iPhone 6
A concept image of Apple's upcoming iPhone 6. MacRumors

iPhone 6 rumours are pouring in on a daily basis at the moment, and the latest one suggests that Apple's big new feature on the smartphone will be an on-screen tactile feedback system.

Haptic feedback is a technology which has been around for some time. In current iPhone models this is limited to the vibration you get when your phone rings or someone messages you on Facebook.

On Android devices you see even more of this, with smartphones and tablets vibrating slightly every time you tap a key on the on-screen keyboard.

However reports from Chinese media suggest that Apple is planning on radically improving this system on the iPhone 6 by using a new "tactile feedback linear motor" which is more intelligent and capable of producing different types of subtle vibrations depending on what is needed in a particular application.

In effect what this means is that Apple's iPhone 6 could allow developers create on-screen buttons which when pressed give users a feeling as if they are pressing a physical button.

The new motorm which the report suggests will be manufacturered by AAC (an existing Apple supplier) and Jinlong Electrical will even be able to "emit different vibrations depending on the area of the touch screen that is being pressed."

The source, speaking to Chinese site Laoyaoba, said that while the motor for the iPhone 5s costs around 35p, the new motor will cost up to three times this amount.

Apple is no stranger to these types of system, with the company granted a 2009 patent for an even more sophisticated haptic feedback system.

The five-year-old patent says Apple's plan is to have a "grid of piezoelectronic actuators that can be activated on command. By fluctuating the frequency of these actuators, the user will "feel" different surfaces as their finger moves across it.

Apple is expected to launch two new iPhone models in September, one with a 4.7in screen and one with a 5.5in screen to address the growing demand for larger screen smartphones which Apple currently doesn't cater for.

Details about the new phones have been emerging with increased regularity in recent weeks, with details about the phone's durable and flexible Sapphire screen among the most prominent reports.

It is difficult to gauge how accurate the reports from this Chinese website are but considering that Apple manufacturers its iPhones in China, and is said to be testing the new device with China's mobile phone networks, there could be some truth in this leak.