The recent Sony Xperia Z4 unveiling raised more eyebrows than interest, but a new Xperia Z5 may already be in the cards for later this year.

After the highly-anticipated Sony Xperia Z4 flagship smartphone was absent from the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015, subsequent reports reassured fans that the handset would nonetheless make its debut shortly.

The Sony Xperia Z4 eventually saw a very quiet launch on April 20, as the company only announced the smartphone for Japan. While some were expecting Sony to make a formal announcement shortly after, offering more details regarding the handset's global launch, the company has still not made any mention of a wider release for the smartphone.

Moreover, the Sony Xperia Z4 was expected to launch as a big upgrade its predecessor, with notable improvements on all fronts, but the new iteration doesn't stray too far from the previous Xperia Z3. The quiet launch, combined with the unimpressive upgrades, led many to believe that the Xperia Z4 may in fact not be the company's flagship smartphone for 2015.

Adding more fuel to the fire, subsequent leaks revealed an Xperia P2 with very similar specs to the Xperia Z4. At the same time, a reference spotted on Sony's website suggested that the Xperia Z4 may see an international release as the Xperia Z3+, a name that might better reflect the improvements over the previous iteration.

If all this was not confusing enough, a new leak now indicates that a high-end Sony Xperia Z5 may be en route, possibly launching in the fall of this year or early next year. The next-generation flagship will reportedly boast an improved design, as well as camera module.

If rumored specs turns out to be accurate, the Sony Xperia Z5 will rock a premium metallic design, a QHD display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, and a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM. The smartphone will reportedly feature a Sense ID fingerprint reader, as well as a high-end 21-megapixel rear shooter with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a new IMX230 sensor.

None of these purported specs are confirmed, however, and the Xperia Z5 altogether is still in the rumor state at this point.

The folks over at xperiaz5sony.com, meanwhile, have created a number of concept design renders of the purported Sony Xperia Z5, envisioning what the handset could look like (see image above). The renders do not show an actual product.

As always, it's best to take all leaks and rumors with a hefty grain of salt until the company makes an official announcement, as Sony made no mention of an Xperia Z5 yet.