Samsung India seems to have messed up in one of its recent marketing stunts for Galaxy AI. In a recent press release, the company said a new OTA update is now available and is bringing Galaxy AI features such as Live Translate and Interpreter for the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Galaxy Buds 2, and Galaxy Buds FE.
What’s worse is that many now seemingly believe, and are reporting, that these Galaxy AI features are now working on Galaxy earbuds on-device without the Galaxy S24.
None of this is accurate, and most of what Samsung India says in its recent press release makes little sense. In truth, there is no Galaxy AI update for the Galaxy Buds! Samsung India’s latest press release on the matter is a misjudged advertising campaign that seems to have created more confusion than it needed to.
So, let’s clear things up. Here’s how Galaxy AI features, such as Live Translate and Interpreter, really work on the Galaxy S24 when using Galaxy Buds or, indeed, other Bluetooth headsets.
Galaxy AI on Galaxy Buds explained
First, Live Translate works with virtually any decent Bluetooth headset as long as it shows up on the call screen.
Here’s an example of using Live Translate on a Galaxy S24 connected to a pair of Xbox Wireless headphones.
No Galaxy Buds are required to use this Galaxy AI feature, and there’s no need for an update to the Galaxy Buds, the Galaxy S24, or the Galaxy Wearable app.
The Xbox Wireless headphones don’t use the Wearable app, to begin with. You can even uninstall the Wearable app and all its components from the Galaxy S24, and you’d still be able to use Live Translate with virtually any Bluetooth headset.
And, in case you’re wondering, the Transcript and Summary AI tools for the Voice Recorder app also work with any wireless headphones (in this case, the Xbox Wireless ones), as long as you turn on “Use Bluetooth mic when available” in the app’s settings screen.
As for the Interpreter tool, unfortunately, that one is simply limited to Galaxy Buds out-of-the-box for seemingly arbitrary reasons. You can either use it with Galaxy Buds connected to the Galaxy S24, or without.
Nevertheless, once again, no update to the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Wearable, or Galaxy Buds 2 Pro / Buds 2 / Galaxy Buds FE is required.
Here’s the Interpreter app detecting the original Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds, which, funnily enough, weren’t even mentioned in Samsung India’s misleading marketing material for Galaxy AI.
In theory, we’re guessing the Interpreter app could have worked with any Bluetooth headsets that have a mic if only the app offered a “Use Bluetooth mic when available” option similar to Voice Recorder.
NOTE: For even more context, the Galaxy S24+ we used to test these Galaxy AI features and Samsung’s claims has never received a firmware update. Furthermore, the Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds we used were never paired with the Galaxy S24+ before today, and they haven’t received any new updates.
