iPad Mini 7 Has Display Hardware Changes That Likely Fix Jelly Scrolling

[MacRumors]

One of the main complaints about the prior-generation iPad mini 6 was "jelly scrolling" or screen tearing, and it sounds like it's a problem that Apple may have addressed with hardware updates to the iPad mini 7 display.

In the most recent episode of the Six Colors Podcast, Jason Snell and Dan Moren discussed the new iPad mini 7, and shared some information about the display. Snell said that it was his understanding that there have been unspecified adjustments to the display hardware in the iPad mini 7 that should make a difference when it comes to jelly scrolling.

Snell didn't provide a source, but his information likely comes directly from Apple. There is only an "implication" that the changes were to fix jelly scrolling, however, and Snell made it clear that because no one has seen the iPad mini 7 as of yet, there's no concrete information. "My guess is it's different," he said. "And maybe better. And maybe gone."

Jelly scrolling is a display issue that causes text or images on one side of the display to be out of sync with the other side. The result is text or images that can appear to be tilted downward because of a screen refresh rate mismatch, and for some people, once you've noticed the problem, it's hard to ignore.

iPad mini 6 owners started noticing jelly scrolling in portrait mode on the device shortly after it launched in 2021. Some users were not bothered by the effect, while others said that it was irritating to look at and could cause eye strain.

Most if not all iPad mini 6 units seemed to be impacted, but the degree of impact varied from user to user due to different tolerances for screen tearing. The effect likely impacted prior iPads, but it seemed to be more noticeable in the iPad mini 6.

iPad mini 7 rumors suggested that Apple would rotate the screen assembly in order to cut down on jelly scrolling, so it's possible Apple has done something like that to minimize the issue in the seventh-generation model.

The iPad mini 7 is available for pre-order and is set to launch on Wednesday, October 23. Once the tablet is available, users will be able to see for themselves whether jelly scrolling has been addressed, and an iFixit teardown will provide insight into any hardware changes. We'll also likely get reviews before the iPad mini 7 models launch, so we could have a more firm answer on the jelly scrolling question in a matter of days.

Article Link: iPad Mini 7 Has Display Hardware Changes That Likely Fix Jelly Scrolling

 

[anshuvorty]

Oh ****....I gotta replace my iPad Mini 6, then...damn....

 

[sleven]

The amount of “maybe,” “possibly,” in this article is amazing.

 

[spaxxedout]

Now that they removed Jelly Scroll from the iPad, we just need an OS update to remove Jelly Roll from the iPad.

 

[kalafalas]

Rotating the assembly does nothing, just makes it a problem in landscape instead of portrait. Personally I nearly exclusively use my iPad in landscape so that would be a downgrade not an improvement. The only proper solution is moving away from LCD

 

[MAlbi]

How much RAM ?
Pity for the camera position.
I use mini 5, if it was not the A17 pro, I would have upgraded to mini 7.
Base storage 128 is nice. Do not see much difference between mini 6 and mini 7.

 

[JPack]

Doubt it. If anything was done to the display assembly, the camera would have gone landscape as well.

The issue comes down to, do you want the jelly effect in portrait or landscape orientation? There's no third option because the display driver has to be mounted in one of those positions.

 

[PsykX]

How much RAM ?
Pity for the camera position.
I use mini 5, if it was not the A17 pro, I would have upgraded to mini 7.
Base storage 128 is nice. Do not see much difference between mini 6 and mini 7.

It has the processor of iPhone 15 Pro, with one less core.
So 8 GB of RAM, ready for at least the first wave of Apple Intelligence features.

 

[Saturn1217]

Very promising! It is getting harder to not preorder (I want to wait for reviews and ideally a Black Friday sale).

Coming from the iPad mini 5 this is a pretty decent upgrade as long as there are no regressions in display quality. This was my main issue with jelly scroll. It isn’t terrible. But it doesn’t feel good to buy a new device that does something worse than the 5 year old device you already own.

 

[19callum93]

Really excited to pick one up. Been waiting for a new mini for a while.

 

[smulji]

The only proper solution is moving away from LCD

Apple has to save something for the next iPad mini update. /s

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Okay, now fix the lack of Face ID and Pro Motion.

 

[Nautilus007]

Okay, now fix the lack of Face ID and Pro Motion.
This!

No reason the iPad Mini should have the same refresh rate for the past 10 years..

 

[Chungry]

I would not expect any official word, this is about as good as it gets. Maybe. Possibly. How about, this is maybe, possibly Apple using back channels for damage control, I wonder if the sales numbers show soft demand then.

Of course, Apple would never cotton to this because it would be an admission the 6 had an issue and open them up to lawsuits

 

[Joe Rossignol]

The amount of “maybe,” “possibly,” in this article is amazing.

As someone who has first-hand experience with the world of Apple PR, my opinion is that Apple PR is being intentionally coy here. I am almost certain that Apple PR invited a group of journalists and YouTubers onto a Webex conference call for the new iPad mini, and someone inevitably asked about jelly scrolling during the Q&A session. Then, Apple PR probably gave a sideways answer about the display controller being rotated, without directly admitting that this change is to fix jelly scrolling, but also not denying it either. This achieves the exact objective that Apple PR wants: to inform the public that the iPad mini 7 is a safe buy free of jelly scrolling, while simultaneously avoiding admitting that every iPad mini 6 already sold has an issue. Apple's only-ever public comment on jelly scrolling called it "normal" display behavior, yet Apple has seemingly still made a change here to fix/improve it. What you are witnessing here is nothing other than Apple PR being a masterclass in controlling the narrative. I'm happy it seems to be fixed, though!

 

[Chungry]

As someone who has first-hand experience with the world of Apple PR, my opinion is that Apple PR is being intentionally coy here. I am almost certain that Apple PR invited a group of journalists and YouTubers onto a Webex conference call for the new iPad mini, and someone inevitably asked about jelly scrolling during the Q&A session. Then, Apple PR probably gave a sideways answer about the display controller being rotated, without directly admitting that this change is to fix jelly scrolling, but also not denying it either. This achieves the exact objective that Apple PR wants: to inform the public that the iPad mini 7 is a safe buy free of jelly scrolling, while simultaneously avoiding admitting that every iPad mini 6 already sold has an issue. Apple's only-ever public comment on jelly scrolling called it "normal" display behavior, yet Apple has seemingly still made a change here to fix/improve it. What you are witnessing here is nothing other than Apple PR being a masterclass in controlling the narrative. I'm happy it's fixed, though!

And a masterclass in avoiding lawsuits! But if they only rotated it, they move the jelly scrolling to the other orientation. I hope they didn’t do that I really hope they weren’t that stupid

 

[nuff_said]

Honest question: Why would they fix something they called normal behaviour?

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

iPad mini 6 owners have been complaining about a "jelly scrolling" problem that affects some iPad mini models when using the device in...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Chungry]

Honest question: Why would they fix something they called normal behaviour?

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

iPad mini 6 owners have been complaining about a "jelly scrolling" problem that affects some iPad mini models when using the device in...

www.macrumors.com

It was said in bad faith to provide a shield from liability. No one that observes that calls it normal unless you translate that to: we made it purposefully bad because we are inept. Apple certainly isn’t inept so it’s the former.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Honest question: Why would they fix something they called normal behaviour?

Because “only a small number of people” wanted them to? 😉

 

[F23]

this is the biggest upgrade in the Mini 7 LOL

 

[nutriousmitten]

Podcast dude needs something to talk about.

Podcast dude reads internet forums about a new Apple release and the speculation about maybe something being fixes over the current version.

Podcast dude then proclaims something based on that speculation with a whole lot of disclaimers.

Internet forum that podcast dude reads then regurgitates podcast dudes proclamation in a story, and because of that, it's newsworthy as near fact.

 

[Chungry]

this is the biggest upgrade in the Mini 7 LOL

Don’t forget the binned a17 pro with disabled GPU core! Or the wowee gosh-golly cutting edge WiFi 6e

 

[Dust-by-Monday]

It's not a frame rate mismatch. The screen refreshes left to right instead of top to bottom. It's more noticeable when the screen is refreshing left to right in portrait mode because of the skinnier screen width. It would be preferable if the screen refreshed top to bottom in portrait mode like they do on iPhone. When you tilt the ipad in landscape, the jelly scroll is less noticeable since the screen is wider.

By the way, you can see this effect on every modern display. Desktop monitors scan top to bottom (hence why you see screen tearing in the horizontal direction when you disable vsync in a video game).

Take a window on your desktop computer and quickly drag it up and down... not much to see there... looks normal right? Now take that same window and shake it left and right and you'll see it skew a bit.

 

[Chungry]

It's not a frame rate mismatch. The screen refreshes left to right instead of top to bottom. It's more noticeable when the screen is refreshing left to right in portrait mode because of the skinnier screen width. It would be preferable if the screen refreshed top to bottom in portrait mode like they do on iPhone. When you tilt the ipad in landscape, the jelly scroll is less noticeable since the screen is wider.

By the way, you can see this effect on every modern display. Desktop monitors scan top to bottom (hence why you see screen tearing in the horizontal direction when you disable vsync in a video game).

Take a window on your desktop computer and quickly drag it up and down... not much to see there... looks normal right? Now take that same window and shake it left and right and you'll see it skew a bit.

Honestly haven’t noticed or been able to get my desktop screen to do this, does it affect qd-oled?

 

[Amplelink]

I would not expect any official word, this is about as good as it gets. Maybe. Possibly. How about, this is maybe, possibly Apple using back channels for damage control, I wonder if the sales numbers show soft demand then.

Of course, Apple would never cotton to this because it would be an admission the 6 had an issue and open them up to lawsuits

No official word probably because most people never noticed it. I've had or played with several iPad minis and I could never see what people were talking about.