At Apple’s highly anticipated “Awe Dropping” event on 9 September 2025, the tech giant unveiled a slew of new products & features, including the iPhone 17 series (with the all-new iPhone Air), Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, & AirPods Pro 3. Held at its Cupertino headquarters, the event generated significant buzz around hardware refinements & incremental AI updates. However, several showcased features have been available on Samsung devices for some time. From live translation in earbuds to AI-powered functionalities, Samsung has been setting the pace in these areas, whilst Apple’s recent innovations, including its much-touted Apple Intelligence, appear to be playing catch-up. This article explores the key features Apple promoted at its latest event & how Samsung has long offered similar capabilities in its Galaxy ecosystem.
Live Translation: AirPods Pro 3 vs Galaxy Buds
One of the standout features Apple highlighted for the AirPods Pro 3 was Live Translation, a capability that allows users to hear real-time translations of in-person conversations directly through their earbuds. Powered by Apple Intelligence & iOS 26, this feature enables users to communicate across select languages (such as English, French, German, Portuguese, & Spanish) by translating speech into the user’s preferred language in their earbuds, whilst the iPhone displays or speaks the translated response for the other party. Apple positioned this as a transformative tool for travel, work, & cross-lingual communication, available in beta with the AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2, & AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).
However, Samsung has offered a similar feature, called Live Translate, on its Galaxy Buds series since early 2024. Compatible with devices like the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold6, & Galaxy Z Flip6, Samsung’s Live Translate works through the Galaxy Wearable app & Galaxy AI suite, enabling real-time translation during phone calls & in-person conversations. Users can hear translations through their Galaxy Buds, Buds Pro, or Buds FE, with the phone displaying or speaking the translated text for the other party. Unlike Apple’s implementation, which requires specific AirPods models with the H2 chip, Samsung’s feature supports a broader range of its earbuds & works offline with pre-downloaded language packs, offering greater versatility for users in areas with limited connectivity.
Samsung’s Interpreter Mode, another Galaxy AI feature, further enhances this capability by providing split-screen translations for in-person conversations, making it a robust tool for multilingual interactions. Whilst Apple’s Live Translation is a welcome addition, it’s not a novel concept, as Samsung has been refining this technology for over a year, with support for 13 languages & counting.
Apple Intelligence vs Galaxy AI: A Delayed Promise
Apple’s event also emphasised Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI platform, which powers features like Live Translation, Workout Buddy for fitness motivation, & visual intelligence for tasks like calendar integration. However, Apple Intelligence was notably understated during the event, with CEO Tim Cook focusing more on hardware improvements than AI as a consumer-facing feature. Reports suggest Apple is still catching up in the AI race, with some of its promised features from WWDC 2025, such as advanced Siri upgrades, delayed or scaled back—pushing key capabilities like enhanced Siri to 2026.
In contrast, Samsung’s Galaxy AI, introduced with the Galaxy S24 series in late 2023, has been a cornerstone of its ecosystem for nearly two years. Galaxy AI powers a wide range of features, including Live Translate, Interpreter Mode, Chat Assist for message tone-checking, Transcript Assist for multilingual summaries, & Circle to Search for translating on-screen content. These tools are deeply integrated across Samsung’s flagship devices, including the Galaxy S25, Z Fold7, & Z Flip7, & are available both on-device & via the cloud, with offline functionality for many features. Samsung’s head start in AI development has allowed it to offer a more mature & versatile suite compared to Apple Intelligence, which is still in beta & limited to select devices & languages. Features like Magic Cue—proactively surfacing information across apps—& advanced photo search via Google Gemini integration feel futuristic, leaving Apple’s current offerings, like basic Genmoji, several steps behind.
iPhone Air vs Galaxy S25 Edge: The Thin Phone Race
Apple’s introduction of the iPhone Air, a 5.5mm-thick model billed as the thinnest iPhone ever, was a headline-grabbing moment at the event. Marketed as a sleek addition to the iPhone 17 lineup at $999, it aims to compete in the ultrathin smartphone market with a 6.5-inch display & Ceramic Shield 2 protection.
However, Samsung beat Apple to the punch with the Galaxy S25 Edge, launched in May 2025, which measures just 5.4mm thick—0.2mm slimmer than the iPhone Air. Samsung’s device also integrates bold AI features &, in some configurations, foldable screen technology, offering a unique form factor that Apple’s iPhone Air does not match. Whilst Apple’s design is undeniably elegant, Samsung’s earlier entry into the thin-phone market & its incorporation of foldable displays in devices like the Galaxy Z Fold7 & Z Flip7 demonstrate a more ambitious approach to hardware innovation. Apple’s rumoured foldable iPhone, expected in 2026, suggests it’s still a year behind Samsung in this space.
Vapour Chamber Cooling: iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy Devices
The iPhone 17 Pro & Pro Max introduced a vapour chamber cooling system to manage heat dissipation during high-performance tasks like gaming & video capture. This marks a shift from Apple’s traditional graphite-based cooling, aligning with high-end Android competitors. The vapour chamber, combined with an aluminium frame, enhances thermal performance, preventing throttling & supporting demanding workloads.
Samsung, however, has implemented vapour chamber cooling in its flagship devices since the Galaxy S20 series (2020). Models like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Z Fold6, & S25 Edge use advanced vapour chambers to dissipate heat from high-performance chips, enabling sustained performance during gaming & multitasking. Samsung’s cooling systems have been optimised for foldable devices, which face unique thermal challenges due to their compact designs, giving Samsung a five-year head start over Apple’s adoption of this technology.
Camera Systems: 48MP Across the Board vs Samsung’s High-Resolution Sensors
The iPhone 17 series features a 48MP Fusion Main camera, a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera, & an 18MP Center Stage front camera across all models, with the Pro models adding a 48MP telephoto lens supporting 4x-8x optical zoom. These upgrades enable advanced computational photography & macro photography, powered by an updated image signal processor (ISP).
Samsung has offered high-resolution camera sensors for years, with the Galaxy S23 Ultra (2023) & S24 Ultra (2024) featuring a 200MP main camera using the ISOCELL HP2 sensor. This allows for greater detail & cropping flexibility compared to Apple’s 48MP sensors, which are only now catching up in resolution but lack the pixel density of Samsung’s offerings. The Galaxy S25 series continues this trend, with a 200MP main sensor & a 50MP ultra-wide lens, outpacing Apple’s ultra-wide camera in resolution. Additionally, Samsung’s periscope telephoto lenses, introduced in the Galaxy S20 Ultra (2020), have offered 5x-10x optical zoom, surpassing Apple’s 8x zoom cap until the iPhone 17 Pro’s recent upgrade.
Health & Fitness Features: Apple Watch & AirPods vs Galaxy Wearables
Apple showcased health-focused updates, including heart rate tracking on the AirPods Pro 3 & blood pressure monitoring on the Apple Watch Series 11. The AirPods Pro 3’s heart rate sensor, which uses infrared light to measure blood flow, syncs with the Fitness app to track over 50 workout types, whilst the Apple Watch Series 11 introduces hypertension detection & a sleep score feature (pending FDA clearance). The Apple Watch Ultra 3 adds satellite connectivity & faster charging, with pricing starting at $749.
Samsung, however, has offered similar health features for some time. Galaxy Buds, such as the Buds3 Pro, have included heart rate monitoring since their 2024 release, particularly when paired with compatible Galaxy devices like the S24 or Z Fold6. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series, including the Galaxy Watch7 (2025), has provided blood pressure monitoring & sleep tracking, including detailed sleep scores, for years, with some models receiving FDA clearance for these features well before Apple’s announced plans for FDA approval. Additionally, Samsung’s wearables integrate with the Samsung Health app, which offers broader ecosystem compatibility, including with non-Samsung Android devices, unlike Apple’s ecosystem-locked approach.
Active Noise Cancellation & Audio Quality
Apple touted the AirPods Pro 3’s Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), claiming it removes up to twice the noise of the AirPods Pro 2 & four times that of the original AirPods Pro. The earbuds also feature an updated design for better fit & enhanced spatial audio. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds3 Pro, however, have offered comparable ANC since their 2024 launch, with adaptive noise cancellation that adjusts to environmental sounds like alarms or sirens. The Buds3 Pro also include two-way speakers & planar magnetic tweeters for high-quality audio, supporting up to 24-bit/96kHz over Bluetooth on compatible devices—features that rival or surpass Apple’s spatial audio capabilities.
Foldable Devices: Apple’s Tease vs Samsung’s Dominance
Whilst Apple didn’t unveil a foldable iPhone at the event, analysts suggest the iPhone Air’s ultrathin design sets the stage for a foldable iPhone in 2026, likely adopting a book-style design similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series.
Samsung has been a pioneer in foldable smartphones since the Galaxy Fold in 2019, with seven generations of refinement by 2025. The Galaxy Z Fold7 & Z Flip7, launched in mid-2025, feature durable hinges, 7.8-inch inner displays (Fold), & advanced multitasking capabilities powered by Galaxy AI. Samsung’s foldables have consistently offered larger, more versatile displays & productivity features that Apple’s rumoured foldable is only beginning to approach.
Apple’s Catch-Up Game
Whilst Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event showcased impressive hardware & promising AI-driven features, it’s clear that Samsung has been ahead in several key areas. Live Translate, a flagship feature for the AirPods Pro 3, has been a staple in Samsung’s Galaxy Buds since 2024, with broader language support & offline capabilities. Galaxy AI, now nearly two years old, offers a more mature & versatile suite of tools compared to the still-evolving Apple Intelligence. The iPhone Air, though sleek, follows in the footsteps of the Galaxy S25 Edge, & Samsung’s health & fitness features in its wearables have long matched or exceeded those introduced in Apple’s latest devices. Vapour chamber cooling, high-resolution 200MP cameras, & foldable devices have been staples of Samsung’s lineup since 2020 or earlier, whilst Apple is only now adopting these technologies.
Apple’s ecosystem integration & polish remain strong selling points, but Samsung’s earlier adoption of these technologies highlights its leadership in innovation. As Apple continues to roll out Apple Intelligence & refine its offerings, it will need to bring more unique features to the table to close the gap with Samsung’s established advancements. For now, Samsung’s Galaxy devices & wearables continue to set a high bar that Apple is striving to meet.
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