Samsung’s new Direct Voicemail feature is here, and I tried it out

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?

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.

Google introduced a similar feature called Take A Message to its phones last year, so how does Samsung’s attempt compare?

Based on my limited time with Direct Voicemail, the experience is similar to what Google offers with the Pixel. The difference with the Pixel is that it’s easier to activate. When Take a Message is enabled, a Pixel will use it automatically whenever you reject a call, so you don’t need to press a specific button.

I’m also willing to bet the Pixel’s transcriptions will be better. I’ve only used Direct Voicemail a few times so far to see how it all works, and the transcriptions have been spot on, but that was over a solid line with someone speaking clearly. In the past, I’ve found that Samsung’s Text Call, on which this is based, makes a lot of mistakes once you add mumbling or background noise into the mix, while the Pixel doesn’t struggle as much. I’ll have to see if Samsung has improved its transcriptions as I spend more time with the One UI 8.5 beta, but I doubt it will surpass the Pixel.

Will you switch from your old voicemail service to Direct Voicemail when you get One UI 8.5? Or would you rather keep AI away from your call inbox? Let us know in the comments.