Before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicked off this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, there was word on the street that Samsung was planning on bringing the Galaxy S9 to the show, and that there might be a bit of a preview for the company's upcoming flagship smartphone. Not a full announcement, of course, but just a tease of what we could expect.

Now that CES 2018 is in full swing, though, it turns out that won't be the case. Instead, we got a confirmation from Samsung that it will be officially announcing its newest smartphone(s) in February, and that Mobile World Congress will be the backdrop for the big unveiling.

So we have to wait a bit longer to see how Samsung has capitalized on the Galaxy S8/Galaxy S8+, and see if the company has indeed made any changes to the design of the handsets.

The rumor mill has suggested we will see at least a couple key differences. Namely, the fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S9 will be moved. It will still be on the back of the device, but it will be below the single camera. That will likely make the Galaxy S9 one of the must-have devices in 2018, considering the placement of the fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S8 was a sour point for many.

The other change is the Galaxy S9+'s pair of cameras on the back. As I noted above, the Galaxy S9 is said to boast only one camera on the back, but the Galaxy S9+ is expected to arrive with a dual-camera setup, similar to what Samsung introduced with the Galaxy Note 8 last year. That means the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will have a significant line drawn in the sand this year, unlike previous year. It's a very Apple-like move, for better or worse.

We will see new features, and Samsung will make a worthwhile pitch to sell the Galaxy S9/Galaxy S9+ to potential new customers. After all, Samsung's primary goal is to draw in new fans by drawing them away from other companies. But, they also have to convince current Samsung smartphone owners to upgrade, and stay on brand. They don't want to lose any customers, either.

I know a few people who picked up a Galaxy S8 last year, and I've asked all of them if they are going to upgrade to the Galaxy S9 this year. They all told me yes, but most of them added that their carrier made it easy to do that. If they were still stuck on a two-year contract, then the answer would be a definitive no.

So that's good news for Samsung. But I wanted to broaden the query. If you bought a Galaxy S8 or a Galaxy S8+ last year, are you planning on upgrading to Samsung's new flagship smartphone this year? If so, what's the key factor in your decision? If not, why do you plan on keeping your current daily driver instead of adopting a new one? Let me know!