Foldable devices should be big this year as a number of phone manufacturers are rumored to unveil their malleable devices in 2017 like the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy X. Meanwhile, a patent from LG has recently surfaced and shows a foldable smartphone that transforms into a tablet, according to International Business Times.

The patent shows what looks like two smartphones put together like a clamshell that's held with a flexible screen on the outside, unlike Samsung's device where the screen is inside, therefore it is usable when the device is folded or not. It's a 5.5-inch smartphone when it's folded and becomes a 7-inch tablet when unfolded.

The display is one seamless piece that wraps around the device, which means when it is folded, the device is capable of displaying relevant buttons on its side such as pause, stop and play buttons for playing videos. Although it should have some type of touch-detection software that stop users from mistakenly hitting such buttons while using it as a smartphone.

According to Tech Radar, thousands of patents are submitted, but most of them never came to fruition. In this case, tech junkies are simply seeing LG's vision of a folding device. Their patent was filed 18 months ago which may suggest that LG could be turning its own concept into reality if it started working on the device since then.

It is speculated, however, that both LG and Samsung plan to produce 100,000 foldable phones each by the end of this year. Users will just have to wait and see if LG will make any official announcement in the near future.

What do you think of LG's patent for a folding device? Write and share your thoughts down below the comment section.