Samsung unveils Galaxy S8, S8+ with virtual assistant Bixby

Samsung Electronics unveiled its Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone as it battles to regain the market leadership it lost to Apple Inc after the embarrassing withdrawal of the fire-prone Note 7s.

Boasting some of the largest wrap-around screens ever made, the long-awaited S8 is the South Korean tech giant's first new premium phone since the Note 7 debacle in October, which wiped out $5.48 billion of profit and helped Apple overtake Samsung as the world's top smartphone maker in the fourth quarter.

Two versions of the Galaxy S8, code-named Dream internally, were launched at a media event in New York on Wednesday, with 6.2-inch (15.75 cm) and 5.8-inch curved screens - the largest to date for Samsung's premium smartphones.