iPad Pro iPad Pro M1 12.9” Vertical Banding in Middle (Possibly Heat Related)

[dL.]

Hello everyone,

I would like to ask those who have the newest iPad Pro 12.9” M1 to see if you’re also noticing this very faint phenomenon, as I don’t want to go through the lottery if I don’t have to.

What’s Going On? I spotted some very faint vertical banding this morning, when viewing a white background (i.e. Safari browser like Macrumors Forum), from an angle at medium brightness (50%~). Note the vertical banding ONLY exists in the middle region, and does not span from top-to-bottom of the screen, which leads me to think it’s not a display issue.

What I’ve Identified So Far:
- I notice the very slight banding ONLY when the middle of the iPad is becoming warm to the touch. I suspect that’s where the M1 chip resides. After I turned off the iPad and let it sit cool to the touch, restart and close all tabs, the phenomenon disappears.
- I notice if I wipe the screen or apply minimal pressure like finger touch, the banding will shift like jello, and would disappear and re-appear again later (if it’s still warm in the middle).
- When viewed from dead-center it is not noticeable. When viewed from a 23-45 degree angle, it is very subtle.

My Thoughts:
- I think it’s temperature/heat that is factoring how the touch digitizer is infusing with the display.
- It could also be the software not fully optimized for Mini-LED technology. When viewing a blank white screen, or during the initial iPad setup screen (yes I factory reset‘d just to test). This could also explain all the unnecessarily large blooming region for the Mini LED.

How To Find Out?
Download 3DMark Wild Life Benchmark, and run it for 30 seconds or until the middle of the screen is warm to the touch.

What are your findings and thoughts on this?

 

[TiggrToo]

Not seen anything like that myself on my 256GB Cellular 12.9 M1…

 

[dL.]

Can you guys try to run a benchmark like 3DMark so you get the display warm to the touch in the middle and take a look? I just tried it and the banding appears when it’s warm. Disappears once it cools down.

 

[sparksd]

Don't see it on my 512GB WiFi 12.9 M1.

 

[slplss]

I did couple of 3DMark benches to heat up my device, can’t see anything under the same conditions.

 

[dL.]

This is how it looks like. I guess if nobody else spots it, it’s time to return mine.

 

[AutomaticApple]

Hello everyone,

I would like to ask those who have the newest iPad Pro 12.9” M1 to see if you’re also noticing this very faint phenomenon, as I don’t want to go through the lottery if I don’t have to.

What’s Going On? I spotted some very faint vertical banding this morning, when viewing a white background (i.e. Safari browser like Macrumors Forum), from an angle at medium brightness (50%~). Note the vertical banding ONLY exists in the middle region, and does not span from top-to-bottom of the screen, which leads me to think it’s not a display issue.

What I’ve Identified So Far:
- I notice the very slight banding ONLY when the middle of the iPad is becoming warm to the touch. I suspect that’s where the M1 chip resides. After I turned off the iPad and let it sit cool to the touch, restart and close all tabs, the phenomenon disappears.
- I notice if I wipe the screen or apply minimal pressure like finger touch, the banding will shift like jello, and would disappear and re-appear again later (if it’s still warm in the middle).
- When viewed from dead-center it is not noticeable. When viewed from a 23-45 degree angle, it is very subtle.

My Thoughts:
- I think it’s temperature/heat that is factoring how the touch digitizer is infusing with the display.
- It could also be the software not fully optimized for Mini-LED technology. When viewing a blank white screen, or during the initial iPad setup screen (yes I factory reset‘d just to test). This could also explain all the unnecessarily large blooming region for the Mini LED.

How To Find Out?
Download 3DMark Wild Life Benchmark, and run it for 30 seconds or until the middle of the screen is warm to the touch.

What are your findings and thoughts on this?

I don't see it on my iPad Pro.

 

[slplss]

This is how it looks like. I guess if nobody else spots it, it’s time to return mine.

View attachment 1788544

Ok looks like you’re not alone, I’ve seen similar image here
Thread '12.9" 2021 iPad mini-LED Weird Temporary Screen Indentation'
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...d-weird-temporary-screen-indentation.2297671/

 

[dL.]

Ok looks like you’re not alone, I’ve seen similar image here
Thread '12.9" 2021 iPad mini-LED Weird Temporary Screen Indentation'
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...d-weird-temporary-screen-indentation.2297671/

That’s exactly how mine looks like.

I was just about to pack it up and bring it back. In this case, I’ll keep it and use this as a bargaining chip for AppleCare one day if I need it replaced (from some OCD physical blemish) down the road. I highly doubt the lottery will get me a better display than this one. It’s perfect otherwise.

Thanks for taking your time and providing the link reference to the other thread.

 

[slplss]

Oh that’s exactly how mine looks like!

Return, this is not normal behaviour, even could lead to dangerous consequences I’d say. It would be pretty alarming if this issue is more widespread than we think, nobody wants another Samsung explodey-gate. Anyhoo, how do you like the iPad 😅?

 

[VaruLV]

What if due to constant over heating the screen becomes too fragile/brittle and one day cracks. Apple wont likely admit its fault and wont replace it under warranty.
Id stay away from current crop of miniLED devices, seems like they have at least one more generation to go before they are "flawless", now, perhaps even regular LED screen would overheat like that, not sure.

 

[dL.]

I went to test another iPad Pro 12.9” M1 and it has the exact same mark when the CPU is running warm. After it cools, it goes away.

It’s safe to say that every iPad Pro 12.9” with Mini-LED exhibit this problem. Whether you see it or not is another thing. So it’s either 1) live with it, 2) wait for future batches to see if it has improved (doubtful) or 3) wait for next generation.

 

[shadowby7e]

I went to test another iPad Pro 12.9” M1 and it has the exact same mark when the CPU is running warm. After it cools, it goes away.

It’s safe to say that every iPad Pro 12.9” with Mini-LED exhibit this problem. Whether you see it or not is another thing. So it’s either 1) live with it, 2) wait for future batches to see if it has improved (doubtful) or 3) wait for next generation.

Did you also try with the 11" M1? I wonder if it is also affected by this issue. I don't believe the location of the CPU has changed across the past few generations. I suppose it's possible that the M1 chip can get hotter then the A12X/Z.

 

[Momof9]

this is happening with mine, just browsing the Internet. it is pretty hot in the middle

 

[dL.]

Did you also try with the 11" M1? I wonder if it is also affected by this issue. I don't believe the location of the CPU has changed across the past few generations. I suppose it's possible that the M1 chip can get hotter then the A12X/Z.

No I have not. I was under the impression that this is Mini-LED exclusive already.

Are other people with older generation exhibiting the same issue as well?

 

[HeraFlight]

After getting replacements myself I found out all of them have it. Any updates about the affects over time on anyone’s screens?

 

[07713]

Hi,

i got my iPad in April, and this morning i noticed the exact same problem.
i was surfing a patreon website with a lot of podcasts loading at the same time, when i noticed the strange pattern on the exact same part of the screen. At the same time the ipad got pretty warm.
i never seen this before, but then again, i never got my ipad this warm since April.
5 minutes after i closed the "heavy load" website, the ipad cooled down and the phenomenon was gone..
you can only see it at an angle.

 

[HeraFlight]

Hi,

i got my iPad in April, and this morning i noticed the exact same problem.
i was surfing a patreon website with a lot of podcasts loading at the same time, when i noticed the strange pattern on the exact same part of the screen. At the same time the ipad got pretty warm.
i never seen this before, but then again, i never got my ipad this warm since April.
5 minutes after i closed the "heavy load" website, the ipad cooled down and the phenomenon was gone..
you can only see it at an angle.

Yeah, it will happen even on websites. It's not true that you can "only" see it from an angle, sometimes the problem gets worse when the device gets even warmer, such as when playing a game and it easily visible from front view. I eventually got a one time exception and got my ipad refunded for this issue from apple. It made it essentially useless for playing certain mobile games such as genshin impact. I am not sure what's the point of the powerful processor if you cannot even make use of it without your screen getting a ding.

For me what helped was turning on "low power mode," which tends to make the indent smaller when it appears or it doesn't appear at all but this limits the speed of the device and leaves it on 60hz.... Makes me wonder if this would have been better with a weaker processor generating less heat? All those little lights behind the screen also probably generate more heat.

 

[vermilion_sky]

This is how it looks like. I guess if nobody else spots it, it’s time to return mine.

View attachment 1788544

Looks exactly like mine!
I got my iPad in May 2021 and noticed it today when writing notes. After turning off the screen and waiting for a while it disappeared. Never noticed it before though, but my iPad typically becomes a lot warmer at other tasks. So probably related to heat and aging...

 

[HeraFlight]

So I got to use a 2020 12.9 iPad Pro again and apparently the older ones will do it too, however I have to push those a lot more to get any noticeable banding/warp/indent (such as running Genshin impact) and when it does show it’s much less noticeable. On the 2020 models it hasn’t happened for me just browsing but the M1 2021 will do it just from minor heat from websites and stuff.

So clearly it’s actually a normal thing in a sense, but yet it’s still a big design problem with the 2021 models, maybe caused by extra heat from having lights under the screen rather than all edge lit?

A device isn’t very good for much if it screws the screen every time you try to make use of the powerful processor, especially if you’re just trying to browse or write notes.

 

[wallah]

Any reports of this happening on the 11" M1 yet?

If not, it might just be the mini-LED as OP suggested (#15).

 

[MikeDeM]

I recently bought the latest 12.9 iPad Pro and I'm seeing this problem too. The problem is still not fixed.