Images purporting to show Samsung's forthcoming folding phone have leaked via Weibo, giving us a good look at the design of Samsung's second-gen Galaxy Fold.

Rumours about a new format of folding phone have been circulating for some time, with suggestions that this device - possibly carrying the product code SM-F700 - will be positioned slightly lower than the existing book-style Galaxy Fold, perhaps in line with the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy S11 when it launches.

The clamshell design has inherent advantages over the version of Galaxy Fold that's already available: it gives you a more compact phone to slip into your pocket so it's better for portability, as well as having that retro charm to it.

It's the approach that Motorola has taken with the new Razr folding phone and while we love the Galaxy Fold's big display, that's only really useful when you can use it two-handed; with the clamshell folder, you'll have a much better experience one-handed.

While it immediately looks like a Samsung phone, it perhaps won't blow anyone away when it comes to the design. The punch hole camera is great for avoiding a notch, but those thick bezels around the display make it look a little dated from these images.

The external shot shows a small notification display on the exterior alongside a dual camera. It's not clear if the outside surfaces do anything else. The Motorla Razr has a smaller display on the outside that can do a range of things, but from these images, it looks like you're only going to get that small notification display instead. 

With all that said, there's no word about authenticity here: there's no indication that this is a production model and any phone that Samsung releases could be very different in design.

Rumours do suggest that this phone is going to get launched alongside the Galaxy S11 family and that's likely to happen on 18 February at an event in San Francisco.