2021 M1 iPad Pro is now on sale. Some customers, who pre-ordered the device back in April and have received the new iPad, are already reporting a ‘blooming’ issue with the new mini LED display.
Apple claims that the new mini LED display, the technology that’s behind M1 iPad Pro’s Liquid Retina XDR Display, is designed to improve the blooming effect that is generally seen in the LCD displays. In its support document, Apple says that “Liquid Retina XDR display improves upon the trade-offs of typical local dimming systems, where the extreme brightness of LEDs might cause a slight blooming effect.”
The main reason behind the minimization of the blooming effect is due to the ~2,600 local dimming zones behind the new mini LED display. All iPad Pro models, other than the 12.9-inch model, come with an LCD display. Since LCD panels have only one lighting zone, the display was exposed to a blooming issue. With the increase in the number of LED zones now, Apple says that the blooming effect should be less.
However, users are still reporting the issue with the 12.9-inch mini LED iPad Pro. Users say that the new display is blooming more than expected. Some have even shared their experience on the social media platforms.
After spending 24 hours with it I can safely say #MiniLED is NOT the display tech #Apple is likely gonna keep for the iPad long term. OLED is far superior with picture quality. This is definitely an improvement don’t get me wrong, but it’s not OLED level good IMO.
— Josh Teder 🤷♂️ (@JoshTeder) May 22, 2021
On a mini LED display, the blooming effect should be less since all the zones of the panel do not light up at the same time. However, in an LCD, all the zones light up at the same time and cause the blooming effect.
OLED display, the display technology used in Apple’s iPhone 12 series, does not require these dimming zones since the pixels in the OLED display light themselves up. They’re all able to turn on and off individually, hence black colors are much deeper in such displays.
What can happen when you have 2,500 dimming zones. This is noticeable when you use iPad Pro 2021 in total darkness.
iPad Pro 2018 has less distracting blooming because the bloom covers a large area. And there's IPS glow.
More on this tomorrow https://t.co/yGqFwdeJwz pic.twitter.com/7q82vAvc5d
— Parka (@ParkaBlogs) May 21, 2021
Blooming on the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro is, therefore, to be expected, but users seem to be divided about how bad the effect actually is. In some cases, there’s no blooming effect, however, in others, it is very much noticeable.
Apple is said to be preparing more devices with the mini LED panels. A new MacBook Air is said to be in the works with the new mini LED display. Few renders of the upcoming 2021 M1 MacBook Air were leaked last week.
Have you experienced the blooming issue on the new 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments section below!
