SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Samsung debuted its new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus smartphones Wednesday, showing it's willing to fight back after months of getting knocked to the canvas in the debacle that enveloped the Galaxy Note 7.
Both phones come with what Samsung calls its Infinity Display, a curved screen that takes up almost the entire front of the phone. The S8's screen measures 5.8 inches, while the screen of the S8 Plus is 6.2 inches across.
Unlike the iPhone, the S8 has gotten rid of the home button and replaced it with digital display keys that appear when the phone turns on. An optional adapter lets the S8 dock with a display monitor and act like a PC running a modified version of the Android operating system.
The phone also comes with a built-in digital assistant called Bixby. Samsung says that a person will eventually be able to use Bixby to run everything on the phone. For now, though, Bixby just controls Samsung's own apps and some of the S8's functions.
The S8 phones come with 64 gigabytes of built-in storage, but that can be expanded using micro SD cards. Such an option isn't available with the iPhone.
It will take Samsung some time to overcome the embarrassment of the Note 7, which the company recalled after many reports of those phones exploding or catching fire. Whether Samsung can overtake the iPhone's presence in the public mindset remains to be seen.
Apple's next big iPhone update is likely to be in September.
