The goal is clear, and Apple wants to be the first

It’s been obvious for a while that tactile feedback is important to any human being that hasn’t lost their sense of touch.  Apple, the multinational consumer electronics corporation has frantically been writing patents and experimenting with new methods of enhancing tactility on touch-screens.  The fruit loving fiends that gave us the iphone have recently filed a few patents that describe varying arrangements for accomplishing the aforementioned goal.  One of these tools would be through the use of an articulating frame below display capable keys that allow the user to feel resistance when applying pressure.  The frame could be accomplished with silicon or spring based membranes.  Apple’s also playing around with the idea of pressure-sensitivity; i.e. touchpads that explore the varying use of force as a means of prompting various commands or controls; a concept similar to the pressure sensitivity of a musical keyboard. 
Once Apple has effectively cornered the market on tactile touch screens, they’ll be turning their attention to devices that freeze time and allow users to walk freely between here and the world of the dead.