Paul Jones / Android Authority
Samsung has released a new One UI 8.5 beta, and the new build finally introduces a feature that was leaked several months ago. Direct Voicemail aims to overhaul voicemail in the same way Apple did in iOS 17 with the Live Voicemail feature, and Google did with its updated Call Assist features from the end of 2025. So, how does One UI 8.5’s Direct Voicemail stack up, and is it worth enabling over your carrier’s voicemail service?
WIll you use Direct Voicemail? 19 votes Yes 84 % No 11 % I don't own a Samsung phone 5 %
What is Direct Voicemail on Samsung Galaxy phones?
Direct Voicemail bypasses your carrier’s voicemail service and instead runs the voicemail on your device. It integrates with Samsung’s Text Call service, using AI to transcribe and summarize incoming calls you didn’t pick up. You can also manually send a call to Direct Voicemail by tapping the “more options” button in either the full-screen call UI or the pop-up at the top of the screen.
Once you’ve sent the call to Direct Voicemail, you’ll see a transcript of the message the person is leaving in real time as they speak, and you can pick up the call if you wish. After a voicemail has been left, you can access it from the recent calls screen. The call card will show you the voicemail length and a snippet of the transcription.
Tapping into the transcript, you have two Galaxy AI features that should be useful for longer messages or voicemails with a lot of background noise. At the top of the screen, you have the option to summarise the transcript, which is helpful for longer messages. In the bottom right, you have Audio Eraser, which can filter out distracting background noise to make the caller’s message easier to hear and understand.
If you don’t want to send calls to Direct Voicemail yourself, you can have a call directed there automatically when a preset amount of time has elapsed. The default options are 5, 10, and 20 seconds, but you can set a custom time if those don’t suit your needs.
Samsung’s Direct Voicemail vs Google’s Take a Message
Andy Walker / Android Authority Pixel 8a
... continue reading