Apple Inc. has been going the distance to upgrade its slew of products, especially because sales in the last few quarters haven't been stellar. To increase profits, it seems the company is pulling all the stops for the latest iPad Pro in order to change the way people view the stylus.

A new patent application called "Touch Implement with Haptic Feedback for Simulating Surface Texture," invented by Jason Lor, Patrick A. Carroll and Dustin J. Verhoeve for Apple was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office recently.

A part of the pattent application's abstract reads: "A touch implement may include one or more controllers coupled to one or more haptic devices and one or more sensors that detect when the touch implement contacts a surface. The controller may provide haptic feedback via the haptic device(s) to simulate a texture of the surface when the touch implement is in contact. In some cases the texture may correspond to a texture displayed on the surface whereas in other implementations the texture may be unrelated to the appearance of the surface. "

The International Business Times recalled a related patent application called the "Texture Capture Stylus and Method," which also features a stylus but it uses an image sensor to produce a photo that will then be displayed on the screen of a device.

Not much is known about the iPad Pro, however, CNet reported that it is due for an autumn release, possibly alongside the iPad Air 3 and the iPad Mini 4.

As for its design, Apple Insider thinks that the next iPad will feature the 12.9-inch touchscreen, which is significantly larger that the Mini 3 (7.9-inches) and the Air 2 (9.7 inches). For its operating system, CNet noted that the iPad Pro will work on iOS 9, the next major update for Apple's mobile operating systems.

Apple Insider added that the iPad Pro could come with a high-resolution screen: a 2,732 x 2048-pixel display that matched with the iPad Air 2. Apple may also incorporate the Force Touch, which could be the one that was recently published by the Patent and Trademark office.

Other features of the iPad Pro, according to Mac Rumors, is the possibility that it may include NFC, which makes it capable of working with Apple Pay. This can, in turn, be a payment terminal for small businesses.

There is no price tag attached to the iPad Pro at the moment, although Gotta Be Mobile reckons that it should cost slightly higher than the iPad Air 2, which starts at around $600.

These rumors, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. Until the company itself confirms the specs and features of their latest iPad model, all we can do is wait.