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Samsung was among the first major techs firm to jump on the smartwatch bandwagon, but its square designs have regularly been criticised for being too clunky.

It's no surprise then that Samsung has filed numerous patents for wrist-worn gadgets with circular faces.

The latest, filed in March last year and awarded this week, details what Samsung calls its 'new design' and reveals a round watch with a sensor in the band.

The patent was filed by the South Korean tech giant in March last year and awarded this week. It reveals what the firm calls its 'new design' and shows a circular face. In the files, a selection of images reveal the front, rear, left and right-side (pictured) views

In the files, titled 'The ornamental design for an electronic device, as shown and described' images reveal the top front, front, rear, left, and right-side views.

It resembles the rounded design of the Moto 360, expected 'later this summer' - but was filed before the Moto 360 was officially unveiled.

The patent was also filed before Samsung released its square Galaxy Gear and Gear range of watches, so it is unclear if a round watch is in the making, or was only proposed.  

In a number of the images in the latest patent, a sensor can be seen fitted to the wristband.

This could be a camera, similar to the one built into the top panel on the Gear 2, or a heart rate sensor, as seen on the rear of the Galaxy S5 phone.

In a number of the images in the latest patent, a sensor can be seen fitted to the wristband (pictured). This could be a camera, similar to the one built into the top panel on the Gear 2, or a heart rate sensor

The Samsung patent images resemble the rounded design of the Moto 360 (pictured), expected 'later this summer' - but the patent was filed before the Moto 360 was officially unveiled

The patent doesn't reveal any specifics of the device, but previous patents and products suggest what it may feature.

For example, it's likely any rounded watch will run either Tizen or Android Wear. 

Samsung's Gear 2, for example, runs on the former, while the Gear Live is powered by the latter.

It could also be the first standalone Samsung smartwatch to not need a phone to work.

Elsewhere, the watch could be controlled using gestures, detected by sensors built into the wrist-worn device, as seen in a patent published in May.

These sensors could recognise flicks, waves and other movements, and the files claimed a depth sensor, when combined with a camera, for example, could be used to detect what a user is pointing at.

The patent doesn't reveal any specifics of the device, but previous patents suggest what it may feature. For example, the watch could be controlled using gestures and image recognition (pictured), as seen in a patent published in May. Built-in sensors could recognise flicks, waves and other movements

Samsung already has four smartwatches on the market, including the Galaxy Gear (pictured left) powered by Google's Android operating system, and the Gear 2 (pictured right) powered by Tizen. Meanwhile, the Gear Live is powered by Android Wear. It is unclear which operating system the circular smartwatch will run on