It has been several years since Nokia has announced anything new in the smartphone space, but that could change very soon as a rumor has indicated that the company has a new offering in the works. Importantly, the rumor has indicated that the upcoming smartphone could be an all-metal offering.

Reporting on the rumor about the metal smartphone from Nokia, GSMArena states that images of it were posted on a Chinese social networking site. However, no additional information was provided as part of the leak, so it was difficult to state whether it was authentic or not.

As for Nokia's forced sabbatical from the smartphone business, it was imposed on the company when Microsoft purchased its mobile business. As a result of this take over, Nokia was prevented from releasing new smartphones under its own brand but this particular non-compete agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2015. With the scene set for Nokia to bring out its own smartphones, it appears that the company is planning to go ahead with the release of a metal-bodied option.

Importantly, metal bodied smartphones are all the rage as they are considered to be premium options when compared to those that are made from polycarbonate. Even the Galaxy S6 lineup, which comes with a metal frame and Gorilla Glass 4 on its back panel is considered to be inferior to that of the metal bodied devices in the iPhone lineup. So it is not surprising that many manufacturers, including several from China have, been offering metal-bodied smartphones, with prices starting around $100.

As for the metal-bodied smartphone from Nokia, it could turn out to be the C1, which has been the star of a number of rumors. However, its build was not featured in rumors, but all this changed when images of the supposed phone, along with its plastic antenna lines, arrived.