Is that what the Samsung Galaxy S5 will look like?

Samsung could be about to ditch nature and shake up its smartphone design if a new patent is any indication.

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 now a few months old - and a slew of S4 variants out the door - it's little surprise that we're hearing rumblings of what could be next.

The patent images, unearthed by Patent Bolt, show off a rectangular shape but with edges that are slanted. All in all, it looks a little bit more in line with the HTC One, moving away from Samsung's current nature-inspired look.

Brand new galaxy

Samsung applied for the patents in 2012 in the US and 2011 in South Korea, so they're not all that new and there's nothing here to indicate when, or indeed if, such a handset might materialise.

But Samsung was no doubt thinking about its S4 follow-up during that time. Or, this could even be for a possible variant of the S4, though we'd say that's less likely given the design overhaul.

And let's not discount the Samsung Galaxy Note series either, although the design doesn't agree with the Galaxy Note 3 leaks we've been seeing.

We'd previously heard rumours that the Galaxy S5 could be the first Samsung phone with a fully aluminium chassis although these new patents give no indication of the materials that could be used on the new handset.

But throw this new patent into the bag and we might be getting a vague idea of where Samsung is heading.