A mysterious foldable phone that snaps shut like a flip phone has appeared on Chinese social media, and people are saying it's Samsung's successor to the Galaxy Fold

• A new set of leaked photos showing a phone with a foldable screen that shuts vertically like a flip phone has surfaced on Chinese social media, and a reliable leaker says this could be Samsung's next foldable phone.
• The design resembles Motorola's recently announced Razr, which looks like a flip phone but with a bendable screen.
• The leak comes after a report from Bloomberg said that Samsung was working on two new foldable phones, including one that folds vertically like the one pictured in the reported leak.
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Samsung just launched the nearly $2,000 Galaxy Fold in September, but there has already been plenty of speculation about it's next foldable smartphone. Now, we might have an idea of what the phone could look like thanks to newly leaked photos that recently surfaced on a Chinese social media website.

The photos, which were shared on Twitter by reliable leaker Ice Universe, show a phone that snaps shut similar to a flip phone. The phone resembles Motorola's $1,500 revival of the Razr it announced in November, which features a clamshell design with a bendable screen that folds shut vertically.

When closed, the device displays the time and other information in the bottom corner of the device's cover. Like the new Razr, it opens vertically to reveal a single, foldable screen that bends in half near the middle.

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Samsung said it does not comment on rumors or speculation when contacted by Business Insider.

There isn't any visible branding on the device indicating it's a Samsung phone, except for the Samsung Pay app shown on the phone's screen. But it's worth noting that the Ice Universe Twitter account has published credible information about upcoming Samsung devices in the past. Before the Galaxy S10 was unveiled in February, the account correctly posted the screen sizes of all four variants of Samsung's latest flagship device, for example.

If the leaked image turns out to be accurate, it would represent a significant departure from the design approach Samsung has taken with the Galaxy Fold. Samsung's current foldable phone folds like a book and features a 4.6-inch screen on its cover and opens to reveal a larger, tablet-sized, 7.3-inch display. The images of the new foldable phone Samsung is said to be working on show what appears to be a regular smartphone that folds in half to become more compact.

It's also not the first time reports have indicated that Samsung is already working on its successor to the Galaxy Fold. Back in March, Bloomberg reported that Samsung has been working on two new foldable phones: one that folds vertically like the one pictured in the supposed leak, and another that folds out similar to Huawei's Mate X.

In Chinese social media, Samsung's next-generation Galaxy Fold phone was leaked.
Source: @ 王 奔 宏 pic.twitter.com/f69FAbYGxX

- Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 19, 2019