Samsung launches the Galaxy S8 with its own Apple Siri rival called Bixby. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 on Wednesday.
It's latest flagship smartphone boasting a new voice assistant and larger display as the technology titan looks to steal a march on Apple and regain ground after the embarrassing Note 7 saga.
The device comes in two models with different screen sizes - the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus.
Some of the key features of the device include a so-called "infinity display", giving the device a bezel-less curved edge and a 12 megapixel back camera.
The Galaxy S8 is potentially one of Samsung's most important device launches of recent times as it faces stiff competition from the likes of Apple and Huawei, a maturing smartphone market, and seeks to make the Note 7 episode - in which it was forced to recall and discontinue the smartphone because they were catching fire - a distant memory.
"With the Samsung Galaxy S8 breaking design boundaries and with high expectations for a significant upgrade to the iPhone to mark the product's tenth anniversary, 2017 could be the year that sees smartphones emerge from an innovation slumber."
"Meet Bixby"
Samsung also revealed Bixby, A smart voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri. It will be able to answer questions you ask, but Samsung highlighted how it's different. One use case involved taking a picture of a monument and Bixby being able to tell you information about this as well as recommendations of restaurants nearby. Another example allowed a user to ask Bixby to bring up all the photos taken in London.
While Bixby's functions will be limited at the beginning, functionality will grow. To this end, Samsung Connect was also launched. It's an app that allows users to control a number of internet-connected home devices such as TVs or refrigerators. Bixby will launch with the ability to understand American English and Korean. Samsung is working with partners to allow Bixby to control other apps and appliances.
Bixby could give Samsung the ability to differentiate its device versus other Android players and Apple, analysts said, which could drive sales. "Voice is the easiest way to interact with the phone, you can just ask, and you don't need to go through apps. Those who are able to provide the best experience will win this game, "If you are engaged, and used to use something like Siri and it gives you a good experience, you will buy an iPhone. If Bixby is better than Siri there is more chance for Samsung to sell more phones."
"Turn your phone into a PC"
The South Korean electronics giant also unveiled a new feature called Dex. It's a device that users can dock a Galaxy S8 on, then plug into a monitor or TV, effectively turning it into a PC. It runs a version of Google's Android operating system optimized for a larger screen. Samsung also said several apps such as Google's YouTube were optimized for the bigger screen. A Samsung Galaxy S8 sits in the docking station called Dex. It can be connected to a monitor or TV effectively turning it into an Android-run PC.
Samsung also used its launch event to unveil a new Gear 360 camera which allows users to film 360-degree video and broadcast this to sites such as YouTube or Facebook.
"Beyond the S8, Samsung is building a compelling range of additional accessories such as the its Gear smartwatches, Gear 360 camera and Gear VR headset
which all serve to enhance consumer perceptions of the S8 at a complete package"