Apple Says 'Jelly Scrolling' on iPad Mini 6 is Normal Behavior for LCD Screens

[MadeTheSwitch]

Apple is full of crap. None of the iPads I have has ever looked like this. And neither does my LCD phone. I would absolutely return any product that displayed this issue.

I feel like I can trust Apple less and less these days.

 

[Shirasaki]

iPad Pro M1 doesn’t seem to have this jelly issue, partly because of 120Hz refresh rate I think.
With that being said, I can see jelly effect on that video. Its sad that I don’t get the chance to visit apple store in person soon, but fortunate since I didn’t place any order on iPad mini.

Ill keep this in mind and take a closer look after the lockdown is over.

 

[dgdosen]

At first, I couldn't see the jelly effect. Then I took a slo-mo video of scrolling on the mini with my phone.. and now I can see it! Definitely not good.

I can see how it might be a dealbreaker for some people. Luckily, everyone is in their return window. I'm fine with people being demanding of Apple for a 'premium'-priced device.

Here's the way I see it. The 60Hz refresh rate is way more bothersome than this issue. Any 'slanted' appearance in scrolling is much less an issue than the flickering of the content (to me) as it scrolls by. Anyone who's is bothered that much by this should get a 120Hz device or keep their existing device until a vendor makes something that fits your needs.

Also - that thumbnail picture used by mac rumors for this article (with the distorted screen) is very misleading.

 

[Amplelink]

I still don't see the big deal here. Seriously. It's a non-issue for almost anyone out there unless the pickiest of the picky.

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

Apple says normal yet many don’t have the issue. This tells me faulty panels are out there and Apple does not care.

 

[Dustman]

Doesn’t this usually happen from mounting the LCD upside-down?

 

[deevey]

It is most certainly not software related. In theory, software could be used to compensate for the issue, but it would add latency to scrolling. Ultimately the problem lies with Apple switching the display's orientation (or refresh direction, rather) and I'm sure they will have learned from their mistake when the next iteration arrives.

And every landscape user cheers: "AWESOME!"

 

[miamialley]

Yeah that is not normal.

 

[firewood]

My new MacBook Pro does the jelly thing when scrolling sideways.

I wonder if putting the display drivers on the short edge of an LCD saves power or weight or something...

 

[lyngo]

This is ridiculous to make this big of deal about it. My mini 6 does it very slightly. At normal scrolling, you don’t even notice it. The only time I can get it to do it on mine is to wiggle the scrolling up and down fast.

Are you keeping your device then?

 

[sovereign]

Apple is full of crap. None of the iPads I have has ever looked like this. And neither does my LCD phone. I would absolutely return any product that displayed this issue.

I feel like I can trust Apple less and less these days.

I've never seen anything like the wave motion on this Mini 6. I don't have to look for it, or scroll in some particular way for it to be noticeable. Shame this has to go back and no replacement will fix it and probably no new model for another 2.5 years, if that. I even bought a RAM X-Mount for my truck to use with this, already opened and set up so I can't return it. I had no idea Apple could screw this up so badly.

 

[furious]

We got to the point where Apple being in blatant denial is also normal behavior.

Apple is so powerful losing a few thousand customers over this issue is just a rounding error for them. Scary to think corporations have this much power.

 

[EightBitJoe]

The moaning in this thread is why I love Apple products but hate Apple users.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The moaning in this thread is why I love Apple products but hate Apple users.

So if people are unhappy they should just be quiet?

Or what do you recommend?

 

[SilverWalker]

The issue is independent from vsync. It’s not screen tearing. Vsync is always enabled on iPads.

You can reproduce here with a vsynced LCD monitor: https://www.testufo.com/scanskew

Thanks for that link. Interesting. My graphics monitor (Eizo CS2740) shows that skew on the horizontal. It's quite pronounced. But when viewing most content, I've never seen it. Virtically there is no skew at all, which makes sense. My iPad Pro 12.9 (2020) has very very slight skew on the horizontal (in landscape) - which of course is on the virtical plane in portrait (and what people are complaining about on the Mini). But it is almost virtually undetectable (and I am actively looking for it).

Regarding the mini though, while I have not seen one in person, looking at the videos, and reading owner's comments on this, it's clearly quite significant skew. They have obviously posted a quick response that 'all displays have this issue' without really looking at it. I doubt any of Apple's engineers looking at this would really be happy with it. I am sure the bean counters don't want to replace anyone's hardware though. Engineers build the products, but they don't seem to have much sway over how problems are handled. What a shame.

 

[tpfang56]

I still don't see the big deal here. Seriously. It's a non-issue for almost anyone out there unless the pickiest of the picky.

I take offense to that as someone with both sensitive eyes and a sensitive palette 😂.

No but seriously, just like I shouldn’t have to eat food that makes me gag, I shouldn’t have to look at a screen that gives me motion sickness from scrolling.

 

[Fruit Stand]

I read that Apple was planning to shift their iPads to landscape view but I didn't think it was going to be this way 😂

 

[Jensend]

Is the low contrast of LCD's a defect?
Is the loss of brightness with small viewing angle changes a defect?
Is the low refresh rate a defect?
Is the slow pixel switching a defect?
Is the motion blur a defect?

I'm not saying that the jelly scrolling is a complete non-issue, but there are a bunch of characteristics of LCD's that I'd like to see fixed more than the scanning skew. If the display skew bothers you more than all these other things, don't get one. It doesn't mean that it's a defective product.

 

[mhhhh]

iPad mini 6 owners have been complaining about a "jelly scrolling" problem that affects some iPad mini models when using the device in portrait mode, and Apple now says that the behavior is normal for an LCD screen.

"Jelly scrolling" refers to screen tearing, which can cause text or images on one side of the screen to appear to be tilted downwards because of a mismatch in refresh rates. It can cause one side of the display to look as if it's responding faster than the other side, a visual disturbance that's hard to miss once you notice it.

Apple told Ars Technica that jelly scroll is normal behavior for an LCD. The screen is designed to refresh line by line, which can cause a tiny delay between when the lines at the top of the screen and the bottom of the screen are refreshed, resulting in uneven scrolling issues.

As many MacRumors readers have pointed out, the jelly scrolling effect is much more pronounced on the iPad mini 6 than on other iPads that also have an LCD screen like the iPad Air, or even the ninth-generation iPad that was released at the same time.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1440678843589689346

Unfortunately, with Apple calling the issue normal behavior, it means that those who are unhappy with the jelly scrolling effect will likely not be able to get a replacement device from Apple.

iPad mini 6 owners who can't get past the jelly scrolling on their tablets should make sure to make a return or get a replacement within 14 days after purchase during the standard return period. Not all iPad mini devices seem to be experiencing the issue to the same degree, so it may be possible to purchase one that has less of a scrolling delay.

Apple may also issue some kind of software fix in the future to address the problem, even though the company claims that it is normal behavior.

Article Link: Apple Says 'Jelly Scrolling' on iPad Mini 6 is Normal Behavior for LCD Screens

One main reason I buy Apple products is the amazing quality control. Unfortunately, this is one big mess-up in that made me cancel my order once I saw the device in the Apple store.

 

[Lestdog]

Wow, just canceled my order. I've had a few ipads and I've never seen this behavior.. so it's not "Normal" to me.

 

[dampfnudel]

Is the low contrast of LCD's a defect?
Is the loss of brightness with small viewing angle changes a defect?
Is the low refresh rate a defect?
Is the slow pixel switching a defect?
Is the motion blur a defect?

I'm not saying that thej elly scrolling is a complete non-issue, but there are a bunch of characteristics of LCD's that I'd like to see fixed more than the scanning skew. If the display skew bothers you more than all these other things, don't get one. It doesn't mean that it's a defective product.

It may mean Apple isn’t sourcing the same quality panels that it’s sourcing for other iPad models but still commanding premium prices. It may have also been a gamble that Apple took on a particular company in Asia that didn’t source panels to Apple products before to provide good quality LCD panels, and at the very least, the first batch fell short there.

 

[FromtheRight]

No jelly scrolling observed on my Mini 4.

 

[nfl46]

Wow. So, apple likely couldn’t fix it with a software update because it’s likely a hardware issue and wants this call this “normal” behavior. You’re funny, Apple.

 

[Jensend]

It may mean Apple isn’t sourcing the same quality panels that it’s sourcing for other iPad models but still commanding premium prices. It may have also been a gamble that Apple took on a particular company in Asia that didn’t source panels to Apple products before to provide good quality LCD panels, and at the very least, the first batch fell short there.

I wouldn't call it a quality issue. It's not like making the refresh go in one direction instead of another is a cost-cutting feature. There no way that a manufacturer would supply panels that refresh in that way without Apple knowing, just like they couldn't have made a panel with the wrong PPI or size.
It just sounds like a bad design choice if the skew is more noticeable to more people in their preferred usage of the device.
When I think poor quality, I think uneven backlights, pixel walk, bright spots, dead pixels, inconsistent white balance from panel to panel, etc.

 

[poematik13]

Absolutely incorrect.

Apple themselves have said this is a thing

If you're unable to notice it yourself, be happy!
But please don't erroneously claim it doesn't exist.
It does - The manufacturer of the device is on record saying it does.

The issue "exists" technically, but it's clearly not very noticeable to an actual end user. if it was, journalists wouldn't have to make dramatized, edited videos of it to make you realize what it is

It's all sensationalist drama for clicks and traffic, and they got you all caught up in it