Microsoft is working on a successor to the Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone, leaked photographs suggest, according to Digital Spy.

Images of a device with a protruding camera similar to the Lumia 1020's 41-megapixel offering have appeared on Chinese auction site TaoBao (via The Verge).

Leaked hardware specs indicate that the mystery phone features a 1920 x 1080 Full HD display and 2GB of RAM, with Windows Phone 8.1 coming preloaded.

The handset appears to have swapped the Lumia 1020's polycarbonate casing for aluminium, but its camera flash is listed as LED, rather than Xenon.

Earlier this month, Microsoft revealed its first post-Nokia handset in the form of the Lumia 535, a mid-range phone aimed at selfie enthusiasts and social media users.

The company is yet to confirm that it is developing a successor to the Lumia 1020.