We've been among the first to get our hands on the new phone, released on the first day of Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Sunday, and here's our first impressions.

Just minutes after getting my hands on Samsung's latest flagship S Series smartphone, one fact was abundantly clear - if you weren't fond of the Galaxy S8 and S8+, then you're going to have similar feelings about the S9 and S9+.

Super Slow-mo mode is great (when it works; One of the best Android cameras out there; Build quality is superb

Looks the same as the S8/S8; Glossy body isn't for everyone; AR Emoji are lacklustre

Samsung's Galaxy S9 is a strange breed of smartphone. With a Snapdragon 845 processor, great camera, and 18:9 screen, it has all the trappings of a fantastic 2018 handset. Yet, at the same time, it's remarkably similar to the Galaxy S8 that it replaces.

The nice thing about the Galaxy S9 and S9+ is that they hold very few mysteries. Go back to our review of the S8 twins last year, and the majority of what you'll read there applies here. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were great phones, and the S9 and S9+ are better versions of them.

Display An absolutely brilliant screen - the best on any smartphone out there; Amazing brightness, colors, and viewing angles, Fingerprint scanner The fingerprint scanner is back in a location where it won't give you constant frustration.

So much glass I mean, this should be obvious - the Galaxy S9 looks kind of fragile; There's a lot of glass on this phone; Use a case, Updates Even with Project Treble, Samsung still avoids committing to a period of Android OS updates, let alone timely ones, for its flagship handsets.

When Samsung Galaxy S9 rumours started circulating, all of them share one common point: it's more of the same. Often times, it does sound like it's a bad thing.

Display: 5.8-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display; CPU: Samsung Exynos 9810 Octa-Core Mobile CPU; RAM/Storage: 4GB/64GB; Cameras: Dual Aperture 12-Megapixels with Super Speed Dual Pixel and OIC (Rear); 8-Megapixels f/1.7 (Front; Sound: AKG-tuned Stereo Speakers with Dolby Atmos and UHQ 32-bit...

Antutu: 241266; PCMark Work 2.0: 5302; 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 3208 (OpenGL); 2799 (Vulkan; 3DMark Sling Shot: 3763; GeekBench: 3418 (Single); 8759 (Multi

In some ways, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is a serious step up from last year's flagship phone. In particular, its new 12-megapixel f/1.5 rear camera performs far better in low light than its predecessor. Its new Exynos 9810 processor also promises significantly faster performance.

Samsung hasn't made any drastic changes to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ compared to their predecessors, and the company didn't really need to do much. Last year's design is still stunning, and now, it's a little more polished.

Last year Samsung didn't unveil a Galaxy smartphone at MWC 17, instead focusing on its manufacturing standards and unveiling the Galaxy S8 a couple of months later. The move proved a smart one, with the Galaxy S8 taking top spot in our books as the best phone of the year.

Impressive design; Bright and crisp display; Great all round camera; High powered processor

Bixby still meh; Not a huge step up from S8

Does this AR emoji look like me? Kinda I wasn't wearing a stitch of makeup when I took this photo Check out those curves The Galaxy S9's dimensions hits the sweet spot The Lilac purple color option really stands out The Samsung Galaxy S9 retails for $719.99 unlocked in the US.

Let's not beat around the bush, the exterior of the Samsung Galaxy S9 is essentially a carbon copy of the S8 . Yet, even with all that sameness, Samsung's balanced no-notch design seems more considered than before. It doesn't feel needy like a lot of the new iPhone X copycat handsets I saw at MWC.

Way better performance; battery life; and low-light photos AR Emojis aren't all they are cracked up to be

AR Emojis aren't all they are cracked up to be