iFixit Explains iPad Mini 'Jelly Scroll' Issue in Teardown Video

[aesc80]

A regular consumer would not see the issue. I don’t think it’s a normal behavior issue.

It’s just a cheaper display which Apple decided to use for the iPad Mini. That pretty much sums it up.

Some have suggested it should be recalled.

Cook should recall mini 6 immediately, period

Job would never allow such "Jelly" product out (knocking), which is against Apple's fundamental philosophy and defected by industry standard. By saying "LCD normal", "keep eyes elsewhere", "using landscape more", it is just irresponsible. Our fans purchase Apple's products not because "just...

forums.macrumors.com

Personally, it sounds like people would kill for an "iPad Pro Mini" with an upgraded screen. yeah, I know, I know ... it'll cost more, but in this case, we're kind of seeing the repercussions of what a "cheaper" screen does versus some of the more high end, faster refreshing screens we've all gotten used to having.

 

[aesc80]

The scary thing to me is that either a) nobody at Apple noticed or cared about this during testing or b) saw it and decided it was ok. Not the Apple I know.

More than likely A. They know the equipment and limitations of it, and decided to ship it anyways. Really sad to see such a promising device come shipped with a cruddy display.

 

[Nozuka]

FWIW, I have just tried to reproduce this jelly effect on my iPhone 12 mini scrolling at different speeds in both vertical and horizontal iPhone orientation - no issues at all. 🖐

The 12 Mini definitely does this too in landscape, it is just much harder to see. At least i would never notice it, without actively looking for it. (Also rarely ever use the Mini in landscape)

The iPad Mini 6 on the other hand is so pronounced that i see it even if i don't want to.

 

[MrGimper]

To test whether iFixit theory is correct, one can scroll on the iPad Air in the landscape mode, if you notice jelly-scrolling then that verifies iFixit claim. If you don't notice jelly-scrolling then it's because of the poor display on the new mini.
In any case, if users are noticing it then Apple should not just dismiss the claim saying it's a normal behavior for LCD display.

There’s a linked video on another thread that shows exactly this…. The Air experiences Jelly in landscape

 

[bradl]

but Steve said "we don't ship junk"

Apparently, you may not have owned an iPhone 4.

BL.

 

[840quadra]

Personally, it sounds like people would kill for an "iPad Pro Mini" with an upgraded screen. yeah, I know, I know ... it'll cost more, but in this case, we're kind of seeing the repercussions of what a "cheaper" screen does versus some of the more high end, faster refreshing screens we've all gotten used to having.

It appears to me that it is more pronounced in this iPad, but as I posted earlier in this thread, the MacBook Pro M1, and 120hz iPad Pro 11” from 2018 also have this issue. It’s a phenomenon due to the refresh system these Apple devices use, not cheapness of the screen.

 

[aesc80]

It appears to me that it is more pronounced in this iPad, but as I posted earlier in this thread, the MacBook Pro M1, and 120hz iPad Pro 11” from 2018 also have this issue. It’s a phenomenon due to the refresh system these Apple devices use.

LOL - forgive me for not reading the earlier portions. I just took a fast forward to the back. If that's the truth, then some group must seriously be signing off on some horrible ****. Here's hoping there's something at the OS level than can be done to take care of it.

Meanwhile, I'll be hugging my iPad Pro 12.9 3rd Gen a little tighter. 😛

EDIT: Just saw your video, and it looks normal to me. Some of the videos people are post of "jelly scrolling" looks pretty bad. Honestly, I should just shut up and sit in the corner.

 

[jimbobb24]

People have posted videos showing this issue exists across all devices depending on orientation. I think the mini form factor is somehow making it really stand out when in portrait mode.

All the speculation about different LCDs is just speculation.
iFixit didn’t verify the LCD panel source? What are they doing?

 

[klasma]

If it's just like displays from other device manufacturers, that's all well-and-good as a point of reference but ipad buyers tend to be ipad buyers. So the question to me is, how is it relative to other ipad mini generations? Is it exactly the same? If so then why has this never been brought up before? We own two ipad mini 4s and will want to upgrade them at some point. We'll likely do so anyway regardless of the reported scrolling issue because these devices have just become slow as molasses, but I'll be more inclined to wait for sales or refurbs than to pay full price.

I own a mini 4 and was really looking forward to the mini 6 from since the 5 was released (which I skipped), used to follow all the rumors. I bought the mini 6 on launch day, but returned it two days later because the jelly effect is so bad that I get motion sickness from it, aside from it being really distracting. It's much worse than the mini 4 in landscape. I'm upgrading to a mini 5 now instead. But it's very subjective how much one is affected, so you'll need to try it out yourself.

 

[JosephAW]

You wouldn’t see it if the screen refresh was 120hz. 🙄

 

[roncron]

I have a Mini 6 with the jelly scroll issue. I didn't notice it until someone posted about it in macrumors forums. I can replicate it now, easily.

But it doesn't bother me. Now, the PRINCIPLE bothers me, that I would spend $650 on a device that has this issue. But since becoming aware of it, I have spent many hours testing all the apps I'd normally use and all the things I'd normally do on an iPad Mini, and none of them are impacted by this issue. So I won't be returning my Mini 6.

Lots of people are complaining about Apple for using substandard displays in such an expensive device. But if you don't own a Mini 6, you don't know how much if at all the issue would bother you.

The people who preordered the Mini 6 and already have it in their hands, and have put it through its paces, these are the ones who can best say how bad the problem is.

And it's clear from jelly scrolling discussion in macrumors forums that there's is a huge range of responses among owners, from people who find the effect intolerable to those like me who can totally live with it, and everything in between.

This wide range of responses suggests to me that the effect is worse on some iPad Mini 6 units than others. (It's also surely true that people's eyesight and sensitivity varies, and the way they use the device and the apps they use varies.)

So if you had wanted to buy a Mini 6, why not buy it and see if the effect is bad on the unit you get. If it is, then definitely return it. But it might not be. You might be happy with the unit you get. There are lots of Mini 6 owners who don't find the effect bothersome at all, and among the professional reviews posted last week, few if any even noticed the issue until it was later pointed out, Friday or Saturday.

 

[Liquid Galaxy]

For me, the screen is the most important thing in an electronic device. So sad for all those ppl.

No need to be sad for me, I’m really not bothered by this minor issue.

 

[jimbobb24]

To test whether iFixit theory is correct, one can scroll on the iPad Air in the landscape mode, if you notice jelly-scrolling then that verifies iFixit claim. If you don't notice jelly-scrolling then it's because of the poor display on the new mini.
In any case, if users are noticing it then Apple should not just dismiss the claim saying it's a normal behavior for LCD display.

Someone posted a video of this and Samsung devices. It’s on every device. The mini in portrait mode is the most noticeable in the videos though.

 

[Flabasha]

A regular consumer would not see the issue. I don’t think it’s a normal behavior issue.

It’s just a cheaper display which Apple decided to use for the iPad Mini. That pretty much sums it up.

Some have suggested it should be recalled.

Cook should recall mini 6 immediately, period

Job would never allow such "Jelly" product out (knocking), which is against Apple's fundamental philosophy and defected by industry standard. By saying "LCD normal", "keep eyes elsewhere", "using landscape more", it is just irresponsible. Our fans purchase Apple's products not because "just...

forums.macrumors.com

Just got my 64gb…

Zero discernible jelly scroll. And I’m a stickler for these things.

Now, if I can figure out how to only transfer SOME app data from my 256gb iPad Pro 12.9 down to my 64gb Mini…

 

[Analog Kid]

"At first we actually couldn't see this on our iPad Mini's, but after some comparison and messing around with camera settings we finally got it. Here it is in slow motion."

 

[Jensend]

LOL - forgive me for not reading the earlier portions. I just took a fast forward to the back. If that's the truth, then some group must seriously be signing off on some horrible sh*t. Here's hoping there's something at the OS level than can be done to take care of it.

Meanwhile, I'll be hugging my iPad Pro 12.9 3rd Gen a little tighter. 😛

EDIT: Just saw your video, and it looks normal to me. Some of the videos people are post of "jelly scrolling" looks pretty bad. Honestly, I should just shut up and sit in the corner.

Your iPad Pro 12.9 3rd Gen has it as well. Every LCD has it! Just like every LCD has terrible contrast compared to an OLED. It's a fundamental attribute of how LCDs work.
But there are some workarounds that can be implemented for issues like these, such as higher framerates, backlight zones, and strobing backlights. The latter two introduce their own issues.

 

[Jensend]

You wouldn’t see it if the screen refresh was 120hz. 🙄

I can see it on my 120Hz OLED TV, but it is certainly less pronounced than on my 60Hz desktop monitors.

 

[Rowdy07]

I played with one at Best Buy and I could tell right away something wasn't right on the screen. The screen is trash on the Mini 6

 

[Amplelink]

People will complain about anything. You can't please all the people all the time. In another thread on this topic, a member posted their own video of the "jelly scrolling" on their Mini and exclaimed how awful it was - I could barely perceive the effect and that was with me purposely looking to see it 🤷‍♂️

Same here. I still can't see it on mine. People these days.....

 

[cualexander]

The only thing I usually do in portrait on iPad mini is books or magazines. Browsing I usually do in landscape. I can repro it on my new iPad mini but honestly it happens at such a speed when I’m going too fast to read anyhow it doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

 

[sparkinstx]

"Apple has said that the jelly scrolling issue is normal behavior for an LCD screen..."

"They all do that." (Mechanic's shrug)

 

[abhibeckert]

You get what you are willing to pay for.

I could pay a lot less for a cheaper iPad that doesn't have the same issue.

 

[patsfan83]

More than likely A. They know the equipment and limitations of it, and decided to ship it anyways. Really sad to see such a promising device come shipped with a cruddy display.

I think the bigger issue is why Apple thought the primary use would be for landscape, which they optimized it for.

Don’t they remember Steve sitting up on stage saying how portrait 3:4 was the best use for this class device?

 

[patsfan83]

Your iPad Pro 12.9 3rd Gen has it as well. Every LCD has it! Just like every LCD has terrible contrast compared to an OLED. It's a fundamental attribute of how LCDs work.
But there are some workarounds that can be implemented for issues like these, such as higher framerates, backlight zones, and strobing backlights. The latter two introduce their own issues.

It doesn’t have it in portrait/vertical mode though.

 

[sclawis300]

this would apply if apple was forthright about the screens being significantly better in their other products, or worse in this one. But they don't give you that info, you have to buy the iPad and discover it yourself. So this is not a matter of educated consumption.

But they do. Just look at the price tag. 🤷‍♂️