Apple is working on folding iPhone ‘which could transform into an iPad’

Apple is secretly working on a revolutionary folding iPhone – which could unfold into a larger iPad-style device.

Apple is already working with Korean firm LG on the technology behind the device, a foldable display which bends over like a sheet of paper, according to Korean sources.

Korean site The Investor reports that LG Display is developing a foldable OLED screen for the new model, which could be in production by 2020.

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Another firm, LG Innotek, is working on a rigid but flexible printed circuit board for the gadget.

Samsung has said that it will release it’s own ‘smartlet’ – a phone which unfolds into a tablet – by next year.

Koh Dong-jin president of mobile business confirmed the move in a media day for the Galaxy Note 8 in Seoul.

Koh said the company aims to release a smartphone with a bendable display in 2018.

He told Boy Genius Report, ‘We will launch the device only after overcoming a series of technological barriers.’

Previous reports suggested that both Samsung and LG are planning to launch devices which ‘unfold’ into larger screens – allowing users to keep a tablet-style device in a pocket, according to the Korea Herald.

Apple also quietly patented a foldable iPhone concept, filing on August 28, last year – detailing a device which uses ‘carbon nanotubes’ to allow the screen to fold while still working.