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jwolf6589

macrumors 601
Original poster
Dec 15, 2010
4,919
1,643
Colorado
I have the Mini 5. If I had the money I would like to upgrade to the Mini 6 but I hear something bad about the jelly scrolling effect. What is it and does my Mini 5 have it? Is the Mini 6 worth the upgrade from the Mini 5? I know for users coming from earlier models it would be as they were dog slow in my POV and experience. Thanks.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,920
13,264
On the iPad mini 6, jelly scrolling is an effect in portrait mode where scrolling vertically looks like jelly due to the refresh orientation of the LCD.

It's entirely dependent on the user whether jelly scrolling is noticeable or bothersome.

Personally, I don't really see it in normal use. I suggest visiting an Apple Store to test if it bothers you.
 

jwolf6589

macrumors 601
Original poster
Dec 15, 2010
4,919
1,643
Colorado
On the iPad mini 6, jelly scrolling is an effect in portrait mode where scrolling vertically looks like jelly due to the refresh orientation of the LCD.

It's entirely dependent on the user whether jelly scrolling is noticeable or bothersome.

Personally, I don't really see it in normal use. I suggest visiting an Apple Store to test if it bothers you.
Thanks
 

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
I notice it in certain situations on mine. Does not take away from how much I'm enjoying the device as a whole, which is IMMENSELY!

It will definitely feel like a fresh experience for you, even coming from the last model. I had the mini 3 and found it pointless when comparing that screen to my 13 Pro Max. It largely sat on my desk unused. Not so with the mini 6. It's quickly becoming my favorite iPad ever.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Purely eye of the beholder effect. If you want to see it, you will. If you don't want to see it, you might not. It's definitely there but feels like it is blown collectively out of proportion.

As to what is it? Imagine a picture frame the size of the mini with a long piece of ruled (lines for writing) paper underneath. Reach into the frame with a finger and move the piece of paper up and down quickly. No matter where you touch, when the part of the paper you touch moves, so moves all of the rest of the paper... as a whole. The scroll is smooth edge to edge, top to bottom. The ruled lines remain consistently straight. This seems to be the expectations of how those who fault the jelly want their iPad mini electronic paper to move when scrolling.

The jelly effect is noticing the part you are scrolling moving as fast as you want it to move while the rest of the page has to catch up to the sudden move... like the piece of paper has a bit of elasticity to it and it is possible to have a portion of it moved higher or lower than the rest, until the rest can "catch up" to where you are moving it. In this analogy, the ruled paper lines might seem to bend a bit. The "catch up" is very quick- nothing dramatic. It's not glaringly obvious unless you look for it. You'll have a better chance of noticing it to the max by looking at your finger and observing the other end of the "page" with your peripheral vision.

Some claim to not notice it at all. Others claim the opposite extreme. Thus, eye of the beholder. Go see a Mini for yourself, load up a long web page and scroll up and down quickly. You'll see it if you look. It probably won't seem as bad as the collective gripes imply. I definitely see it with my Mini but the whole package washes whether I choose to call this negative or not. If you like the rest but it bugs you, have a slow blink while you scroll a page and it will "catch up" while your eyes are closed. And the slower you scroll, the less it shows.
 
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Username-already-in-use

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2021
567
1,056
I’ve seen jelly on the Air 4 in landscape and on the Mini 6 in portrait. For me it is slight, and only noticeable on occasion - and it doesn’t matter to me. It’s a common effect on any 60Hz LCD. I do gather that some people really have an issue with it - I would encourage you to try one for 10 minutes and you’ll soon see if it is a deal-breaker.
 

klasma

macrumors 604
Jun 8, 2017
7,470
20,774
You'll see it on your Mini 5 in landscape when quick scrolling. If you've not noticed it there, you likely won't notice it on the 6.
I have to disagree on that. I never noticed it on my mini 4. I ordered a mini 6 on release day (was really pumped for it) but had to return it because I couldn’t stand the jelly effect (which I noticed before reading about it online). I upgraded to a mini 5 instead (which is the same as the 4 as far as jelly scrolling is concerned). The jelly scroll on the mini 6 in portrait is much more pronounced than on the mini 4/5 in landscape. Whether it bothers you is a different question.
 
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