Samsung Galaxy S9 could be revealed much earlier than expected, at CES 2018 in January

Its predecessor was only released in April

A Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphone is pictured at the introduction of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones during the Samsung Unpacked event in New York City, United States March 29, 2017 (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

Samsung could reveal the Galaxy S9 as soon as January, it has been reported.

The handset is set to follow in the footsteps of the impressive S8, which launched in March.

Samsung tends to wait roughly 12 months before updating its flagships, but the company appears to be hurrying things along this time around.

The S9 and S9+ will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, according to VentureBeat. However, they might not officially launch until March, at a completely separate event.

If the report proves accurate, the initial January unveiling could be a rather strange affair. After all, Samsung wouldn’t want to say too much before the March event.

The report adds that the S9 and S9+ will both have 64GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot and a headphone jack, but the two models will differ by more than just screen size.

The larger 6.2-inch version will offer 6GB of RAM and two rear cameras, it says, while the smaller 5.8-inch variant will come with 4GB of RAM and a single rear sensor.

However, they’re still expected to look very similar to their predecessors.

Though the S8 and S8+ are two of the best-looking phones on the market, it’s still slightly disappointing to hear that Samsung is unlikely to introduce any major design changes.

One thing that should change, however, is the position of the fingerprint scanner.

Instead of lying right next to the camera sensor, as it does on the S8 and S8+, it will instead sit beneath it, which should make it much easier to feel out with your finger.