M1 iPad Pro users report mini-LED display blooming issues, ‘normal behavior’ says Apple

12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro users have been reporting blooming issues with the Liquid Retina XDR display on their tablets. The display uses mini-LED technology powered by over 2,500 local dimming zones which provide amazing brightness and contrast ratio but also cause blooming effects on black backgrounds.

M1 iPad Pro display blooming, blur or color change against black backgrounds is ‘normal behavior’ as per Apple

Apple’s support page regarding the Liquid Retina XDR Display on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro talks about the trade-offs with the local dimming system which results in the blooming effect when there is extreme brightness.

The 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 because the LED zones are larger than the LCD pixel size. This display is designed to deliver crisp front-of-screen performance with its incredibly small custom mini-LED design, industry leading mini-LED density, large number of individually controlled local dimming zones, and custom optical films that shape the light while maintaining image fidelity and extreme brightness and contrast.

The company explains that it runs complex custom algorithms using the M1 chip which control the mini-LED and LCD layers separately as two displays to provide the best viewing experience.

Additionally, custom algorithms run on the advanced display engine of the M1 chip, working at the pixel level to control the mini-LED and LCD layers of the display separately, treating them as two distinct displays. These proprietary algorithms coordinate the mini-LED and LCD layers across transitions to deliver the optimal visual experience. Transitional characteristics of local dimming zones, such as a slight blur or color change while scrolling against black backgrounds, are normal behavior.

Users have been comparing their mini-LED iPad Pro against OLED displays on iPhone on other devices. While the brightness is better, the blooming effect can be distracting when there are bright elements on a black background, especially on top of HDR content.

It is highly likely that pictures of the issue might be exacerbating the blooming issue as many other 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro users are reporting that the issue is not as intense as it is being reported online.

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