Another spring is fast approaching, and with it a new crop of smartphones. But if excitement over them seems a little muted this year, it's not just you.

A PCMag survey recently asked more than 1500 people which smartphone launch they most anticipated this year. Apple's launch, in which the company may reveal three iPhones, came in first with 42 per cent. Samsung's Galaxy Note9, which made its debut last week, garnered 24 per cent.

And "None" came in third with 11 per cent; ahead of 7 per cent for Google's Pixel 3. That's a pretty lukewarm welcome for Google's next phone, which is expected to come in October.

While smartphones used to generate a lot of excitement every year, even phones with new features, such as the iPhone X's nearly full-screen front or advanced biometric scanners, have failed to reignite the excitement of a few years ago. The average time people wait to upgrade their phones continues to grow further beyond the two year mark.

Smartphone makers are making up for the slower unit sales by charging more per phone; a strategy that worked well for Apple but sent mobile revenue at Samsung down sharply last quarter.