iPad mini 6 already has a major issue — what you need to know

The iPad mini 2021
(Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

If you've noticed some display issues with your new iPad mini 6, you aren’t alone. There have been multiple reports of a “jelly scrolling” effect where both sides of the display are scrolling at different speeds.

According to 9to5Mac, this issue is much easier to spot in portrait mode, and the different rates of scrolling creates a noticeable wiggle as you’re trying to navigate up and down the page. Which isn’t exactly ideal.

The Verge’s Dieter Bohn is one of the users affected by this issue, and managed to get the ‘“jelly effect" on camera - though not without issues. Apparently it’s difficult to get the issue to show up on camera, though by filming in slow-mo Bohn managed to show off exactly what the issue is.

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Pretty jarring, right? Bizarrely, according to a reader speaking to 9to5Mac, the issue was also occurring on all the demo units at a nearby Apple Store.

Thankfully, since Apple Store demo units were alleged to be suffering from the jelly scrolling issue, it should already be on Apple’s radar. The downside to this means the problem may be pretty widespread. 

Unfortunately, it’s not clear what the issue is here, and whether this is a hardware issue or some sort of software fault that Apple can patch with an over-the-air update. In any case the only respite seems to be that the effect is much harder to spot in landscape mode.

We’re just going to have to wait for Apple to figure out what’s causing this issue, and what potential fixes are available. Here’s hoping that it’s all a software problem; otherwise Apple’s repairs team is going to end up a lot busier than usual.

In the meantime, affected users are either going to have to live with the wobbling effect while they wait for a resolution, or start using landscape mode a lot more than they had originally planned.

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Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.