One UI 8 is adding a powerful new Galaxy AI feature, but there’s a catch

Samsung has added a new feature called Voice Captioning to its suite of Galaxy AI tools on One UI 8. It allows users to convert speech to text in real time, whether it’s from a video, call, or live conversation. What makes it more powerful than Samsung’s existing Live Captions feature is its ability to also translate speech into different languages and summarize what was said.

While the Live Captions in One UI only transcribes spoken words in the same language, Voice Captioning offers real-time translation of the captions across multiple languages, just like the Live Captions feature on Pixel phones with Live Translate enabled. Moreover, you also get summaries of the captioned media or conversations, along with the ability to save text and audio.

The feature was spotted by GalaxyTechie on X, who confirmed that it’s officially only available in China for now. However, users can manually install the APK to try it on their Galaxy phones running One UI 8 or One UI 7.

Once you install the APK, you’ll need to add the Voice Captioning shortcut to your Quick Settings panel and allow necessary permissions. You’ll also need to choose supported languages for translations.

We tested the APK on our Galaxy Z Fold 7 running One UI 8. After installing the app, we were able to add the Voice Captioning shortcut in the Quick Settings panel, but the app kept stopping unexpectedly. Reports on Reddit also say it doesn’t work on beta versions of One UI 8, but some users have had success using it on One UI 8 and One UI 7.

If you want to try Voice Captioning before it officially rolls out, you can install the APK, but be aware that it might not work properly on all devices. Otherwise, it might be best to wait for Samsung to release it globally.