South Korean smartphone giant Samsung Electronics will roll out a real-time translation service on calls using AI technology next year, a company representative told AFP on Friday.

Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker accounting for a fifth of global sales between July and September, as Apple trails in second with 16 percent of the market, according to market tracker Counterpoint.

The new real-time translation feature will be incorporated into Samsung's new Galaxy flagship model, which will launch early next year, the representative said.

It will enable "real-time translation in audio and text as the callers are on the line", the spokesman said, adding that it has not been determined how many languages will be supported.

The translation will be enabled even if a call partner uses a non-Samsung smartphone, as the new model will use "on-device AI technology".

Speaking to a foreigner using the new AI feature will be "as simple as turning on closed captions" on streaming shows, Samsung said in a press release, with private conversations safely locked in on the phones.

The unveiling comes as the South Korean firm is racing to develop its generative AI model called Samsung Gauss, which comes in three fields of language, code and image, and is currently used among company staff.

The company will incorporate the AI system into its wide range of products in the near future, it said, without specifying timing or the models.