Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ Launched With Bixby Virtual Assistant, Infinity Display

Both models have larger displays, meaning more drain on the battery. Samsung says that software and processor efficiencies will let the new phones offer all-day battery life under normal use. (Photo: AP)

Samsung on Wednesday launched its new flagship devices Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus at an event in New York.

The front camera is getting a boost to 8 megapixels, from 5 megapixels, while the rear one stays at 12 megapixels. (Photo: AP)

Samsung claims its new voice assistant, Bixby, will do much more than rivals from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. For one thing, Samsung says Bixby will be able to handle any smartphone task currently managed by touch. (Photo: AP)

Both S8 models are taller than their predecessors, but widths are roughly the same to preserve one-handed use. (Photo: AP)

The S8 Plus will be 6.2 inches, compared with S7 Edge's 5.5 inches and the Note 7's 5.7 inches. (Photo: AP)

The S8 phone's display measures 5.8 inches diagonally, compared with 5.1 inches on the S7. (Photo: AP)

Both phones feature a memory card slot to supplement 64 gigabytes of built-in storage. The S8 will get an iris scanner to let people unlock the phone by looking at it

But there is no increase in battery capacity, providing the battery more breathing room

The Galaxy S8 features a larger display than its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, and sports a voice assistant intended to rival Siri and Google Assistant.