Early iPad mini 6 owners have noticed a “jelly scrolling” issue with the display on their unit where one part of the screen refreshes faster than the other. This is most noticeable when the iPad mini is used in portrait mode while scrolling through lists, websites, and large documents. Apple has now issued a statement on this matter.
The company confirmed to Ars Technica that the “jelly scroll” issue is normal for devices with an LCD screen. Unlike OLED panels, LCDs refresh their screen line by line, which leads to a delay between the top and bottom of the screen refreshing. On the iPad mini 6, this delay leads to the left and right side of the display refreshing at different rates leading to the “jelly scroll” effect.
Here is is slow-mo video of scrolling on the iPad Min i slowed down EVEN MORE in a frame-by-frame step through. Notice how the right moves up faster than the left.
In normal usage you barely see it, but every now and then it become noticeable. In landscape it goes away entirely pic.twitter.com/iq9LGJzsDI
— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) September 22, 2021
Apple uses 60Hz LCD panels on the iPad Air 4 and the $329 iPad as well, but the issue is more pronounced on the iPad mini 6. It is unclear if Apple will try to at least reduce the “jelly scrolling” with a future iPadOS update.
Once you notice the jelly scrolling issue on an iPad mini 6, it cannot be unseen. So, if you have not yet faced this issue on your iPad mini, it’s best to remain oblivious of it. If you do not like your iPad mini 6 due to this issue, you can consider returning it to Apple and getting a refund.