Latest news with #CallScreen
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
I tested Live Translation on iOS 26 vs Galaxy AI — and the results surprised me
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Apple's amplifying the calling experience on iPhones with new features packaged into iOS 26. I've already explored how the new Call Screen works on iOS 26, pitting it against how the Pixel 9 Pro does it with Android 16. But now, it's time to test out another one of its new calling features: Live Translation. It isn't just for phone calls either because Live Translation works in other apps like Messages and FaceTime. In fact, it's one of the few new Apple Intelligence features that the company announced during its WWDC 2025 keynote for iOS 26 — allowing users to translate phone calls in real time. While it's one of those features that serves a specific case use, you might find it handy when that opportunity arises. Meanwhile, Samsung has actually offered its version called Live Translate as part of its Galaxy AI suite since the Galaxy S24 series. For this comparison, I'm going to break down how these competing services perform and tell you which is the more reliable one. Live Translate iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: Supported languages In order to test out these live translating features for phone calls, I'm using an iPhone 16 Pro Max running the iOS 26 beta against a Galaxy Z Flip 7 running One UI 8 on top of Android 16. One important thing to know is the amount of languages each service supports to translate to English. In its current iteration, the beta Live Translation feature with iOS 26 only supports a total of four languages: Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French. You're limited with the options, but hopefully Apple rolls out more languages in the coming months. Samsung offers way more. There's 25+ languages supported by Galaxy AI's Live Translate feature, and for this reason, it's much more versatile. Winner: Galaxy AI Live Translate iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: Spanish translation For these actual tests to see how well they perform, I generated stories using Google Gemini — which I then put into Google Translate to translate and speak for me. Using one phone as the caller speaking in the other language with the other phone translating, I had both phones translating the following in real time: 'The air was thick and salty, a warm blanket that wrapped around me the moment I stepped out of the car. My feet found the soft, warm sand, and I exhaled, feeling the last of my everyday stress melt away. The ocean stretched out, a vast expanse of brilliant turquoise, its waves coming in a steady, rhythmic hush. It wasn't a day for adventure, but for pure, unadulterated peace. I spent the afternoon under a palm tree, the leaves rustling like soft paper, watching the sun dip into the horizon, painting the sky in fiery shades of orange and pink. I took one last, deep breath, filling my lungs with the ocean's scent, grateful for the simple, quiet moments.' The iPhone 16 Pro Max with iOS 26 offers the better experience here because of how it speaks aloud the translation after a couple of sentences. What happens, too, is that the caller's audio is softened to allow the translation in English to play on top of them — much like how an interpreter would do it. With Galaxy AI it tells the other person on the line that the feature is active, but it's heavily delayed the translation. While it manages to translate the story accurately to English, it feels less of a natural conversation going on because of how it waits so long to do it. Winner: iOS 26 Live Translate iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: French translation Next up, I asked Gemini to generate a story explaining what entropy is in a concise summary. Here's what I used to test out Live Translate with iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: "Entropy in action. It's not a punishment; it's a fundamental rule of the universe. This plate, all its molecules in a perfect arrangement, was a state of low entropy—low disorder. Now, shattered on the floor, it's in a state of high entropy. The universe naturally tends toward this chaos. You'll never see these pieces spontaneously jump back together. It takes work—a lot of work—to create order, but things will fall into a mess on their own. This broken plate is a perfect little example of the universe's ultimate plan: more disorder, all the time." Live Translate on iOS 26 stumbled a couple of times with the translation, but the overall point about entropy got across. Just as before, it also announces that the translation is active after I've turned it on — with the actual translation beginning after a couple of sentences. On my iPhone 16 Pro Max, I really like how it breaks it down in iMessage style chat bubbles. What makes it more enjoyable is how Live Translate on iOS 26 makes it feel more like a natural conversation by overlaying the spoken translation over the speaker's voice. Not only does Galaxy AI wait until the caller is done speaking before it begins to speak and show me the translation, but I find it annoying that I can't scroll through the translation on my Galaxy Z Flip 7. Unlike the iPhone, it manages to translate the conversation more accurately — including the parts where the iPhone messed up. But despite this, I still like how iOS 26 performs overall. Winner: iOS 26 Live Translate iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: German translation Lastly, I had Gemini create a story about someone explaining their day in the office in a more casual manner. Here's the full breakdown: My day? It's been a marathon of meetings that could have been emails and a battle with a printer that seems to hate me personally. I've been staring at the same spreadsheet for two hours, looking for a typo that has to be a single digit, and I'm pretty sure my eyes are crossing. The hamsters on the little wheel in my head have given up and are now just sitting in the corner drinking tiny glasses of water. I've hit peak brain capacity for the day, and now I'm just sitting here, pretending to be productive until it's a socially acceptable time to escape this fluorescent purgatory. The end result with this German translation is no different from the rest, as iOS 26 handles it in a more natural way with how it overlays the translated conversation while the person's actively speaking. It happens after a couple of sentences in and proceeds to keep the same pace throughout the rest of the conversation. It did stumble just once at the end. By this time, I was expecting the same drill as before with Galaxy AI. Specifically, it again waited until the entire conversation was over to start the translation — which makes it feel a bit awkward. Yes, the translation was accurate throughout, but I still don't like the long pause. That's why I tried it a second time, with the caller pausing for a longer period of time two sentences in. While this is the only way I'm able to get Galaxy AI to start translating earlier, it messes up the flow of the back-and-forth conversation. For this reason, I'm giving it to iOS 26. Winner: iOS 26 Live Translate iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: what you need to know Beyond their ability to translate phone conversations in real time, it's worth mentioning some of the quirks I found testing these live translation features. Neither service allows me the option to save the transcripts while the feature is active, which is annoying because it'd be handy to have them saved to a note or something. Secondly, Live Translation with Galaxy AI doesn't allow me to scroll through the transcript while I'm actively on the call. I don't understand why you can't do this, but it'd be helpful to go back into the translated conversation to reference something I might've missed — or want to follow up on. Live Translate iOS 26 vs. Galaxy AI: Verdict Even though Galaxy AI was nearly spot-on with the translation and offers more supported languages, it's the way it executes the translation that makes it not as intuitive to use. At the end of the day, I would prefer having a more casual experience talking to someone speaking a foreign language — instead of having to wait through these long and awkward pauses. I can forgive iOS 26 for botching up a couple of things in my testing, but Apple absolutely delivers the more practical experience. Not only does it start translating much sooner than Galaxy AI, but the way it overlays the audio makes it much more convenient. Plus, I do like how I'm able to scroll through the translation on my iPhone. Hopefully Apple makes the necessary tweaks and additions to make it even better for the final release of iOS 26 later this fall. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. More from Tom's Guide I tested Call Screening on iOS 26 vs Android 16 — and there's a clear winner Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold — what we know so far I recently got hacked — here's 5 hidden Apple security features I wish I'd known about
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Yahoo
I tested Call Screening on iOS 26 vs Android 16 — and there's a clear winner
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Apple's making a lot of noise surrounding its iOS 26 public beta release, which is filled with new features that make using any of the best iPhones even better. If there's one iOS 26 feature you absolutely need to try, it has to be Call Screen, In fact, it's what my colleague Philip Michaels specifically calls out as being 'one of the most exciting' new things he's experienced in his iOS 26 preview. I have to agree because it gives you more control of how to approach phone calls going forward. However, I can't neglect to remind you about Google's similar feature — also called Call Screen — that leans on Google Assistant to take phone calls on your behalf. When I first tested it with my Pixel 8 Pro a couple of years ago, I said it was the most impressive smartphone feature I tested out. The two competing features are fundamentally the same, tasked to reduce spam calls and inquire about their reason to call you. I've been testing out the iOS 26 beta for some time now, so I want to share how the iOS 26 Call Screen feature compares to how Android 16 with the Pixel 9 lineup. For this test, I asked AI to generate a phone call script for three different phone call conversations to two phones — an iPhone 16 Pro Max running iOS 26 beta and a Pixel 9 Pro running the Android 16 beta. Package Delivery Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2 For this first test, I used another phone to place a phone call pretending to be a package delivery courier. Here's the message I left: 'I'm calling because I need to drop off a package for John Velasco. It's a medium sized box that needs to be signed for and I need to know if someone could come down and sign it.' With Call Screen in iOS 26, I'm greeted by the assistant who tells me to leave a message on what I'm calling about. What I like about Call Screen in iOS 26 is that I can see the transcript in real time as they're leaving the message, but since this feature isn't tied to Apple Intelligence, it messes up by thinking that the caller is me. Regardless, I gave a response to send me more details, but Call Screen proceeded to tell them to leave a message. That's pretty much the extent of the interaction with iOS 26. In contrast, the Call Screen in Android 16 is much more reliable in my opinion. After leaving the same message, Google Assistant intelligently provides me with contextual responses that I can select directly from my Pixel 9 Pro. What makes this better is that these responses are generated automatically, which shows how AI is really working behind the scenes to understand what the conversation is about. Winner: Android 16 Pesky sales call Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2 Although both platforms are improving the way they block spam calls, you might still find one come through every now and then. For this next test, I pretended to be a salesperson — you know — the stuff you're likely to hang up for right away. Here's my pitch: "This is John Smith calling from Sparkle Clean Solutions. We're a local company dedicated to helping homeowners like yourself achieve truly pristine living spaces. And the reason for my call today is a quick question about your home cleaning." Again, Call Screen in iOS 26 asks to leave a message that's automatically shown on my iPhone 16 Pro Max. While it's convenient that I can type my response to have the assistant relay it, I wish I could be given smarter responses to choose from like Call Screen on Android 16, but it doesn't. At least the assistant politely responds by telling them 'no thanks' and to leave a more detailed message. The Pixel 9 Pro, along with the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, proves a point of how helpful AI could be. This interaction with Call Screen in Android 16 is a perfect example because right after the message is left, Google Assistant instantly identifies it as a spam call — which I find hilarious to be the first option in its list of actions. They don't even get the chance to leave a message because once I tap 'report as spam,' it ends the phone call and it's identified as a suspicious call. Winner: Android 16 Emergency help Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2 For this final test, I pretended to be someone calling on behalf of someone who's in the hospital seeking medical help. This is the kind of call I'd want to answer, so I was really interested to see how Call Screen handles it. Here's the message I left: "Listen, I'm calling because Jimmy is in the hospital. He was admitted to Good Enough Medical Center at about 3:00 pm today. The reason I'm calling is because I really need some help. Jimmy needs someone to bring over a change of clothes and their glasses, and he's not able to communicate clearly right now, and the doctors are asking questions about his medical history." Call Screen in iOS 26 simply cannot provide meaningful actions or responses other than telling the caller to leave a more detailed message. In a real-life situation, I would pick up the call right away after reading the message on my iPhone — but the only thing they can do is to leave another message. Meanwhile, I think Android 16 has trouble with this one as well because it doesn't give me as much variety with the responses as the other two conversations. I asked them to tell me more about why they're calling, but the only options at my disposal were to simply thank them for letting me know. Still, it's an acknowledgement and goes one extra step further than iOS 26. Winner: Android 16 Bottom Line I said it before, I'll say it again. Call Screen in Android 16 is one of the best smartphone features around — and it shows why Google has some of the best AI phones around. The ability for Google Assistant to listen and generate intelligent responses is proof of how AI is making a big impact. Even though the feature didn't get a boost with the release of the Pixel 9, I'm hoping that Google refines it in such a way with the forthcoming Pixel 10 reveal at its next Made by Google event next month. For Apple, it's a good first step with Call Screen in iOS 26. Although it's basic in what it offers in its current iteration, I'm hoping that it's somehow injected with some Apple Intelligence love later on. Despite not revealing any new Apple Intelligence features at its iOS 26 reveal during WWDC 2025, the company's reportedly working on bringing new ones at a later time. I hope it involves Call Screen because it'd be nice if the assistant could make proper responses.
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Yahoo
I've been using the iOS 26 beta for more than a month and it made me rediscover these helpful gestures
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. There's a lot of new features and changes that I've had to get acquainted with the iOS 26 beta release. From the iPhone software's new Liquid Glass material design, to how Call Screen takes phone calls for me, Apple makes sure that there's plenty to use and learn with its latest software release. As I kept tinkering around with the new software, though, I accidentally discovered gestures I've long forgotten about. When you review as many phones as I do, it's no surprise that you can easily forget about features you've come to use. While these gestures aren't necessarily new or exclusive to iOS 26, I think it's worth revisiting them because they might be reintegrated in some capacity of your workflow. At the very least, they'll make you a bit more productive. Quick app switching Through all the iterations of iOS, Apple still trails Google when it comes to multitasking. I completely forgot that there was a quicker gesture to switch between apps instead of using the gesture over the home indicator bar at the bottom of the display to show the scrollable view of all the apps. Instead, there's the quick app switching gesture you can easily perform by swiping left or right on the home indicator bar. This is helpful when you're copying and pasting from one app to another on your iPhone, as this gesture smoothly moves between apps. As much as I'd love to one day see true side-by-side apps multitasking on iPhone, this is the next best thing. Shrink an app for better one-handed use Even though I'm using the iPhone 16 Pro Max as one of my daily drivers, it doesn't mean I love big phones. That's why I've rediscovered the reachability gesture, which basically minimizes an app so that you don't have to stretch your fingers to reach the top parts of the display. Reachability makes it easier to interact with apps when you're holding your iPhone with one hand. I've found this extremely helpful when I'm on the subway with one hand holding dearly onto a railing while holding onto my iPhone. By performing a swipe down gesture on the home indicator bar, it'll shrink whatever app you're running to make it easier to touch those hard to reach areas. Back tap opens up more quick actions Yes, there are many more ways than ever before to perform specific actions with iOS 26. From the Shortcuts app that can program complex tasks, to setting the Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro and later, these options all make it easier to do stuff. But I totally forgot that Back Tap also exists. This accessibility feature that can recognize taps on the back of my iPhone. For example, I've set a double tap gesture to activate the phone's flashlight — which I think is a lot quicker than launching it from the Control Center and frees me up to use other shortcuts on my iPhone's lock screen. You can also program another action with a three-tap gesture, so that's yet another hidden gem I think you should enable. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. More from Tom's Guide Apple rumored to release 6 new iPhone models starting next year — including iPhone Fold Your iPhone Notes app has a secret messaging feature — here's how to use it Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 battery life — the results are in
Phone Arena
17-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Top 3 reasons to get the Pixel 10 Pro XL
Why? Pixel 10 Pro More screen real estate, more things done: 6.8" vs 6.3" Pixel 10 Pro Receive the latest Google news Subscribe By subscribing you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy Faster wired charging: a big plus Pixel 10 Pro Biggest battery on a Pixel phone Pixel 10 Pro Who is the Pixel 10 Pro XL phone for? Pixel 10 Pro Well, maybe it's because you're after a great camera experience. Or, you dig those Pixel-exclusive Android features? Like the Call Screen feature (a cool anti-spam filter) that you're after. Perhaps you want on-device AI?"Choose your fighter", as the saying goes. There isn't a shortage of reasons to have the hots for the upcoming Pixel 10 Pro that we outlined how the regular-sized Pixel 10 Pro could capture your heart , it's time to pay a visit to XL town. In most ways, the XL model will be similar to its non-Pro sibling. There are differences, however, so let's check them out: this is what makes theXL (so) face it: size matters when it comes to screens. TheXL reportedly packs a massive 6.8-inch LTPO OLED display, compared to the 6.3-inch panel on the regular Pro. That half-inch may not sound like a lot, but in the smartphone world, it's the difference between casually scrolling and comfortably multitasking. If you often split your screen to juggle apps or edit documents on the go, bigger really is better.A large display is also a blessing for people who can't justify the cost – or bulk (that's me, I detest having to lug around backpacks) – of a tablet or a foldable phone Personally, one of the reasons that I like large screens is when it's time to edit photos or videos. Tuning colors and cropping shots feels so much easier when your workspace isn't cramped. A larger canvas means fewer accidental taps and more precise phones aren't exactly famous for speed-demon charging, and the Pixel 10 series isn't changing that narrative. Thewill reportedly top out at 29W wired charging, while the XL bumps it up to 39W. That's still miles behind Chinese competitors pushing 100W or even 150W, but if you're set on buying a Pixel, every extra watt counts. Believe me: been there, done means the XL will juice up faster, even with its larger battery. For anyone who hates being tethered to an outlet, that's a big deal. It also helps offset the XL's heavier footprint – because if you're going bigger, you might as well go faster, too. So while Google isn't joining the hyper-charging arms race, the Pro XL is clearly the better pick for those who value every minute is rumored to house a 5,200 mAh battery, making it the largest ever in a Pixel device. Yes, even the Pixel 9a with its biggest-to-date 5,100 mAh cell could get course, a larger screen means more pixels to light up, so battery life won't necessarily skyrocket. Still, with Google's proven software optimizations – Adaptive Battery, Extreme Battery Saver, and those AI smarts – the XL should hold its own against rivals. For context, Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra (still) sticks with 5,000 bigger battery should mean extra screen time for heavy users, which makes a difference on those travel days or Netflix marathons. But let's be real: the tradeoff is a bigger phone in your pocket. If that sounds fine, the XL might be calling your is made for power users who want everything – bigger screen, faster charging (for a Pixel), and the most stamina in the lineup. It's not a compact phone, and it won't win any speed-charging awards against Chinese giants. But if you love Google's clean Android, AI perks, and camera magic, the XL is shaping up to be the ultimate Pixel experience.
Android Authority
26-06-2025
- Android Authority
Pixel setup could soon include a key step to keep scammers off your phone calls (APK teardown)
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority TL;DR Google seems to be planning to integrate Scam Detection and Call Screen features into the Pixel device setup process. Currently, these protective features need to be manually enabled by users, so there's a fair chance many people don't know these features exist on their phones in the first place. This change could thus increase user adoption of these crucial security features. Google announced Scam Detection features for Pixel devices through the Google Phone app in November 2024. This feature alerts the user in real-time about a possible scam happening to them during a call if it detects common patterns associated with scams. Similarly, Pixel's Call Screen & Spam Protection is an absolute time-saver, allowing Google Assistant/Gemini to screen your calls, answer them with AI-powered replies, and even decline spam calls automatically. While the features are great, users need to know they exist and enable them manually to take advantage of them. Much like it intends to do with the Find Hub network, Google could potentially surface Scam Detection, Call Screen & Spam Protection features at device setup, which would get many more people to activate the features and start using them. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. The Google Phone app v181.0 beta includes strings and other code that suggest Google could start offering Scam Detection, Call Screen & Spam Protection features as an option during Pixel device setup. Code Copy Text Call Screen & Spam Protection Automatically screens calls from suspicious numbers & declines spam Scam Detection Get real-time alerts for potential scams when talking to unknown callers While the strings above don't directly mention the setup process, we can find the common 'joyball' codename in the string parameter. For reference, the 'dobby' codename is likely referring to the Call screen and Spam Protection features, while the 'sharpie' codename is likely referring to the Scam Detection feature. 'Joyball' is most likely the codename for the setup initialization screen, as the Pixel Setup Wizard contains plenty of references to it. AssembleDebug / Android Authority We managed to activate the setup screen ahead of its release to give you a look: While the setup screen only mentions Scam Detection, the second screenshot does mention Call Screen. Further, you can see that an unhighlighted 'No thanks' button is present, which indicates that the feature is likely optional, and attentive users can skip it if they want to. Call Screen & Spam Protection and Scam Detection are Pixel-exclusive Google Phone app features. Since the feature is Pixel-exclusive, it's safe to presume that the setup screens will be visible on Pixel devices and not all Android devices. These features are separate from the Google Phone app's Caller ID & Spam feature, which is available to all Android users if they have the app installed as their default dialer. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
