Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Galaxy S4 features new S Translate feature, allowing instant local translation in nine languages

Joshua Sherman
By

stranslate (Medium)The Samsung Unpacked 2013 show just wrapped up, and one of the new and exciting software features to come packed into the new Galaxy S4 is S Translate, an intuitive and real-time translator for nine different languages. S Translate helps you with anything from reading menus to communicating with others in text or speech, and is part of the “life companion” experience of the new handset.

During Unpacked 2013, Samsung flaunted its new S Translate feature by having one of its actors in the show ask for directions from another actor on the stage in “Shanghai.” While the actor typed out the question in English, the phone spoke in Chinese. The other man then replied in Chinese, after which the phone translated the message back into English. This is one of several features packed in S Translate, which can help you translate in real time with either text or speech. You can write a message in English, and the phone will speak in one of nine languages including Korean, Italian, and German. S Translate is also capable of translating messages in text into any one of the nine languages it supports, meaning you can also use it to read signs on the street and menus in restaurants alike.

Recommended Videos

As cool as these features are, they’re also rather fluffish features, and far from innovative. Word Lens itself showed off an augmented reality app back in 2010 that could translate messages through the camera in real time. While the S Translate can offer conversational translations in a way much like the two actors did, it requires an Internet connection to do it too, so good luck getting Wi-Fi or paying for international data. However, the phone does store pre-generated phrases in all nine languages with categories based on your location, such as if you’re at an airport, and they work even if offline. The full list of languages S Translate works with out of the box are English, Korean, Chinese, German, Italian, Latin-American Spanish, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Related

Cliche tourists aside, the Galaxy S 4 will be launching in April along with a 5-inch HD screen, eight-core processor, and to-be-announced price tag. Be sure to keep up with DigitalTrends through the rest of the Galaxy S4’s unveiling to know about all the latest features and more.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Joshua Sherman
Joshua Sherman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joshua Sherman is a contributor for Digital Trends who writes about all things mobile from Apple to Zynga. Josh pulls his…
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs. OnePlus 12: Which one should you buy?
Renders of the Samsung Galaxy S24 next to the OnePlus 12.

The size increase may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the Samsung Galaxy S24 is a crushing success anyway. Samsung's new smaller flagship has a powerful new processor, an upgraded display, and Samsung's cutting-edge Galaxy AI. If you're looking for a powerful phone at a price less than four figures, then the Samsung Galaxy S24's $800 price tag is sure to appeal.

But OnePlus is ready with a strong competitor of its own. The OnePlus 12 is a larger phone with the same power, a capable camera suite, and some blindingly fast charging speeds. At the same price, you've got a tough job deciding between the two of them, and looking at long lists of specs can quickly make you feel dizzy. That's why we're here; we've crunched the numbers, placed them side-by-side, and broken down what it means so you don't have to. Here's how the Samsung Galaxy S24 compares to the OnePlus 12 — and which one you should buy.
Samsung Galaxy S24 vs. OnePlus 12: specs

Read more
This awful Galaxy S24 feature is everything that’s bad about AI
Activating the Chat Assist feature on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Artificial Intelligence is a big selling point of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, at least according to Samsung. For the most part, the features in its Galaxy AI suite are quite impressive. Except for one of them, which is so bad, I’m amazed Samsung had the guts to release it, let alone mention it during the launch.

I’m talking about Chat Assist, a feature that adapts your hastily typed messages to make them suitable for different situations, such as sending them to your boss. Before I go into why Chat Assist is so awful, I implore you to never, ever send a message created by the charisma-void that is the AI behind it to anyone. At least, not if you actually want to sound like a human.
What is Chat Assist?

Read more
You won’t find this Galaxy S24 Ultra deal on Samsung’s website
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra using the Circle to Search feature.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a tempting smartphone with some unique new features, but it's also Samsung's most expensive non-foldable phone. That's probably why you're on the hunt for deals. Samsung's site has a lot of great deals for pre-ordering the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, but we're here to give you an exclusive discount that you can't find on Samsung's site. By clicking the button below, you'll get $50 in Samsung credit when you buy the Ultra. You can still take advantage of the other discounts on Samsung's site, like $750 trade-in, $100 more Samsung credit, and a 15% student discount. This deal is only available for a couple more days, as preorders end on January 30.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a pretty special upgrade for Android lovers and is sure to top our look at the best phones shortly. Now sporting a titanium frame, it feels far classier than previous Samsung Galaxy phones. Its 6.8-inch AMOLED screen is more than just larger with its Quad HD+ resolution teamed up with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate ensuring it looks great at all times. 2,600 nits peak brightness outdoors means it’s easy to use in bright sunlight too.

Read more