In the recent bedrock update (1.21.120), It says that Ambient Occlusion should be in parity with Java, which is not true, it has not been fixed. I am making this report as a “reminder” that this should be fixed completely.
The blocks affected by this bug are non-full blocks like slabs, stairs, trapdoors, and more. This significantly hurts the look of the builds and some natural terrain, and this even affects vibrant visuals.
To Reproduce
In the main menu, navigate to Settings → Video → Graphics Mode, and select Fancy.
Enable Smooth Lighting.
Enter a world in Creative Mode with Cheats enabled.
Type the following command:
/locate biome minecraft:snowy_slopes
Teleport to the Snowy Slopes biome.
Observe a sloping hill with snow layers.
Observe the unnatural lighting on the snow layers.
Expected Result
Lighting is smooth on partial blocks when next to full blocks.
Observed Result
Lighting on partial blocks looks unnatural next to full blocks, with a harsh dividing line at the edge of the partial block.
The issue you are describing is not what the changelog was referring to. This is what the changelog was referring to:
1.121.110
1.21.120:
Your issue is being tracked at MCPE-178976 .