Apple ditching MacBook webcam?

[DHagan4755]

This post is controversial, conspiratorial, and even perhaps improbable.

That moment during the WWDC keynote when Craig gave the Continuity Camera demo, a quick flash went through my mind. This is how Apple's testing the waters to ditch the webcam in MacBooks. Sure, the demo was done on the 13" MacBook Pro with 720p webcam. And yes, this may be geared towards Apple's pre-2021 MacBooks with the older camera tech that can upgrade to macOS Ventura. But some interesting things have happened since the WWDC keynote.

Reviewers have gotten their hands on the macOS Ventura beta. They all tout how good Continuity camera is — even if you have a 2021 or newer MacBook with a 1080p webcam. Aside from Stage Manager, this is the new OS's standout new feature.

Then I noticed The Verge's review of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 gaming laptop. The diameter of the bezels around the top of display look reminiscent of the new MacBook display... but with no notch. As it turns out, Asus didn't put a webcam in this laptop.

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Of course The Verge dinged Asus for this "transgression." But if Apple made the Continuity Camera work so seamlessly, as we've seen, this would be a minor inconvenience. No need for Apple to reinvent the iSight webcam. Remember that?

Ok, sure not every MacBook Pro user is an iPhone user, but a many of them probably are. And, if you're using your webcam often, you probably want something of a little better quality, yes? Apple will win because of that ecosystem tie-in.

Then there's new Insta360 webcam came out & it looks hella cool.

Or this Mac-specific 4k webcam from Opal Camera, discussed briefly on Tuesday by Jason Snell on MacBreak Weekly.

Not to forget that most camera manufacturers from Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, etc. have come out with firmware updates that let you use their cameras as webcams through USB. Although some are only 720p resolution the quality of the 720p image is FAR superior to even the 1080p webcam in the newest MacBooks.

To sum up, Apple initially gave us this for the iPad pencil:

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And then gave us this:

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It all boils down to that notch. We're seeing Apple trying to get rid of as much of the notch as possible on the next iPhone. Either way, I ventura to say that the notch may not have a long life on the newest MacBook design. Clearly it's a compromise. So is Apple going to ditch webcams now that there are 3rd party alternatives as well as Apple's own Continuity Camera? Maybe. Anything's possible.

"Courage."

 

[jav6454]

I have no clue if Apple will eliminate the web cam. I do think it will just be another option.

 

[Juicy Box]

I don't think it would be a good move.

Although, having external cameras again is definitely an Apple way of doing things: fix a problem, that wasn't really a problem, until Apple made it one.

 

[chengengaun]

That makes me think if Apple will (re-)introduce the 12" MacBook - without a webcam - and make it as thin as possible. Then it can just use the MBA-without-an-optical-drive argument to sell it as a feature.

 

[spiderman0616]

I would prefer Apple does not do this. I was just thinking earlier this evening how I love that my MacBook Pro is the do-everything box with the nicest speakers, screen, I/O etc. out of all my devices. It's not always necessary to bring this much horsepower with me, but I love being able to when I need it. FaceTime, WebEx, Zoom, etc. are part of my daily/weekly workflows and I prefer not to have to hang a phone off my laptop lid to get them to work.

I just don't see Apple ever eliminating the webcam. FaceTime is just too important.

 

[VivienM]

Either way, I ventura to say that the notch may not have a long life on the newest MacBook design.

I think the notch will last longer than anti-notchers would like. Some supplier has spent a lot of money tooling up to make these very custom panels for Apple, and, well... when Apple gets people to make them custom LCD panels, especially for Macs, they seem to use them for quite a while.

(e.g. how many years has the 13.3" 2560x1600 panel been in production? Ten years, no? Or the 27" 5120x2880 that has now found a new life in the Studio Display?)

Apple basically doesn't use any LCD panels that are the same specs as what is used in Windowsland anymore, either - not sure what the last resolution they used that was used in Windowsland? Maybe the 1920x1080 non-retina 21.5" iMac? The 11.6" 1366x768 MBA? They also continued to use the 1280x800 13.3" panels years and years after Windowsland moved to 16:9, but that was not an Apple-exclusive resolution/size when they launched those MBs.

Unless it is absurdly cheap manufacturing-wise to remove the notch, I think that notch is staying for 3-5 years or however long it is until the next big redesign of the MBP line.

 

[JPack]

At the end of the day, the problem still remains. Nobody wants their iPhone held hostage and draining battery while it's being used as a webcam. Not to mention you have to bring a plastic contraption with you to mount the iPhone.

Continuity Camera exists to promote the sales of iPhone by highlighting the excellent camera system, not to remove it from MacBook.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Will not.