The seventh-generation iPad mini features the A17 Pro chip for Apple Intelligence. Source: Apple
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A new teardown of the seventh-generation iPad mini reveals very few changes and no obvious physical changes to reduce jelly scrolling, despite evidence that the effect has been minimized.
The 2024 iPad mini doesn't get rid of the problem entirely, but it does reduce the effect — despite no obvious changes to the display driver board. However, a teardown by iFixit.com has revealed some changes Apple has made to the new model, including an interesting change to the Apple logo on the back of the device.
In addition to upgrading the chip to the A17 Pro and the minimum RAM to 8GB to allow the new iPad mini to support Apple Intelligence, Apple has increased the base storage to 128GB. Thanks to the new chip, the 2024 iPad mini now supports both the Apple Pencil and the new Apple Pencil Pro.
In addition, the Wi-Fi module has been upgraded to support Wi-Fi 6E, and the USB-C port can now transfer data at up to 10Gbps. However, aside from these changes, iFixit reports that the only other notable change to the new iPad mini is a reduction in the jelly scrolling effect.
What is jelly scrolling?
Simply put, it’s a slight “tearing” effect that’s most noticeable when scrolling through text. It’s caused by a slight discrepancy in refresh rates between the left and right halves of the screen.
MacStories’ Federico Viticci believes the issue has been “fixed” thanks to a new, optimized display controller that reduces the delay between left and right screen refreshes. iFixit used a high-speed camera to show that while the effect has been significantly reduced, it’s not completely eliminated.
The issue could have been reduced even more if Apple had upgraded the display to a 120Hz model, but Apple is still using a 60Hz IPS display in the new model. A teardown showed that, in terms of parts, almost nothing else has changed compared to the 2021 model.
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One or Two Small Surprises
One of the new discoveries from the teardown was that the new USB-C port is easier to replace than the previous version. This is good news from a repairability standpoint, since the USB-C port wears out a lot after a few years.
A CT scan of the iPad mini before its teardown also revealed a change to the silver Apple logo on the back of the device, and a teardown revealed that the logo is no longer etched into the metal, as it was on previous models.
This means that the Apple logo is now a separate piece glued to the back panel, making it easy to remove once the bulk of the device’s components have been removed.
iFixit has given the 2024 iPad mini a preliminary score of 3 out of 10, matching the score the company gave the previous model.
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