'Jelly Scrolling' Rumored to Be Reduced on iPad Mini 7 Thanks to Rotated Screen Assembly

[MacRumors]

The seventh-generation iPad mini's screen assembly will be rotated to reduce the effect of "jelly scrolling" that some users complain about with the current model, according to a Weibo leaker with an early track record for disclosing accurate information about Apple's plans.

The account, known as "Instant Digital," claims that in addition to reduced jelly scrolling, the new iPad mini will also feature the A16 Bionic chip and front camera improvements.

"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 is responding faster than the other side in a visual disturbance that is hard to ignore once noticed.

Apple says the phenomenon is normal behavior for LCD iPads. Since LCD screens refresh line by line, there is a tiny delay between when the lines at the top and lines at the bottom are refreshed. But while this may be normal behavior for LCD screens, it can appear more obvious when observed on the ‌‌iPad mini's smaller screen‌‌.

Users have generally only complained about jelly scrolling when the iPad mini is in portrait orientation. The issue is not reproducible in landscape orientation when scrolling, indicating this is a vertical refresh issue. According to the latest rumor, Apple plans to rotate the screen assembly to reduce the jelly scrolling effect in portrait orientation. Whether it will now become more prominent when the iPad mini is in landscape orientation is yet to be seen.

The seventh-generation iPad mini is among several devices that Apple could launch this month, the Weibo user goes on to claim. A modified first-generation Apple Pencil with a USB-C connector instead of Lightning and the sixth-generation iPad Air with the M2 chip are also apparently on the table for announcement toward the end of October. After evidence of a refreshed first-generation Apple Pencil with a USB-C connector was discovered in iOS 17.1 beta code, Instant Digital said that "Apple has not given up on the original Apple Pencil, and a USB-C version is expected to be coming soon."

The "Instant Digital" account has shared accurate standalone rumors about the Yellow iPhone 14 spring refresh, frosted back glass on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, spatial video capture on the iPhone 15 Pro, and more. That being said, questions remain about how much of the information shared by the user is original or accurate, but until a more long-term track record is established their rumors are worth highlighting.

Article Link: 'Jelly Scrolling' Rumored to Be Reduced on iPad Mini 7 Thanks to Rotated Screen Assembly

 

[Apple_Robert]

With all the insider information available, there is not one mention of it being in production. I don’t believe we will see a new mini this year.

 

[Cobra Kai]

Reduced and not removed? Jesus. Everytime I think Apple can’t do any less with their upgrades, they say “hold my beer”

 

[rbramseyjr]

 

[contacos]

just put a ProMotion display in it and be done with it cheap 🤬

 

[Apple_Robert]

just put a ProMotion display in it and be done with it cheap 🤬

That isn’t happening, especially at the same price point.

 

[antiprotest]

I want FaceID on my iPad mini and Mac.

 

[abatabia]

Hardly any reason to upgrade to this if you have a 5 or above IMHO.

 

[StoneJack]

I have Mini 6 for two years and never noticed any jelly effect.

 

[GMShadow]

A16 isn’t much of a performance boost over A15, and only tweaking the front camera to go with it? That would be the second least substantial Mini upgrade ever.

 

[zedsdead]

If they put promotion and faceID on it I will buy one.

 

[Nautilus007]

just put a ProMotion display in it and be done with it cheap 🤬

They’re doing everything they can to not bring 120hz refresh rate to the iPad mini….

 

[headlessmike]

I have Mini 6 for two years and never noticed any jelly effect.

It's only really visible if you vigorously scroll a page up and down very quickly. Not nearly as big of an issue as people like to think it is. I can even see it on my ProMotion iPad Pro if I do as described, but for some reason it's a deal breaker on the mini.

 

[MBAir2010]

is jelly roll when one draws in my case a human nose on a human face via pencil and iPad gen10
and the nose gets draw on a roof or in a tree because the iPad's canvas moved?
I had to redo then redraw to finish this yesterday

 

[Populus]

Good.

To be fair, I’ve always seen some kind of jelly scrolling on older LCD iPads such as the 2013 original iPad Air, the current 8th gen and 9th gen iPads, and even my M2 Pro has a slightly noticeable jelly scrolling in portrait orientation. But funny enough, I’ve always thought it was an intentional software effect of iOS to make it look more like a real sheet of paper.

I’ve tested some iPad minis and current Airs and while the effect is a bit more noticeable, I don’t think it would bother me. But Apple taking measures to reduce it is a good sign that they are listening.

As for the SoC, if the mini comes now in October or November, I think it is likely to have the A16 Bionic chip with 6GB of RAM.

 

[terraphantm]

I have Mini 6 for two years and never noticed any jelly effect.

Eh I notice it every time I scroll through text at any speed. It's definitely one of Apple's worse displays IMO

 

[sracer]

It's only really visible if you vigorously scroll a page up and down very quickly. Not nearly as big of an issue as people like to think it is. I can even see it on my ProMotion iPad Pro if I do as described, but for some reason it's a deal breaker on the mini.

Apple would disagree with you about it not nearly as big of an issue as people like to think. They have directed resources to reduce the effect. If it was really no big deal, they'd do what they always do, deny the issue exists or claim it is being blown out of proportion. (Refresh rate is not the root issue of jelly scrolling so ProMotion isn't going to eliminate it)

 

[adamlbiscuit]

My biggest request for the next iPad mini, aside from a better screen, is an increase in RAM. The A15 in the iPad mini 6 only comes with 4 GB RAM which is fine most of the time but especially under iPad OS 17, the amount of reloads between apps and tabs is increasing.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Reduced and not removed?

How does Apple remove it and keep the cost of the Mini about the same?

 

[CptnJustc]

Eh I notice it every time I scroll through text at any speed. It's definitely one of Apple's worse displays IMO

I'm one of the never-noticers, but I believe people when they say they do. I just wonder if the difference is mostly in people's abilities to perceive it, or unit-to-unit screen quality. Could there have been minuscule hardware or assembly process revisions or different 'runs' of Minis made?

I put off buying a Mini for as long as I could out of fear of the jelly scroll issue but ended up getting a 6 earlier this year when they said we wouldn't get a new one till 2024. Now I regret not getting one earlier... my favorite of the many iPads I've had.

 

[NMBob]

iPad Pro 10.5" unaffected.

 

[klasma]

"Jelly scrolling" refers to screen tearing

No, screen tearing is a discontinuous on-screen switch from one frame to the next. Jelly scrolling on the other hand is caused by the continuous screen refresh process in the display controller.

 

[klasma]

Reduced and not removed?

All LCD screens have that effect to some extent, either vertically or horizontally. It’s part of the technology and can’t be completely removed. It’s just particularly bad on the mini 6.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

All LCD screens have that effect to some extent...

They do until Apple introduces iScroll Pro. Let's hope it's a standard feature and not a subscription.

 

[IJBrekke]

So, it will be exactly the same as Minis 1-5. A return to the previous landscape jelly, which bothered almost no one. I’d consider that solved and we can move on.