The Huawei Ascend W2, the company's latest Windows Phone 8 effort, just leaked online in a press render that gives a first "official" look.

The Ascend W1 was Huawei's very first Windows Phone 8 effort and it's not even six months old yet, but it mostly went unnoticed after delaying its debut a couple of times. The Ascend W1 packed modest, low-end specs, but it now seems the company is already gearing up to launch its second-generation Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

The sequel to the Huawei Ascend W1 generated plenty of rumors over the past few months, as it is expected to be a major upgrade both in terms of design and features. The Huawei Ascend W2 is not official yet, but this is the first time a press render of the handset actually surfaces.

The leak surfaced courtesy of notorious tipster @evleaks, who has an excellent reputation when it comes to leaking unannounced devices. The tipster posted a high-resolution press photo of the new Windows Phone 8-powered handset. While it's not exactly official, the image looks quite legitimate.

The first thing that draws attention is that the purported Huawei Ascend W2 seems larger than its predecessor and sports a much more stylish look, boasting slightly rounded corners, a fairly slim profile and an interesting blue glow around its three capacitive buttons.

On the other hand, the bezels appear rather massive, which may spoil the look for some. The leaked press render also suggests the display of the Huawei Ascend W2 may be 4.5-inch, not the previously rumored 4.3-inch screen. This means the Ascend W2 might get to play in the same league as the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 handset.

Windows Phone 8 really needs a hit device to represent the platform, but the Huawei Ascend W2 is likely not it. According to previous leaks, the screen will only be 720p, while under the hood the Ascend W2 will pack the same dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and just 1GB of RAM. The handset would also reportedly have 16GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a fairly promising 2,800 mAh battery. Considering the monster smartphones currently taking over the market, however, Huawei's new effort doesn't really sound like a spearhead Windows 8 device.

The Huawei Ascend W2 Windows Phone 8 smartphone is expected to come below the $300 mark, which means it's aimed at WP8 fans looking for an inexpensive update. It remains unclear just when the new smartphone will make it to the market, as nothing is official for now.