Your move, iPhone. The smartphone wars are on: Talking Tech

LOS ANGELES — If it’s April, it’s time for the first battle of the 2017 smartphone wars.

Samsung released its latest state-of-the-art phones to take on longtime rival Apple with two re-designed Galaxy’s. Critically lauded as the best models ever from Samsung, they are also the biggest phones ever from the Korean company, with 5.8 inch and 6.2 inch screens. And they pack a lot into those screens by minimizing the bezels, or frames.

That's raised the stakes for Apple, which in June will release many new software enhancements for its iOS operating system, giving a sneak peek into what’s expected in the new iPhone.

The third act is in September, with the release of the new 10th anniversary editor of the iPhone, and the all-important fourth quarter selling season.

Samsung is recovering from its debacle last year when its well-received Note 7's batteries caused some phones to overheat and catch fire. The consumer complaints, the photos and the price tag were ugly. That phone got recalled, and Samsung says it learned many lessons in manufacturing and design.

As gaga as critics have been for the new Galaxy's, just wait for September. This year happens to be the 10th anniversary of the first iPhone, and Apple is expected to milk the occasion big time with one totally redesigned model. The iPhone 8, if that’s what it ends up being called, could follow in Samsung’s footsteps with a way bigger screen, and is expected to jump on the Augmented Reality bandwagon — the theme of Facebook's F8 developer conference this week — with new AR features and a dramatically improved camera. Meanwhile, the current iPhone 7 and 7S are expected to keep their current form factor, but get hardware upgrades as well.