For Global Accessibility Awareness Day, here’s new updates to our accessibility products.​

Mobile technology is a powerful tool, delivering connection, creativity, entertainment and information. It is essential to how we communicate with friends, family and the world around us, and we believe that everyone should have equitable access to it.



At Samsung, we design meaningful, human-centric innovations that offer people greater control and more enriching experiences in their daily lives. Through a variety of Galaxy features — from simple, easy devices gestures to auditory assistants and vision enhancements — we strive to open access to technology that works for people of all abilities.



To celebrate this year’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day, let’s take a look at some of these features and how we continue to bridge barriers.

Making the Galaxy Experience More Accessible​

Adding Clarity With Relumino Mode

Born out of Samsung’s in-house incubator, Relumino Mode was designed to improve the lives of those with low vision by increasing the visibility of on-screen text and images. This feature enhances the screen’s contrast and brightness and sharpens image outlines and shapes, enabling users to easily discern content on their devices.



To understand our users’ perspectives and needs, we collaborated with advisors with low vision, researchers, engineers, programmers and testers to develop a solution for inclusive visual displays. Relumino Mode is the product of years of research and development to advance Samsung’s goal of providing “Screens for All” and improving the viewing experience for those with limited vision. This new feature is available in the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and beyond.



From following a ball during a sports match to reading smaller text on a news broadcast, Relumino Mode1 helps users with low vision to connect with the world and enjoy content that matters most to them.



Enabling Relumino:









Providing Audio Descriptions With TalkBack

The TalkBack2 feature, also known as Voice Assistant, is designed to help users with low or no vision to get the most out of their device experience without looking at their screens. This feature transforms Galaxy smartphones and tablets into an intuitive audio interface. As users navigate their devices, Talkback can provide speech feedback for anything they touch, highlight or select, such as menus, emails and notifications. TalkBack shortcuts can also be enabled for more seamless navigation.



Navigating the screen is simple. With easy-to-use gestures, such as Swipe Left, Double Tap or Use Two Fingers To Scroll, TalkBack provides users the freedom to control their devices conveniently.



Turning on TalkBack:














Bringing Media to Life With Live Captions

Live Captions3 helps those who are hard of hearing to follow their favorite media and audio content effortlessly. The feature transcribes audio as it plays through the device in real-time. With Live Captions, users can better enjoy videos, podcasts, phone and video calls, audio messages and voicemails.

Live Captions are available in English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.4



Activating Live Captions:

Fostering Inclusivity Through Accessories and Wearables​

Amplifying the World With Ambient Sound

The Galaxy Buds2 Pro features an Ambient Sound setting that adapts background noise at five levels of amplification,5 designed to cater to a diverse range of needs and situations. This feature gives users the ability to customize how they want to hear and experience sound. From making a conversation more audible to increasing the noise of traffic at a crosswalk, the Ambient Sound feature allows users to participate in social interactions while being aware of their surroundings.



Setting up Ambient Sound:
















Reimagining Your Galaxy Watch With Universal Gestures6

Universal Gestures offers an innovative way to use your Galaxy Watch touch-free. With four intuitive gestures, Make Fist, Make Fist Twice, Pinch and Double Pinch, users can navigate their Galaxy interface, open apps, scroll messages and more, without needing to push down or touch the screen with force.



Prompting Universal Gestures:

A Better World for Everyone​

Samsung is on a journey to advance a more inclusive and sustainable future through our innovations and open collaborations, and will continue to take steps in delivering accessibility features to our devices, so more people can enjoy what our Galaxy products have to offer. The work does not end here.



For more information, visit our Galaxy Mobile Accessibility page.





1 Relumino Mode is available on Galaxy S24 series operating on One UI 6.1 or above.
2 Talkback is available on all Galaxy smartphones.
3 Live Caption is available on Galaxy smartphones with 4GB memory or higher.
4 Additional languages will be available in coming updates.
5 Additional two levels can be activated in the Laboratory — Ambient Sound menu under Earbuds settings in the Galaxy Wearable app.
6 Universal Gestures is available on Galaxy Watch6, Watch5 and Watch4 series with One UI 5 Watch.​

Galaxy AI now supports 16 languages, helping more people to lower language barriers with real-time and on-device translation. Samsung opened the door to a new era of mobile AI, so we are visiting Samsung Research centers all over the world to learn how Galaxy AI came to life and what it took to overcome the challenges of AI development. While part one of the series examines the task of determining what data is needed, this installment looks at the complex task of accounting for dialects.



Teaching a language to an AI model is a complex process, but what if it isn’t a singular language, but a collection of diverse dialects? That was the challenge faced by the team at Samsung R&D Institute Jordan (SRJO). While Arabic was added as a language option for Galaxy AI features such as Live Translate, the team had to cater to the various Arabic dialects that span the Middle East and North Africa, with each varying in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.



Arabic is one of the top six most widely spoken languages around the world, used daily by more than 400 million people.1 The language is categorized into two forms: Fus’ha (Modern Standard Arabic) and Ammiya (the dialects of Arabic). Fus’ha is typically used in public and official events, as well as in news broadcasts, while Ammiya is more commonly used for day-to-day conversations. Over 20 countries use Arabic, and there are currently around 30 dialects in the region.

Unwritten Rules​

Recognizing the variation presented by these dialects, the team at SRJO employed a range of techniques to discern and process the unique linguistic features inherent in each. This approach was crucial in ensuring that Galaxy AI could understand and respond in a way that accurately reflects the regional nuances.



“Unlike other languages, the pronunciation of the object in Arabic varies depending on the subject and verb in the sentence,” says Mohammad Hamdan, project leader of the Arabic language development team. “Our goal is to develop a model that understands all these dialects and can answer in standard Arabic.”



TTS is the component of Galaxy AI’s Live Translate feature that lets users interact with speakers of different languages by translating spoken words into written text, and then vocally reproducing them. The TTS team faced a unique challenge, caused by the quirk of working with Arabic.







Arabic uses diacritics, which are guides for the pronunciation of words in some contexts, such as religious texts, poetry and books for language learners. Diacritics are widely understood by native speakers but absent in everyday writing. This makes it difficult for a machine to convert raw text into phonemes, the basic units of sound that are the building blocks of speech.



“There is a shortage of high-quality and reliable datasets that accurately represent how diacritics are correctly used,” explains Haweeleh. “We had to design a neural model that can predict and restore those missing diacritics with high accuracy.”



Neural models work similarly to human brains. To predict diacritics, a model needs to study lots of Arabic text, learn the language’s rules and understand how words are used in different contexts. For instance, the pronunciation of a word can vary greatly depending on the action or gender it describes. Extensive training from the team was the key to enhancing the Arabic TTS model’s accuracy.

Enhancing Understanding​

The SRJO team also had to collect diverse audio recordings of the dialects from various sources, which had to be transcribed, focusing on unique sounds, words and phrases. “We assembled a team of native speakers in the dialects who were well-versed in the nuances and variations,” says Ayah Hasan, whose team was responsible for database creation. “They listened to the recordings and manually converted the spoken words into text.”







This work was crucial for enhancing the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) process so that Galaxy AI could handle the rich tapestry of Arabic dialects. ASR is pivotal in enabling Galaxy AI’s real-time understanding and response capabilities.



“Building an ASR system that supports multiple dialects in a single model is a complex undertaking,” says Mohammad Hamdan, ASR lead for the project. “It demands a thorough understanding of the language’s intricacies, careful data selection and advanced modeling techniques.”

The Culmination of Innovation​

After months of planning, building and testing, the team was ready to release Arabic as a language option for Galaxy AI, enabling many more people to communicate across borders. This single team has made Galaxy AI services accessible to Arabic speakers, lowering the language and cultural barriers between them and people all over the world. In doing so, they have established new best practices that can be rolled out globally. This success is only the beginning: the team continues to refine their models and enhance the quality of Galaxy AI’s language capabilities.







In the next episode, we go to Vietnam to see how the team makes language data better. Plus, what does it take to train an effective AI model?



Arabic is just one part of the languages and dialects newly supported by Galaxy AI and available for download from the Settings app. Galaxy AI’s language features such as Live Translate and Interpreter are available on Galaxy devices running Samsung’s One UI 6.1 update.2








1 UNESCO, World Arabic Language Day 2023, World Arabic Language Day
2 One UI 6.1 was first released on Galaxy S24 series devices with a wider roll out to other Galaxy devices including S23 series, S23 FE, S22 series, S21 series, Z Fold5, Z Fold4, Z Fold3, Z Flip5, Z Flip4, Z Flip3, Tab S9 series and Tab S8 series​

Samsung’s Bespoke AI appliances are equipped with various features that reduce challenges faced by people with disabilities or anyone with difficulties using home appliances.



In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 16, Samsung Newsroom has outlined the accessibility features of Bespoke AI appliances that allow easy and convenient use for all.

Designed With Mobility in Mind​

Both Samsung’s Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with AI Family Hub and Bespoke AI Laundry Combo feature Auto Open Door — a function that helps users open the doors of these appliances. Refrigerator doors will open with a light touch, and laundry machine doors will open when turned on or when a cycle is complete. This function makes appliance use much easier for people who may struggle with opening doors such as the elderly or those in wheelchairs.




▲ Bespoke AI Laundry Combo with Auto Open Door

Full Control Through Audio and Voice​

Bixby’s1 voice command feature allows users to control devices around the home using only their voice, relieving the burden of device operation for people with low vision. Through voice commands, Bespoke WindFree Air Conditioner stand models can control other home appliances — such as refrigerators and washing machines — once connected to SmartThings.



Devices that offer Voice assistant audibly read user commands and the status of each appliance. Included on select Samsung air conditioners and robot vacuum cleaners, this feature will be expanded via a software update to the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo and other products equipped with AI Home — a 7-inch LCD touchscreen panel that helps control home appliances.



Accessible sounds — available on select refrigerator models for people with low vision — provide audio feedback in a series of distinct sounds with varying scales and syllable breaks, allowing users to better navigate operation controls. Samsung is now expanding this feature to Bespoke AI refrigerators and other products, so users can easily adjust the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer compartments.




▲ A usage example of Samsung Bixby’s voice command feature

Created for All Ages​

Samsung is expanding its Senior Care feature to more appliances via AI Home to enhance readability through larger fonts.



Additionally, select induction cooktops feature Child Lock — a function that disables cooktop control to prevent accidental operation by children or pets. The lock can be controlled remotely on the SmartThings app.



Samsung plans to accelerate its development of accessibility technology under the slogan “AI for All” so that convenience in daily life can be enjoyed by everyone.





※ Availability of the features and functions mentioned above may vary by country and region, for applicable models only.



※ When connecting to the SmartThings is required: Users must download the SmartThings app available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required.



1 Bixby recognizes select languages and certain accents/dialects. The user interface may change and differ by device. The availability of Bixby features and content providers may vary depending on the country/carrier/language/device model/OS version. A Samsung account log-in and an internet connection (Wi-Fi or data network) are required.​