Look what we have here, possibly in the nick of time: it's a newly granted Apple patent for a screen with in-cell touch, where the LCD and touch recognition are integrated into one panel instead of stacking up in separate layers.
The flat panel displays, which make kaleidoscopic colors when jabbed with a finger, contain liquid crystal sandwiched between layers of glass or plastic which becomes opaque with an electric current.
There's also been talk of Apple using a thinner, better panel that would likely use in-cell touch rather than stack the LCD and touch surfaces in separate layers.