Samsung took the wraps off its latest flagship smartphones, Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, stating they are “made for an age in which consumers increasingly communicate and express themselves more with images, videos and emojis”.

“The way we use our smartphones has changed as communication and self-expression has evolved,” DJ Koh, president and head of the IT & Mobile Communications business at Samsung, said.

Samsung opted not to launch its flagship Galaxy S device at Mobile World Congress last year, as it recovered from the battery safety issues which impacted its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in 2016.

But the Galaxy S8, launched in March 2017, was well received, with its edge-to-edge screen a particularly strong feature which carries over into the new smartphones.

Unveiling its devices at an event tonight, the South Korean company said the camera has been redesigned with a new dual aperture lens which delivers improved low-light images and supports “super slow-mo” video, with video capture at 960 frames per second.

Another new feature is AR Emoji, which lets users create an emoji that looks, sounds and acts like them, using machine learning to turn a 2D image of the user into a 3D model which reflects and imitates expressions.

Both devices include what is described as a “super speed dual pixel” 12MP camera, while on the larger S9+ this is joined by a second 12MP telephoto lens.

Away from the camera, Galaxy S9 and S9+ include stereo speakers tuned by AKG with Dolby Atmos support. Galaxy S9 has a 5.8-inch quad HD screen, while Galaxy S9 Plus has a 6.2-inch quad HD display.

The devices will be available from mid-March 2018 in “select markets”, in black, grey, blue and lilac versions.