The Galaxy S9 and S9+ improve upon the best Android phones of last year in several key ways, including performance, low-light photography and slow-motion video recording. The displays are also brighter than the S8 and S8+, while the stereo speakers are louder and you still get long battery life...

Every year the Samsung Galaxy flagship is the most anticipated Android device. And Samsung does enough every year not to disappoint hardcore fans and to show direction to the rest of the industry. This year it has launched the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.

All of which brings this review of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus to a rather spongy, limp end. Don't get me wrong, I do like the S9 Plus. It's a great phone with two great cameras that shoot fabulous photos and video.

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ is possibly the most fully-featured smartphone on the market. It offers out-of-the-box functionality that exceeds most other devices. It's one of the leaders of a new generation of hardware, pushing one of the nicest quality designs with one of the best displays around.

New speakers are amazing; Great camera performance in low light; Great design and display; Out-of-the-box functionality surpasses rivals; 3.5mm headphone socket

You might never find all the features; Display can crush shadows in movies; Camera could be better with HDR; Price

Update: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is now available. Here's what we thought of the newest Android phone with a large screen.

Impressive low-light camera; Better-placed fingerprint sensor; Loud stereo speakers

Not all that different to S8 Plus; AR Emoji mode is overrated; Pricey for 0.4 in of extra screen

Improving on an already near-perfect phone was always going to be difficult for Samsung, but the Galaxy S9 Plus has fixed the select few problems we had with last year's Trusted Reviews Phone of the Year.

Feels great for a big phone; The OLED display is great and highly customisable; Numerous camera features on offer

Iterative upgrade; AR Emoji are just bad; Some lag with Samsung's software

The Galaxy S9+ is undoubtedly an excellent phone and improves on the S8+ with its blazing-fast internals and variable aperture camera. However, as it's £100 more expensive than its predecessor, potential buyers might find themselves opting for last year's model instead.

Gorgeous design and screen; excellent camera; blazing-fast performance

Average battery life; 'Intelligent Scan' is glitchy; duplicate apps; Bixby still needs work

Though it'd be easy to talk down Samsung's bold claim that the new Galaxy S9 and S9+ "reimagine" the camera, it's hard to argue that putting that particular aspect of their latest flagship smartphone front-and-center isn't a savvy move by the South Korean tech giant.

Great camera for both stills and video; Infinity Display still great

Battery life; Bixby still kinda mediocre; Your mileage may vary on AR emojis

After the launch of Apple's 10 th anniversary iPhone X , all eyes were on Samsung to check whether the Korean smartphone giant could deliver a smartphone that could one-up Apple's new Face ID technology along with its edge-to-edge display, which also introduced the annoying notch.

The Galaxy S9+ is an iterative update, but that doesn't stop it from grabbing the top spot, at least as far as Android phones are considered.

Dual Aperture camera; Astoundingly bright display; Superior build quality

AR Emoji; Cluttered UI