Are we over-criticizing the 720p webcam?

[defunder]

The best part of these threads is the mental gymnastics some of the fanboys and girls jump through rationalizing a subpar part (aka subpart? lol).

When in reality, we would be laughing at a PC company that hadn’t changed their camera in a decade.

Also, enough with the semantics of a 1080p camera. No, we don’t just want increased resolution and poor performance. We want the increased sensor, the whole shebang. A new camera that will usher in a new era of what is possible to do with a MacBook. Might just be OnlyFans ?, but I’m excited for FaceTime, photos, and things we haven’t even thought of yet.

If I can blow your mind and simultaneously annoy you: I would love a physical camera cover AND the ability to flip the camera to record the other direction.

As far as the bump, BRING IT ON. I’m excited to see what their design team comes up with. Apple makes the most beautiful products in the world. I’m ready to file any complaints on a bump with all the complaints on the iPhone notch: in the trash.

As many of you have said, cost of the lower-end machines and possible excess supply of 720p cameras probably have factored into why nothing has changed.

Finally, I’m not mad or upset. Just enjoying reading the debate from within a community I love. I’m super excited for the future of Mac, and that includes the camera!

 

[827538]

It's 2020, I believe everything should be 1080p or higher, 720p was always meant to be a stop gap.

If they can fit incredible front facing cameras in iPhones then surely they can do a small spec bump to 1080p, especially seeing as how FaceTime now runs at 1080p. A 1080p sensor with larger pixels + this new M1 chip should be able to over a significant boost in picture quality compared to what we are used to. I don't know why the 720p camera irks me as much as it does, but I do wish Apple would fix it.

 

[827538]

The best part of these threads is the mental gymnastics some of the fanboys and girls jump through rationalizing a subpar part (aka subpart? lol).

When in reality, we would be laughing at a PC company that hadn’t changed their camera in a decade.

Also, enough with the semantics of a 1080p camera. No, we don’t just want increased resolution and poor performance. We want the increased sensor, the whole shebang. A new camera that will usher in a new era of what is possible to do with a MacBook. Might just be OnlyFans ?, but I’m excited for FaceTime, photos, and things we haven’t even thought of yet.

If I can blow your mind and simultaneously annoy you: I would love a physical camera cover AND the ability to flip the camera to record the other direction.

As far as the bump, BRING IT ON. I’m excited to see what their design team comes up with. Apple makes the most beautiful products in the world. I’m ready to file any complaints on a bump with all the complaints on the iPhone notch: in the trash.

As many of you have said, cost of the lower-end machines and possible excess supply of 720p cameras probably have factored into why nothing has changed.

Finally, I’m not mad or upset. Just enjoying reading the debate from within a community I love. I’m super excited for the future of Mac, and that includes the camera!

These a premium machines, it's to be expected that Apple focus on making each component as good as possible. Looking at the M1 MacBook Pro the only subpar piece of hardware in the machine is the FaceTime camera and to those that say a bump up to 1080p (with hopefully a better sensor with bigger pixels) wouldn't make a difference are simply wrong.
If Apple can devote resources to improving the already great mic setup for the MacBook Pro then they can devote resources to the camera hardware too. Personally I believe they will upgrade the FaceTime camera with the refresh coming next year with new displays. But it does not excuse them from criticism either.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

Audio clarity is what is most important. When the last iPad Pros came out I was floored how clean they were for audio. Stunning. As long as these M1s have good mics, that’s all that matters. The video is FINE from what I’ve seen. I’ve yet to hear one in person though.

 

[funandblindness]

720p for zoom is plenty. Most live sports you watch in the US is 720p.

Why aren't sports programs in 1080p (or 4K for that matter?) - The Solid Signal Blog

Sports is big business. Why isn't more of it available at the highest quality?

blog.solidsignal.com

 

[deevey]

technically, physics doesn't necessarily dictate thicker cameras for higher resolution. however, given the thickness limitation of the MB lid, there is nothing to be gained from going to 1080p from 720p.

Distance from sensor to the lens I would think equates physics, but I'm open to being corrected if that's not the correct term.

The smallest 1080p sensor / lens array I'm aware of commercially is almost twice as thick as the MB camera and costs a small fortune (in webcam terms).

I for one would welcome a return to the external iSight camera for those who really "need" better cameras.

 

[montygw]

VCS sound is so heavily compressed and such poor quality how about we give that some priority first.

 

[deevey]

Reread what I wrote. I never said put a full frame sensor and L lens into a facetime selfie camera.

Apologies, misquote ... but the software you speak of has been on many cameras for a decade.

Alot of action cams and Mirrorless cameras CAN be used as a webcam or have the option of HDMI out which can be routed though a cheap usb capture device.

 

[deevey]

What years is this? It's crazy that Apple refuses to put a 1080p or higher webcam in their macs and iPhones. 720p is no longer considered HD.

Refusal is nothing to do with it. Apple don't currently manufacture or develop cameras, they use existing technology that is currently available from whatever manufacture specializes in making them. None of which currently make a 1.5mm thick 1080p camera.

So pick your poison: Better webcam or thicker / bigger bezels on the screen.

 

[Fthree]

most "pros" have a dslr anyway and use them to do any type of recording. I think the 720 is fine

 

[deeddawg]

I have an external webcam that is not 720p and the quality is much better in all lighting conditions. I agree, Apple is doing some software optimization to the video, but there is still no excuse for Apple to be putting a 720p webcam on an M1 machine.

Just curious - which higher quality cameras fit into the 3.3mm thick lid edge? Factor in that's including the screen front glass and metal lid, so the entire sensor/lens assembly likely needs to be less than 2.5mm - perhaps even as low as 1.5 to 2mm thick.

Let's say there isn't one, or at least you're unable to locate / cite such a camera assembly. What are other options?

Sure you could go with a higher pixel density 1080p sensor that fit in the same space, but you'd have worse low light performance due to the smaller pixel wells capturing fewer photons and thereby requiring higher amplification - and thus a lower signal to noise ratio and even crappier image quality.

Make the sensor wider you say? Well physics of light is a pesky thing and to keep the same field of view the lens assembly would then need to be thicker -- which goes back to the prior constraint of lid thickness.

Or should we switch to camera humps on the lid?

 

[Hexley]

Apologies, misquote ... but the software you speak of has been on many cameras for a decade.

Alot of action cams and Mirrorless cameras CAN be used as a webcam or have the option of HDMI out which can be routed though a cheap usb capture device.

deevey your solution is

• more complicated
• more expensive
• not free
• not originating from the camera manufactuer
• not presently supported by some video conferencing apps.

 

[JamesMay82]

I Agree they are very behind on updating the cameras but I suppose it depends what you do for a living. Most people I know just use their iPhones for zoom/FaceTime calls etc.

 

[sean+mac]

Edit: I spent a while crafting this reply. In the meantime a few others chimed in with some very similar replies, such as this one:

Just curious - which higher quality cameras fit into the 3.3mm thick lid edge? Factor in that's including the screen front glass and metal lid, so the entire sensor/lens assembly likely needs to be less than 2.5mm - perhaps even as low as 1.5 to 2mm thick.

I just wanted to call out I wasn't trying to "beat a dead horse" with a very repetitive reply that honed in on a few of the same points (like glass/aluminum contributing to the limited thickness.) My message was just in the midst of being crafted while a few others were also posted.

Orignal message:

As far as the bump, BRING IT ON. I’m excited to see what their design team comes up with. Apple makes the most beautiful products in the world. I’m ready to file any complaints on a bump with all the complaints on the iPhone notch: in the trash.

Thank you for your balanced request. I thought this thread had settled (mostly) on body thickness being a constraint on about page 5-6 then suddenly it blew up again with a ton of crying about Apple cheaped out on this design by not upgrading the cam beyond the driver/processing improvements.

Almost certainly they would have had to have redesigned the body completely to thicken the display, even if just for a camera bump (and a space for that bump, if it bumped in towards the body.) Like it or not, they chose not to update the bodies with this round of M1 upgrades. If I had to guess this would be, in part, due to a ton of R&D money already going into the design, testing and manufacturing of a brand new chip which is a generational leap over existing laptop CPUs. Also I suspect it helps communicate to the less tech savvy customers that "it is just another MacBook Air, don't worry about tit" if that's all they're in the shop for.

Anyway, thanks for being reasonable in saying "bring on the bump" (paraphrased.)

It's 2020, I believe everything should be 1080p or higher, 720p was always meant to be a stop gap.

If they can fit incredible front facing cameras in iPhones then surely they can do a small spec bump to 1080p, especially seeing as how FaceTime now runs at 1080p. A 1080p sensor with larger pixels + this new M1 chip should be able to over a significant boost in picture quality compared to what we are used to. I don't know why the 720p camera irks me as much as it does, but I do wish Apple would fix it.

This goes back to the need for a bump. I am not 100% sure on the display itself, but the thinnest part of Air's total height specs is 4.1mm – including the keyboard/computer half. So let's say it is 2.5-3mm display thickness, generously. This also aligns to a quick calliper measurement I tried to perform on my 13" MacBook Pro's display, but honestly I was worried about scratching it so only gently tried to get a ballpark measure of it. This thickness includes the glass and aluminum body. While true of all devices, obviously as a % of total available depth the housing would represent a much higher proportion of available space in a thinner device. So even 1,2,3mm added can fully go to housing thicker components and wiring.

As a comparison iPad Pro is, from what I could tell, the thinnest device to have a FaceId module. It is 5.9mm.

Unfortunately I could not find any measurements of the FaceId module itself. When shown in teardown though it does seem to take up a fair bit of the depth of the the devices it is in. Especially with the two little lenses protruding out of it.

I wasted more time than I'd care to admit trying to find a teardown of a modern MacBook's display to show the camera module. Most newer teardown don't seem to even bother disassembling the whole display – likely as it gets replaced as one unit in any sort of repair. Here's a 2012 teardown which claims the display back then was 3-7mm. I hope the ruler shown for the sake a photo wasn't how they actually measured that . But it was also 720p camera back then so that's something.

The thickness of the display is tricky to go off of because MacBooks have some roundedness/taper to the body. This aligns close to the LCD bezel, making it thinnest on the extreme edges. Arguably, that tapering covers the camera's location, so a more squared-off redesign could possibly add a little extra room where the camera is place above the LCD.

those that say a bump up to 1080p (with hopefully a better sensor with bigger pixels) wouldn't make a difference are simply wrong.

I don't think there aren't people saying a better camera wouldn't be an appreciated improvement, if one could be added without other form factor tradeoffs. They are just skeptical on the idea that it is even feasible to make a 1080p camera module that would fit the current dimensions without introducing noise and other camera quality tradeoffs.

This brings us back to introducing a bump, a body shape redesign to thicken things up or some other more radical redesign/investment into the overall camera/sensor design.

–

I will say agree that I much prefer my iMac's 1080p camera to my (Intel) 13" MacBook Pro. It definitely is a quality improvement and the new camera picks up a lot more light and a wider field of view. Appreciated! But I also understand the iMac has a lot more space to work with. If anything, the outrage should be that the iMacs didn't upgrade a few years sooner. I am a little disappointed they didn't bring FaceId into this year's model, given it has the T2 module now and there is space to spare.

 

[JamieLannister]

I believe there is some magic trickery going on because the C525 Logitech webcam on my M1 mini looks way better than attached to any of my other 2020 intel MacBooks and the frame rate is buttery smooth. Not to mention cpu usage is so little and the heat produced by the mini (albeit fans on 1700rpm default) it's so cool running and efficient, just remarkable.

 

[ghanwani]

720p is lousy but it works for me because I don’t care enough about that function.

It’s like folks that are ok driving a beater as long as it gets them around.

 

[digitalbreak]

Just curious - which higher quality cameras fit into the 3.3mm thick lid edge? Factor in that's including the screen front glass and metal lid, so the entire sensor/lens assembly likely needs to be less than 2.5mm - perhaps even as low as 1.5 to 2mm thick.

Let's say there isn't one, or at least you're unable to locate / cite such a camera assembly. What are other options?

Sure you could go with a higher pixel density 1080p sensor that fit in the same space, but you'd have worse low light performance due to the smaller pixel wells capturing fewer photons and thereby requiring higher amplification - and thus a lower signal to noise ratio.

Make the sensor wider you say? Well physics of light is a pesky thing and to keep the same field of view the lens assembly would then need to be thicker -- which goes back to the prior constraint of lid thickness.

Or should we switch to camera humps on the lid?

We are talking about Apple who defy the odds and build great products. So as a consumer and buyer of their products, I expect them to innovate in this department as well.

 

[TantalizedMind]

Personally I mostly found it amusing that Apple hyped up the image processing in the M1 and specifically mentioned this in relation to the webcam but then in the small print it's like... 720p. Just as it has been for about a decade.

Of course the actual camera unit is superior to the 720p cameras used on older machines. Less graininess and a wider angle for example.

Just kind of funny to choose the camera as something to hype up during the release when it's 720p in 2020/almost 2021.

I'm not mad about it though. You are correct OP, most people are only using the webcam for video conferencing which is so compressed you wouldn't notice the difference between 720p and 1080p anyway. Like most people here I've been doing a lot of video conferencing since Covid and I honestly don't think I could tell if someone's webcam was 720p or 1080p during a video chat with how much compression is applied to the image, especially when it's multi-party video conferences.

Oh this thread reminds me, I need to buy one of those privacy slider things for the webcam on my MBA. Hopefully I can find one thin enough that it won't stop it from closing. Feels wrong to put duct tape on a brand new shiny laptop.

I think I’ve heard of people using band-aids. Apparently they work well and don’t leave a sticky residue.

 

[Tomas Truchly]

Well. The thing is that iPhone12 is coming with FullHD Facetime for the first time.
So one would expect M1 MBP13 2020 to match up. On the other hand unfortunately all business videoconferences just transfer HD Video only. Zoom, Webex, Microsoft..etc.. I used to work with company VIDYO which could transfer FULL HD picture from camera and 4K presentation in 2014. It was insane at the time. So yes. FullHD would be nice. But no big deal in multipoint. This is just problem when you are conferencing 1-1.
Tomas

 

[Tomas Truchly]

I believe there is some magic trickery going on because the C525 Logitech webcam on my M1 mini looks way better than attached to any of my other 2020 intel MacBooks and the frame rate is buttery smooth. Not to mention cpu usage is so little and the heat produced by the mini (albeit fans on 1700rpm default) it's so cool running and efficient, just remarkable.

Jamie. You want to facetime your sister right?

 

[acidfast7_redux]

Distance from sensor to the lens I would think equates physics, but I'm open to being corrected if that's not the correct term.

The smallest 1080p sensor / lens array I'm aware of commercially is almost twice as thick as the MB camera and costs a small fortune (in webcam terms).

I for one would welcome a return to the external iSight camera for those who really "need" better cameras.

The distance from sensor to lens has nothing to do with the sensor resolution. What's really needed is lower resolution, small f/number and better ISO sensitivity.

 

[MayaTlab]

This brings us back to introducing a bump

On a laptop like the MBA, there could be a somewhat simple way of introducing a bump without affecting the display's thickness or even curved design : just fit it in the (enlarged) notch of the bottom casing for opening the display.

 

[WinterWolf90]

I have the early 2020 air, the webcam is god awful. Way worse than my 2015 MacBook Pro. Unless you have studio lighting it looks so grainy. There is no excuse for this, may the lid bigger and upgrade the camera. The fact people defend this is shocking.

 

[wdahab]

If anything, we are under-criticizing the webcam. The issue isn't the resolution, it's the sensor has potato quality. Sitting in similar light, if you look at my MBP webcam vs Facetime on my iPhone, it's night and day. The Macbook camera is uselessly bad, the iPhones camera is great. And sure, I can imagine it's due to the shallow depth of the Macbook lid... but that doesn't change that it's embarrassingly unprofessional to use, and needs to be solved, seriously.

 

[AutomaticApple]

One lasting impact from the pandemic is that working from home is going to become more common, even after its over.

Why would working from home still be common after the pandemic is over?

What is the point of a 1080p camera when on a conference call others will see you at a much smaller resolution? Even on video call the picture rarerly fills up 1/4 of the screen let alone the full display. Also as pointed out by others, you can get far far better results with a DSLR which no built-in webcams can come even close to, if you need.

Yes, that is the point I'm trying to get across.

Another thing I find funny is people complain about the 720p camera and make fun of Apple not using 1080p, but then they also put tape on the 720p camera already.

Yes, it is extremely ironic.

The best part of these threads is the mental gymnastics some of the fanboys and girls jump through rationalizing a subpar part (aka subpart? lol).

If it makes a difference, I have a Surface Pro 7 and a Chromebook that I actively use. ?

It's 2020, I believe everything should be 1080p or higher, 720p was always meant to be a stop gap.

If they can fit incredible front facing cameras in iPhones then surely they can do a small spec bump to 1080p, especially seeing as how FaceTime now runs at 1080p. A 1080p sensor with larger pixels + this new M1 chip should be able to over a significant boost in picture quality compared to what we are used to. I don't know why the 720p camera irks me as much as it does, but I do wish Apple would fix it.

The iPhone is much thicker than the lid of a MacBook. The M1 chip has already proven to significantly improve the picture quality of the webcam. Do not let the spec sheet irk you.

These a premium machines, it's to be expected that Apple focus on making each component as good as possible. Looking at the M1 MacBook Pro the only subpar piece of hardware in the machine is the FaceTime camera and to those that say a bump up to 1080p (with hopefully a better sensor with bigger pixels) wouldn't make a difference are simply wrong.
If Apple can devote resources to improving the already great mic setup for the MacBook Pro then they can devote resources to the camera hardware too. Personally I believe they will upgrade the FaceTime camera with the refresh coming next year with new displays. But it does not excuse them from criticism either.

How do you know that it would make a significant difference? Did you watch the video?

Audio clarity is what is most important. When the last iPad Pros came out I was floored how clean they were for audio. Stunning. As long as these M1s have good mics, that’s all that matters. The video is FINE from what I’ve seen. I’ve yet to hear one in person though.

Yes, audio clarify is definitely important to. Great point.

720p for zoom is plenty. Most live sports you watch in the US is 720p.

Why aren't sports programs in 1080p (or 4K for that matter?) - The Solid Signal Blog

Sports is big business. Why isn't more of it available at the highest quality?

blog.solidsignal.com

If only that fact gained mainstream media attention...

Distance from sensor to the lens I would think equates physics, but I'm open to being corrected if that's not the correct term.

The smallest 1080p sensor / lens array I'm aware of commercially is almost twice as thick as the MB camera and costs a small fortune (in webcam terms).

I for one would welcome a return to the external iSight camera for those who really "need" better cameras.

External cameras are underrated.

VCS sound is so heavily compressed and such poor quality how about we give that some priority first.

I cannot tell if youre being sarcastic or not.

Refusal is nothing to do with it. Apple don't currently manufacture or develop cameras, they use existing technology that is currently available from whatever manufacture specializes in making them. None of which currently make a 1.5mm thick 1080p camera.

So pick your poison: Better webcam or thicker / bigger bezels on the screen.

It truly is a "pick your poison" situation.

most "pros" have a dslr anyway and use them to do any type of recording. I think the 720 is fine

Most professionals have external cameras.

Just curious - which higher quality cameras fit into the 3.3mm thick lid edge? Factor in that's including the screen front glass and metal lid, so the entire sensor/lens assembly likely needs to be less than 2.5mm - perhaps even as low as 1.5 to 2mm thick.

Let's say there isn't one, or at least you're unable to locate / cite such a camera assembly. What are other options?

Sure you could go with a higher pixel density 1080p sensor that fit in the same space, but you'd have worse low light performance due to the smaller pixel wells capturing fewer photons and thereby requiring higher amplification - and thus a lower signal to noise ratio.

Make the sensor wider you say? Well physics of light is a pesky thing and to keep the same field of view the lens assembly would then need to be thicker -- which goes back to the prior constraint of lid thickness.

Or should we switch to camera humps on the lid?

Camera humps? Can we avoid those?

I Agree they are very behind on updating the cameras but I suppose it depends what you do for a living. Most people I know just use their iPhones for zoom/FaceTime calls etc.

Are they behind their competitors though?

Edit: I spent a while crafting this reply. In the meantime a few others chimed in with some very similar replies, such as this one:


I just wanted to call out I wasn't trying to "beat a dead horse" with a very repetitive reply that honed in on a few of the same points (like glass/aluminum contributing to the limited thickness.) My message was just in the midst of being crafted while a few others were also posted.

Orignal message:

Thank you for your balanced request. I thought this thread had settled (mostly) on body thickness being a constraint on about page 5-6 then suddenly it blew up again with a ton of crying about Apple cheaped out on this design by not upgrading the cam beyond the driver/processing improvements.

Almost certainly they would have had to have redesigned the body completely to thicken the display, even if just for a camera bump (and a space for that bump, if it bumped in towards the body.) Like it or not, they chose not to update the bodies with this round of M1 upgrades. If I had to guess this would be, in part, due to a ton of R&D money already going into the design, testing and manufacturing of a brand new chip which is a generational leap over existing laptop CPUs. Also I suspect it helps communicate to the less tech savvy customers that "it is just another MacBook Air, don't worry about tit" if that's all they're in the shop for.

Anyway, thanks for being reasonable in saying "bring on the bump" (paraphrased.)



This goes back to the need for a bump. I am not 100% sure on the display itself, but the thinnest part of Air's total height specs is 4.1mm – including the keyboard/computer half. So let's say it is 2.5-3mm display thickness, generously. This also aligns to a quick calliper measurement I tried to perform on my 13" MacBook Pro's display, but honestly I was worried about scratching it so only gently tried to get a ballpark measure of it. This thickness includes the glass and aluminum body. While true of all devices, obviously as a % of total available depth the housing would represent a much higher proportion of available space in a thinner device. So even 1,2,3mm added can fully go to housing thicker components and wiring.

As a comparison iPad Pro is, from what I could tell, the thinnest device to have a FaceId module. It is 5.9mm.

Unfortunately I could not find any measurements of the FaceId module itself. When shown in teardown though it does seem to take up a fair bit of the depth of the the devices it is in. Especially with the two little lenses protruding out of it.

I wasted more time than I'd care to admit trying to find a teardown of a modern MacBook's display to show the camera module. Most newer teardown don't seem to even bother disassembling the whole display – likely as it gets replaced as one unit in any sort of repair. Here's a 2012 teardown which claims the display back then was 3-7mm. I hope the ruler shown for the sake a photo wasn't how they actually measured that . But it was also 720p camera back then so that's something.

The thickness of the display is tricky to go off of because MacBooks have some roundedness/taper to the body. This aligns close to the LCD bezel, making it thinnest on the extreme edges. Arguably, that tapering covers the camera's location, so a more squared-off redesign could possibly add a little extra room where the camera is place above the LCD.


I don't think there aren't people saying a better camera wouldn't be an appreciated improvement, if one could be added without other form factor tradeoffs. They are just skeptical on the idea that it is even feasible to make a 1080p camera module that would fit the current dimensions without introducing noise and other camera quality tradeoffs.

This brings us back to introducing a bump, a body shape redesign to thicken things up or some other more radical redesign/investment into the overall camera/sensor design.

–

I will say agree that I much prefer my iMac's 1080p camera to my (Intel) 13" MacBook Pro. It definitely is a quality improvement and the new camera picks up a lot more light and a wider field of view. Appreciated! But I also understand the iMac has a lot more space to work with. If anything, the outrage should be that the iMacs didn't upgrade a few years sooner. I am a little disappointed they didn't bring FaceId into this year's model, given it has the T2 module now and there is space to spare.

Thank you for your long response and insight.

I believe there is some magic trickery going on because the C525 Logitech webcam on my M1 mini looks way better than attached to any of my other 2020 intel MacBooks and the frame rate is buttery smooth. Not to mention cpu usage is so little and the heat produced by the mini (albeit fans on 1700rpm default) it's so cool running and efficient, just remarkable.

We all know how stunning it is.

720p is lousy but it works for me because I don’t care enough about that function.

It’s like folks that are ok driving a beater as long as it gets them around.

Functionality over design!

We are talking about Apple who defy the odds and build great products. So as a consumer and buyer of their products, I expect them to innovate in this department as well.

No company is perfect in every single department. That mindset is not adopted often enough.

I think I’ve heard of people using band-aids. Apparently they work well and don’t leave a sticky residue.

The cheaps ones do leave sticky residue, so be careful.

Well. The thing is that iPhone12 is coming with FullHD Facetime for the first time.
So one would expect M1 MBP13 2020 to match up. On the other hand unfortunately all business videoconferences just transfer HD Video only. Zoom, Webex, Microsoft..etc.. I used to work with company VIDYO which could transfer FULL HD picture from camera and 4K presentation in 2014. It was insane at the time. So yes. FullHD would be nice. But no big deal in multipoint. This is just problem when you are conferencing 1-1.
Tomas

The iPhone is much thicker than the lid of a MacBook.

The distance from sensor to lens has nothing to do with the sensor resolution. What's really needed is lower resolution, small f/number and better ISO sensitivity.

Yes, exactly!

On a laptop like the MBA, there could be a somewhat simple way of introducing a bump without affecting the display's thickness or even curved design : just fit it in the (enlarged) notch of the bottom casing for opening the display.

Wouldn't you still be able to notice the bump though when glancing at the webcam?

I have the early 2020 air, the webcam is god awful. Way worse than my 2015 MacBook Pro. Unless you have studio lighting it looks so grainy. There is no excuse for this, may the lid bigger and upgrade the camera. The fact people defend this is shocking.

You must be in poor lighting conditions then. Did you watch the video? The M1 chip makes things look vastly better without having to bump up the resolution. Being more open-minded when it comes to this stuff is very important, but maybe I'm asking too much from you.

If anything, we are under-criticizing the webcam. The issue isn't the resolution, it's the sensor has potato quality. Sitting in similar light, if you look at my MBP webcam vs Facetime on my iPhone, it's night and day. The Macbook camera is uselessly bad, the iPhones camera is great. And sure, I can imagine it's due to the shallow depth of the Macbook lid... but that doesn't change that it's embarrassingly unprofessional to use, and needs to be solved, seriously.

Do you have an older Intel MacBook? That last part is hugely exaggerated and overblown. Nobody except us nerds who obsess at little details will purposefully look for people who have MacBook webcams during video calls, nor would we even know who in the first place due to a number of factors.