A purported leaked image of Motorola's 2016 Moto X smartphone has appeared online, and it hints at a radical departure from its predecessors, Digital Spy report.s

The image that surfaced on Chinese site cnBeta reveals a handset with an all-metal design, suggesting the firm is bringing premium class to its flagship.

Other sweeping changes include an elongated camera lens that protrudes outwards and relocated speakers that now appear low down on the rear.

Some specs details were included in the leak, with next year's Moto X mooted to include a fingerprint scanner and a Snapdragon 820 processor.

It is unclear whether the jump to an all-metal design would disqualify the handset from Moto Maker customization, which would be a surprise move given that it is one of the main selling points of the earlier models.