Did Apple Finally Fix the iPad Mini’s “Jelly Scrolling” Problem?

The sixth-generation iPad Mini was almost perfect apart from one issue that affected the display: so-called “jelly scrolling.” So has 2024’s seventh-generation iPad Mini refresh fixed the issue? The answer is complicated.

“Jelly scrolling” was a problem that quickly became associated with 2021’s iPad Mini having reared its head when the iPad was used in its portrait mode. Because one side of the screen would refresh slightly slower than the other, scrolling vertically in portrait orientation would result in a visible “wobble.”

This is because the left side of the iPad Mini screen would update before the right side. There was a visible lag between items on the left and the right, as the right side of the screen took a little longer to catch up. It was especially pronounced when scrolling quickly.

Jelly scrolling was most noticeable when scrolling text-heavy web pages or documents. It was less of an issue in games and imperceptible on static or slow-moving screen elements. Naturally, it wasn’t an issue at all when using the iPad in landscape mode.

The reason for jelly scrolling was primarily the location of the display controller, which is situated along the left edge of the iPad Mini’s display when held in portrait mode. The display controller sends around 60 updates per second (hence the screen’s refresh rate of 60Hz), but these must travel from left to right.

“Standard” iPad models get around this issue by placing the display controller at the top of the screen in portrait orientation. Jelly scrolling is still an “issue” on these models but, because most people browse the web or read text in portrait mode, the problem is much less noticeable.

It’s also worth pointing out that the 60Hz refresh rate only exacerbated the issue. Doubling the refresh rate to 120Hz (or as Apple calls it, ProMotion) would cause the screen to update twice as fast, and like make the issue way less noticeable for the vast majority of people.

So did Apple fix the jelly scrolling issue on the 2024 iPad Mini? The answer appears to be no, with one big caveat. Despite mixed messages from reviewers, jelly scrolling still seems to be present on the seventh-generation 2024 iPad Mini.

The Verge’s David Pierce states that the issue “is still very much present.” In spite of this, there is a silver lining. Pierce notes that jelly scrolling is less present in 2024’s model, and the problem wasn’t severe enough to make his list of cons.

The fact of the matter seems to be that jelly scrolling is much better on the 2024 iPad Mini than it was on the previous model. Reviews posted to Wired, Tom’s Guide, and Stuff state that it’s no longer a problem whereas CNET and TechRadar don’t mention the issue at all.

This is especially interesting, considering what teardowns reveal about the new tablet.

Apple Hasn’t Moved the Display Controller

iFixit’s teardown confirms that jelly scrolling is still present through a few tests, and also reveals why. Apple hasn’t moved the display controller on the 2024 iPad Mini, though it has somehow improved the performance to the point where it is less noticeable.

The iFixit teardown states that the chips used in the display controller appear to be the same as they were in the previous model, but concedes that “through some trickery, Apple has managed to fix the worst of the jelly scrolling problems.”

This means that the issue may not bother you anymore, especially if you weren’t that phased last time around. If you mostly use your iPad for sketching and drawing, playing games, making music, or you spend most of your time in landscape mode then you probably shouldn’t give this a second thought.

So should you upgrade from the sixth-generation iPad Mini to the 2024 model? Read our iPad Mini comparison to find out. We wouldn’t blame you if you decided to skip this year’s iPad Mini refresh unless Apple Intelligence features are really important to you.