iPad mini Whose retuning their iPad 6?

[imdog]

I filed the return but still going back & forth about whether to send it in.
It's a tough decision because if it weren't for the jelly scrolling; I would consider this my favorite iPad ever. The first edge to edge designed iPad in this form factor. I've always had an obsession with miniature things, ever since I was a baby. I would replicate large art pieces I saw on walls, on little pieces of paper since before I could walk. I'd carry those little art pieces around with me and if I lost it I would cry & cry. One of my favorite devices ever made was the PSP, I was a little kid and I brought it with me on a trip to Thailand. I thought it was the coolest thing, I could play games, listen to music, watch movies, browse the internet; all on this tiny little gadget. I would pay a premium to have everything miniature, I paid $2000 for one of these tiny things...

It's called the OP-1 by Teenage Engineering. It's a synthesizer, drum machine, sampler, mixer; pretty much an entire recording studio in a tiny little box. It's not even the best sounding machine and has a lot of quirks to it; but the concept of fitting such a vast array of tasks into this cute little thing is what drew me to it. I'm also the same person who chose a maxed out 12" MacBook instead of the better performing ones just because of how cute I found it. I also bought the iPhone 12 mini & now the 13 mini; first phones I've actually liked since the original iPhone SE. I'd choose that cute little form factor over 120hz refresh rate anyway, which is why I'm leaning toward accepting the 60hz & jelly scroll; perhaps.

The original prototypes to technology are always big, not aesthetically pleasing; monstrosities that you could never lug around with you. Then they are miniaturized and brought to market, and over the years they evolve into something you can fit in the palm of your hand. You could fill a massive room with the things your iPhone replaces, think of back in time; all the things that we have magically crammed into the iPhone.

And a million other things


I was obviously speaking of this class action lawsuit in jest, however I hope Apple gets wind of all the people who are unhappy with this issue and they resolve it. I cannot even use my 11" iPad Pro laying in bed, it's too uncomfortable to hold. The screen is too big so you hold it further away and I can't see things too far away without my contact lenses (which I take out in the evening). The iPad mini fits my life so much better and it is what a tablet should be. Find the screen sharpness, colors, and everything excellent; though some people don't. The only issue for me is that darn jelly scrolling!

 

[rui no onna]

Y'all are crazy. Phones updating every year yes I can understand. But updating iPad every year or 2 years isn't necessary

Why?

For me, it's all about what device I use more. I kept my iPhone 7 for 4 years but bought 4 iPads during that time (2017 12.9, 2017 10.5, 2019 Air 3 & 2019 7th gen). I don't use my phone enough to benefit from upgrades. The iPads, I got because I wanted certain features.

 

[brig2221]

Jelly issue wasn't noticeable or bothersome to me. I just didn't like the scaling of iOS on the device.

I had never owned a previous mini, so I didn't know what to expect coming in, but the touch points were too small in some instances for me, and I just felt iOS was not optimized at all for this device. If it were, I more than likely would have held on to it and not returned it.

 

[Realityck]

I filed the return but still going back & forth about whether to send it in.
It's a tough decision because if it weren't for the jelly scrolling; I would consider this my favorite iPad ever. The first edge to edge designed iPad in this form factor. I've always had an obsession with miniature things, ever since I was a baby.

I also bought the iPhone 12 mini & now the 13 mini; first phones I've actually liked since the original iPhone SE. I'd choose that cute little form factor over 120hz refresh rate anyway, which is why I'm leaning toward accepting the 60hz & jelly scroll; perhaps.

The original prototypes to technology are always big, not aesthetically pleasing; monstrosities that you could never lug around with you. Then they are miniaturized and brought to market, and over the years they evolve into something you can fit in the palm of your hand. You could fill a massive room with the things your iPhone replaces, think of back in time; all the things that we have magically crammed into the iPhone.

I was obviously speaking of this class action lawsuit in jest, however I hope Apple gets wind of all the people who are unhappy with this issue and they resolve it. I cannot even use my 11" iPad Pro laying in bed, it's too uncomfortable to hold. The screen is too big so you hold it further away and I can't see things too far away without my contact lenses (which I take out in the evening). The iPad mini fits my life so much better and it is what a tablet should be. Find the screen sharpness, colors, and everything excellent; though some people don't. The only issue for me is that darn jelly scrolling!

Like any Apple device there is what you like and don’t. I was one who read about these observations, went to the store and decided the new model had enough improvements to warrant upgrading, mostly because it’s form factor and how much I find I use it daily. This comes down what many reviewers have stated, they can verified you can see that with some examples if specifically go looking for it, it’s also perfectly normal for 60 Hz IPS displays, but it’s not a deal breaker for majority of people that are attracted to what this product offers. If the mini is almost perfect for your needs, and you find you use it a lot, it’s not a tough decision IMHO.

 

[RickTaylor]

I've owned almost every mini model since the first. I was happy to discover I can't see the jelly effect (I suspect I'm not good at tracking moving text). I adore the mini form factor, and it would have been very disappointing if the new model had a deal breaking feature for me. I probably would have bought a second new iPad mini 5, planning to keep it until the 7 comes out.

 

[Daytona 360]

Y'all are crazy. Phones updating every year yes I can understand. But updating iPad every year or 2 years isn't necessary

Umm you do realize the iPad mini 4 came out in 2015 right?

 

[kp98077]

my original 6 mini had issues, Jelly, low light etc. got a new one yesterday (256, not 64) and its much better, very bright, no jelly signs seems great! maybe I just got a dud?! who knows -LOL

 

[jimmy_uk]

my original 6 mini had issues, Jelly, low light etc. got a new one yesterday (256, not 64) and its much better, very bright, no jelly signs seems great! maybe I just got a dud?! who knows -LOL

How's this possible? I thought it had been confirmed this is caused by hardware design (Apple said nothing to fix, tear downs show controller set for landscape), not software (displaying ipm6 on an external display shows no "jelly"), so all ipad mini 6's will have "jelly" scroll?

Not trying to ruin your purchase experience - more interested to find out if Apple are making hardware changes?

 

[Rafterman]

How's this possible? I thought it had been confirmed this is caused by hardware design (Apple said nothing to fix, tear downs show controller set for landscape), not software (displaying ipm6 on an external display shows no "jelly"), so all ipad mini 6's will have "jelly" scroll?

Expectations can play a part in what we perceive.

 

[jimmy_uk]

Expectations can play a part in what we perceive.

Well I noticed "jelly" scroll out of the box without knowing this was a "feature". Once seen cannot be unseen - so if receiving a replacement device that doesn't exhibit the effect perhaps something has changed?

 

[ebika]

Jelly issue wasn't noticeable or bothersome to me. I just didn't like the scaling of iOS on the device.

I had never owned a previous mini, so I didn't know what to expect coming in, but the touch points were too small in some instances for me, and I just felt iOS was not optimized at all for this device. If it were, I more than likely would have held on to it and not returned it.

I agree, I really dislike the way iPadOS 15 organizes the home screen, squishing all the apps into the center. There is strange scaling, and leaving a relatively large band of unusable space near the screen edges. At least it's a software thing, so it hopefully will be corrected.

 

[kp98077]

How's this possible? I thought it had been confirmed this is caused by hardware design (Apple said nothing to fix, tear downs show controller set for landscape), not software (displaying ipm6 on an external display shows no "jelly"), so all ipad mini 6's will have "jelly" scroll?

Not trying to ruin your purchase experience - more interested to find out if Apple are making hardware changes?

yeah good points... i just know i had to wait forever to get the 256gb model. The first think i noticed was the brighness, its very bright, happy about that!

 

[MrGimper]

my original 6 mini had issues, Jelly, low light etc. got a new one yesterday (256, not 64) and its much better, very bright, no jelly signs seems great! maybe I just got a dud?! who knows -LOL

So, to be absolutely clear here…. You had noticeable jelly on your original device… noticeable by you, but you don’t notice jelly on the new device you’ve received?

 

[kp98077]

So, to be absolutely clear here…. You had noticeable jelly on your original device… noticeable by you, but you don’t notice jelly on the new device you’ve received?

Yes correct + brightness issues. Probably just got a dud?

 

[MrGimper]

Yes correct + brightness issues. Probably just got a dud?

This is quite significant, and could indicate that there are panels out there that have less noticable jelly then.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is quite significant, and could indicate that there are panels out there that have less noticable jelly then.

Excited to see one because I sure haven’t yet.
Been to Best Buy and Apple Store and I have not seen a single mini six that was any different whatsoever on this aspect.

 

[Synomenon]

Glad to be in the camp that doesn't notice the jelly issue. I really like the Mini 6. If the iPhone 13 Mini had the same camera setup as the Pro. models, I would have picked one of those up. iPhone 13 Mini + iPad Mini 6 would be the perfect combo.

 

[tpfang56]

I filed the return but still going back & forth about whether to send it in.
It's a tough decision because if it weren't for the jelly scrolling; I would consider this my favorite iPad ever. The first edge to edge designed iPad in this form factor. I've always had an obsession with miniature things, ever since I was a baby. I would replicate large art pieces I saw on walls, on little pieces of paper since before I could walk. I'd carry those little art pieces around with me and if I lost it I would cry & cry. One of my favorite devices ever made was the PSP, I was a little kid and I brought it with me on a trip to Thailand. I thought it was the coolest thing, I could play games, listen to music, watch movies, browse the internet; all on this tiny little gadget. I would pay a premium to have everything miniature, I paid $2000 for one of these tiny things...
View attachment 1862300
It's called the OP-1 by Teenage Engineering. It's a synthesizer, drum machine, sampler, mixer; pretty much an entire recording studio in a tiny little box. It's not even the best sounding machine and has a lot of quirks to it; but the concept of fitting such a vast array of tasks into this cute little thing is what drew me to it. I'm also the same person who chose a maxed out 12" MacBook instead of the better performing ones just because of how cute I found it. I also bought the iPhone 12 mini & now the 13 mini; first phones I've actually liked since the original iPhone SE. I'd choose that cute little form factor over 120hz refresh rate anyway, which is why I'm leaning toward accepting the 60hz & jelly scroll; perhaps.

The original prototypes to technology are always big, not aesthetically pleasing; monstrosities that you could never lug around with you. Then they are miniaturized and brought to market, and over the years they evolve into something you can fit in the palm of your hand. You could fill a massive room with the things your iPhone replaces, think of back in time; all the things that we have magically crammed into the iPhone.

[...]
And a million other things

I was obviously speaking of this class action lawsuit in jest, however I hope Apple gets wind of all the people who are unhappy with this issue and they resolve it. I cannot even use my 11" iPad Pro laying in bed, it's too uncomfortable to hold. The screen is too big so you hold it further away and I can't see things too far away without my contact lenses (which I take out in the evening). The iPad mini fits my life so much better and it is what a tablet should be. Find the screen sharpness, colors, and everything excellent; though some people don't. The only issue for me is that darn jelly scrolling!

This is... surprisingly relatable. I, too, have always had some fascination with miniature things since at least middle school—except perhaps not as extreme. The obsession doesn't extend to electronics quite as much for me. I like my big TVs, prefer the regular 6.1" iphone (though that's at least partly because of how much I read/game on it), and think the 13.3" MBA is the perfect size for me and wouldn't go for a smaller laptop. Small computers such as netbooks and mini-computers are adorable, but usually they trend into being gimmicky and unusable.

The same does not apply for tablets. We must have a minority opinion, but the ipad mini is really the perfect tablet size. Nothing in my workflow can be replaced with an ipad, so I prefer the smaller size to do normal tablet things. Sadly, Apple doesn't see it that way. They've been trending towards bigger and more expensive ipads for years now while the mini has been the most neglected piece of their lineup to the point where people thought it might get discontinued.

Apple basically controls the ipad market. If they wanted, they could easily promote small tablets back into popularity by selling multiple versions of them at different price points like they do the 10-11" ipads. But they don't because they keep trying to sell the ipad as a psuedo-laptop replacement ie. a netbook 2.0. Sorry, Apple, but until iPadOS becomes more versatile, that's not happening for a lot of people.

Jelly scrolling is the major flaw of the ipad mini—for those of us with more sensitive eyes, at least. (I know for most people it's either not noticeable at all or isn't a dealbreaker.) The mini is truly the perfect e-reader size (albeit much more likely to cause eye strain than devices with e-ink), therefore more likely to be used in portrait mode. I prefer to read using continuous scrolling and read a lot on websites and social media. The jelly scrolling being that prominent utterly ruins the experience. It would've made so much more sense to keep it in landscape mode where the screen is wider and you're less likely to scroll because you're watching videos/gaming/taking notes. The only way they can get away with jelly scroll/scan-skew in narrow-ass portrait mode is having ProMotion 120hz. On the ipad pro, the jelly scroll is almost imperceptible even to me.

There's a recent post on reddit that has pointed out that the screen feels cheaper than usual, where even with standard 60hz it doesn't feel as smooth as the other displays, and I could kind of see that when I briefly had mine. IFixit brought up the possibility that the jelly scroll could be extra prominent because the display is on the cheaper side. Maybe this isn't 100% Apple's fault. They could've been pressed because of supply issues, pandemic, blah blah and whatever excuse, but I still feel disappointed. Once again, the ipad mini feels like the neglected middle child .

It's not the only flaw, though. The lack of storage/low base storage was my other big sticking point. However, at least with that waiting for discounted refurbished models or buying secondhand is possible. The jelly scroll will not be fixed until Apple redesigns their hardware and re-releases it. I also felt the lack of smart connecter was a missed opportunity. Yeah, a $200 mini magic keyboard was extremely unlikely (but would still be adorable and I want it!!), but Apple still could've included it for 3rd party support.

All the other problems are software only, such as the UI scaling being off. That's at least partially fixable by increasing the font size and icons in the accessibility options. Most apps I could make look decent by increasing the font size, except the reddit app which, unfortunately, is not at all well optimized for the mini or ipads in general. All software issues could still be fixed via software updates eventually.

I think I understand why you were calling the mini 6 "junk" before. Obviously, it's from a broken heart at having the perfect device, except for the one flaw that makes it a dealbreaker. ?

 

[rui no onna]

Apple basically controls the ipad market. If they wanted, they could easily promote small tablets back into popularity by selling multiple versions of them at different price points like they do the 10-11" ipads.

Majority of people I know would rather use big phones instead of a small tablet.

Apple really can't force the market. They used to sell $249 and $399 iPad minis but sales of iPads just kept dropping YOY. iPad sales revitalized after they introduced basic 9.7" iPads at $329.

 

[Fthree]

Just out of curiosity (i cannot see it) what exactly does the jelly scrolling effect hurt or stop you from doing?

 

[*~Kim~*]

I imagine it would be annoying in the extreme at the least. I find myself using portrait more on the Mini 6 than I did the 5, as the longer screen makes it more usable to me. Still predominantly use landscape though.

Other posters have reported it giving them headaches and motion sickness.

 

[weeesss]

Just out of curiosity (i cannot see it) what exactly does the jelly scrolling effect hurt or stop you from doing?

For me, not much. I mostly use it for Hulu, music and some social media. I see the jelly affect but I don’t try and stare at it.

 

[TheKommunist]

Is it possible that some models have a screen that's not as bad? I find it hard to believe that so many people dont notice the screen quality issues. I have an 11" ipad with pro motion and a 12 pro max, while I can immediately tell the difference in refresh rate its not like the screen on my 12PM is unusable, it looks perfectly smooth to me with no headache inducing jelly scroll or smearing in any orientation. I can switch between the two devices without any issues, though I can tell the screen on the ipad pro is smooth-er

On the flipside my Mini 6 which is set to be returned looked downright horrendous, but a poster above mentioned a different unit they got wasn't as bad. Makes me wonder if its my unit in particular that was really bad and if its worth gambling on buying models repeatedly until I find one with a display sourced from a different location.

 

[sparksd]

Is it possible that some models have a screen that's not as bad? I find it hard to believe that so many people dont notice the screen quality issues. I have an 11" ipad with pro motion and a 12 pro max, while I can immediately tell the difference in refresh rate its not like the screen on my 12PM is unusable, it looks perfectly smooth to me with no headache inducing jelly scroll or smearing in any orientation. I can switch between the two devices without any issues, though I can tell the screen on the ipad pro is smooth-er

On the flipside my Mini 6 which is set to be returned looked downright horrendous, but a poster above mentioned a different unit they got wasn't as bad. Makes me wonder if its my unit in particular that was really bad and if its worth gambling on buying models repeatedly until I find one with a display sourced from a different location.

I can't say that there are differences among units but in addition to the Mini 6, I have the 2021 12.9 Pro for comparison and I would in no way consider the display of my Mini 6 to be horrendous. I'm really enjoying it.

 

[TheKommunist]

I can't say that there are differences among units but in addition to the Mini 6, I have the 2021 12.9 Pro for comparison and I would in no way consider the display of my Mini 6 to be horrendous. I'm really enjoying it.

Yeah thats what I'm saying though - I am not someone thats super picky about screen quality (which is why im not upgrading my 12PM to get promotion, I think the display is fantastic and can switch between it and my ipad pro without issue). However, the Mini 6 screen that I experienced was noticeably bad compared to other '60hz' screens in my life, even worse than the older ipad my mother uses. Something is definitely off about them, and the fact that so many people dont notice anything at all makes me wonder if theres some units out there (like mine) that are just really bad.