New 12.9-inch iPad Pro already has a display problem — what you need to know

New 12.9-inch iPad Pro already has a display problem — what yous need to know

(Paradigm credit: Tom'south Guide/Henry T. Casey)

Apple has begun aircraft its 2021 M1-equipped iPad Pro tablets, and the larger 12.9-inch version has earned special acclamation for its beautiful mini-LED display. We praised its brightness and stellar picture quality in our ain iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) review, but at present some owners are reporting some distracting bloom effects appearing on the screen while viewing their tablet in a dark room.

Notably, 2021 iPad Pro users like Josh Teder and Teoh Yi Chie have taken to Twitter to post images showcasing a slight bloom effect that tin can be seen around bright areas of the 12.ix-inch iPad Pro's screen when using it in full darkness.

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This is pregnant because, as MacRumors points out, Apple'due south support documents for the new iPad Pro specifically spell out how the larger iPad Pro'due south Liquid Retina XDR display is designed to minimize bloom past treatment local dimming better than typical LED LCD displays.

12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021 light bloom — This image, posted to Twitter by Teoh Yi Chie (@ParkaBlogs), shows how noticeable the bloom effect tin be effectually bright areas of the screen when viewed in full darkness. (Prototype credit: Teoh Yi Chie)

Local dimming is a trick used in newer LED LCD displays to attempt matching the high contrast ratio of OLED displays, which are capable of switching individual pixels on and off. LED LCD displays, by contrast, are backlit with LEDs that tin't light specific pixels without casting some excess lite.

The 12.9-inch version of Apple tree'southward 2021 iPad Pro has a special mini-LED display, and the addition of mini-LED is a large deal because the Pro's mini-LED diodes are a 5th the size of normal LED diodes, meaning more densely packed lighting zones that tin can be individually brightened or dimmed.

"These mini-LEDs are grouped into an array of over 2,500 individually controlled local dimming zones. This delivers incredibly deep blacks right next to bright paradigm areas, achieving a ane,000,000:1 contrast ratio," notes Apple'due south support documentation. "Transitional characteristics of local dimming zones, such as a slight blur or color alter while scrolling against black backgrounds, are normal behavior."

Some users are now posting images which prove a noticeable light bloom around bright areas of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's screen in full darkness, even when they aren't scrolling. Many are quick to bespeak out that this is a very subtle result that'south barely noticeable unless you're using the iPad in a dark room, but it'due south still a notable example of how Apple tree's new mini-LED display falls brusk of what can be achieved with a high-quality OLED screen like that constitute on the Samsung Milky way Tab S7 Plus.

Nosotros should too indicate out that while we constitute the 12.nine-inch iPad Pro'southward display to be remarkably sharp and bright in our review, we too noticed that yous really need to be viewing HDR content on the device to see the difference the mini-LED display makes. Not that it makes non-HDR content look bad, of course — you lot should just know that not all iOS apps currently support HDR content (we're looking at you, HBO Max) so yous won't get the most out of your new 12.9-inch iPad Pro's brandish when using them.

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Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than than a decade of experience covering both for outlets similar Game Developer, Black Chapeau, and PC Earth magazine. He currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.