Glossary
Samsung voice input
Samsung voice input is the voice-to-text feature built into the Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones and tablets. It works only with that keyboard, so it is a separate choice from Google Voice Typing.
Updated October 17, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Samsung voice typing.
Samsung voice input is the voice-to-text feature built into the Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones and tablets. Samsung's own pages call it Voice input, and some people search for it as Samsung voice typing. It turns your speech into text in the field you are using, the same job that other keyboards' microphone keys do.
Galaxy devices have two built-in voice-to-text choices
Samsung says Galaxy phones and tablets have two built-in voice-to-text apps, Samsung voice input and Google Voice Typing 1. Both are on the phone, so the question is which one you use with which keyboard. Our question on which one is better covers how to decide.
It works only with the Samsung Keyboard
Samsung says its Samsung voice input app is only available when you use the Samsung Keyboard 2. If you switch to another keyboard, this feature is not available in it. If the voice input button has disappeared after a keyboard change, that is the first thing to check.
Starting and stopping takes two taps
On Samsung's support page for the UAE, you tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard, speak, and tap the microphone again to stop recording 3. If your keyboard shows the microphone somewhere else, look for the microphone icon on the keyboard or its toolbar, and follow the steps for your phone.
Offline use depends on the language packs you install
Samsung's keyboard settings have an Offline voice input section where you install offline language packs 4. Offline recognition uses the packs you have installed, so check that your language is in that section before you dictate somewhere with no signal.
Related terms
- Google voice typing: the Google voice input on Android, which Galaxy phones also list.
- Gboard: Google's keyboard app, with its own microphone key.
- Third-party keyboard: a keyboard app from a developer other than the phone's maker.
- Dictation: the general act of speaking words that software writes down.
Guides that cover it
Evidence
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Related terms
- Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and AndroidThe topic this term belongs to
- Allow Full AccessAllow Full Access is an iPhone setting that you switch on for a third-party keyboard before it can have open access, such as network access. Apple warns that a keyboard with this setting on is permitted to collect and transmit the text you type.
- GboardGboard is Google's keyboard app for Android and iPhone, and its microphone key turns speech into text in any app where you can type. On Android it can run speech recognition on the phone, while on iPhone the voice input is handled inside the Gboard app and sent to Google.
- Google voice typingGoogle voice typing is the speech-to-text input that Google provides on Android, so you can speak words into a text field. Its name and location vary by phone: Gboard shows a microphone key, while Samsung Galaxy phones list Google Voice Typing next to their own voice input.
- Live CaptionsLive Captions is a feature that shows text for speech and audio as it happens, using the phone's own processing. Google calls it Live Caption on Pixel phones, and Apple calls it Live Captions on iPhone. It reads what others say, so it is the reverse of dictation.
- Live TranscribeLive Transcribe is a Google app for Android phones that turns the speech of people around you into captions as they talk. It helps you follow a conversation. It does not type your own words into a text field, which is what dictation does.
- Real-time text (RTT)Real-time text (RTT) is a way of sending text as it is typed, so the other person can read each word before the sender finishes. It is used in conversation by many deaf and hard of hearing people, and it has no send step like an ordinary text message. It is a typing channel, not a speech technology.
- Speech Services by GoogleSpeech Services by Google is the Android speech engine from Google that turns speech into text for other apps and reads on-screen text aloud. Google's Play Store listing now uses the title Speech Recognition & Synthesis, and reviews on that listing still call the app by the older name.
- Third-party keyboardA third-party keyboard is a keyboard app from a developer other than the phone's maker, which you install and switch to in place of the built-in keyboard. Apple calls the iPhone version a custom keyboard, and Apple's rules limit what it can do, such as network access and microphone use.
- Transcript Assist (Galaxy AI)Transcript Assist is a Samsung Galaxy AI feature that converts a saved recording in the Voice Recorder app into text. It works on select Galaxy models and needs a working internet connection. It transcribes recordings you already made, so it is not live dictation into a text field.
- Voice Access (Android)Voice Access (Android) is a Google feature that lets you operate an Android phone or tablet by speaking commands, such as opening an app or tapping a labelled item. Google built it for people who have difficulty using a touch screen. It is a control tool that can also enter text, and it is separate from Windows Voice Access on PCs.
- Voice message transcriptsA voice message transcript is written text of the words in an audio message, produced by the messaging app so you can read instead of listen. Apple, Google and WhatsApp each offer one, with different defaults and different privacy arrangements. It turns audio into text, the reverse of dictation.
Pages that use this term
- Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and AndroidTopic
- Talk to Text on Samsung Galaxy: How to Use ItGuide
- Dictation on iPad and Android TabletsGuide
- Dictation Languages on iPhone and AndroidGuide
- Offline Voice Typing on iPhone and AndroidGuide
- How do you control an Android phone with your voice?Question
- Is Samsung voice input or Google voice typing better?Question
- Why is talk to text not working on my Samsung?Question
- Why is the voice input button missing on Samsung Keyboard?Question
- GboardGlossary
- Google voice typingGlossary
- Third-party keyboardGlossary