pro, and Buds Fan Edition to let them know that it would add Live Translate and Interpretation to its earbuds via an OTA update. 

The Live Translate tool on the Galaxy S24 series typically works through the Galaxy Phone app, letting you download language packs to hear a translated version of the other speaker's words during a call. With this update, your wireless earbuds can serve as the mic for these phone calls. 

The more exciting tool is Interpretation mode. According to the email (per GSMArena), "users directly speak into the Buds mic and their translated voice will now be available via the Galaxy S24 series enabling near-natural conversation between two individuals each holding Galaxy S24 series smartphone and Galaxy Buds respectively, eliminating the need to hand over the phone and manage translated talking."

Essentially, you can give your Galaxy S24 to the person next to you and speak normally in your own language; your Galaxy Buds 2's mic will pick up your words and translate them on the display. Then, that person will respond using the Galaxy S24 mic.

The announcement states that Interpretation and Live Translate via the Buds don't require a network connection, the same way it does for phone calls. So long as you have the language pack downloaded ahead of time, you should be okay to use it even if you're roaming or in a dead zone. 

Currently rolling out in India, this update should come to other territories soon. Unfortunately, even though Galaxy AI is coming to other phones like the Galaxy S23 this summer, these phones may not have the NPU performance for on-device translations. We'll have to wait and see. 

A previous leak suggested that the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro would get live translations first, making this announcement a bit of a surprise. They're currently expected to launch in the second half of 2024 and should support the Galaxy AI out of the box. 

An official product render of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra front and back

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Galaxy AI with a pen

The new Galaxy S24 Ultra is the most ultra phone you can buy, with a powerful new Snapdragon chip and fun AI features like Live Translate that can help make it easier to communicate with others. 

Michael L Hicks
Michael L Hicks
Senior Editor, VR/AR and fitness

Michael is Android Central's resident expert on fitness tech and wearables, with an enthusiast's love of VR tech on the side. After years freelancing for Techradar, Wareable, Windows Central, Digital Trends, and other sites on a variety of tech topics, AC has given him the chance to really dive into the topics he's passionate about. He's also a semi-reformed Apple-to-Android user who loves D&D, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings.

For wearables, Michael has tested dozens of smartwatches from Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung, Apple, COROS, Polar, Amazfit, and other brands, and will always focus on recommending the best product over the best brand. He's also completed marathons like NYC, SF, Marine Corps, Big Sur, and California International — though he's still trying to break that 4-hour barrier.