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Joanna Stern and John Gruber Discuss Apple M1 Transition and 'Craptastic' 720p FaceTime Cameras
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Then just give it a camera bump like they've done on the iPhone for the past decade. Just need to add a tiny recess in the bottom case for it to nest into.
More like consumers being quite picky about "thinness". I for one don't care much about 720p vs 1080p when it comes to webcams. A lot of networks struggle as it is with large video streams from 1080p+ webcams. I much prefer a continuous feed of video that's not crazy sharp than a choppy one that always struggles to stay sharp.
Biggest issue affecting MacBook camera quality:
- 720p camera
or
- thumb-print on the lens because that's exactly where you place your hand to open the lid
- 720p camera
or
- thumb-print on the lens because that's exactly where you place your hand to open the lid
Haha you have too much faith in me. You'd have to go down to 326 quality, THEN turn on beauty mode
Apple is being roasted in the media over the camera. Probably not what they want to hear as the key talk points about these laptops.
I get they wanted to focus on making for a seamless switch to Apple Silicon. Hardware upgrades and new form factors are likely coming, but i kind of wish they were ready to go on launch day.
I get they wanted to focus on making for a seamless switch to Apple Silicon. Hardware upgrades and new form factors are likely coming, but i kind of wish they were ready to go on launch day.
I didn't think Gruber's looked that much worse... They both looked perfectly fine to me.
You’re right, I jumped the gun on my math. 2.25 times the number of pixels. 125% more.
It’s that extra $2 Tim Cook is willing to give up per device.
He wants to make sure he has a full wave pool with dolphins, lined by gold bricks and live coral with a helicopter holding a diamond studded diving board and won’t settle for less
Nobody is asking for thinness. We want a better webcam that’s not from the 80s. The tech is available btw.
so many of us are ready to buy but want a good webcam!
Honestly, after all the compression from video communication services, it's less apparent. Apple was smart to focus on other aspects of picture quality since they don't seem to have a camera module capable of fitting into their freaking thin lids. I think that's why they didn't reduce the top bezel on the MacBook Pro. The body tapers near the edges and that taper would make it impossible to have a camera unless they moved it down slightly, which is exactly what they did, keeping the larger bezel. This probably also carries other benefits, like making the body a little bigger for more battery life, so it will be interesting to see if they make any changes in the future for Apple Silicon Macs. Hoping there's no notch, but at least if they need one, they could stick it on the top right corner in the menu bar area so it doesn't really take up extra screen space. Wouldn't look too bad in dark mode. The alternative is what some Windows laptops have done and put the camera under the display, but that results in an unflattering angle for video.
Side note: It's weird seeing these two on actual television, even if it did get a little awkward towards the end. Enjoy listening to his podcast. He really thinks deeply about how Apple works and more often than not he's right just based on his understanding of the company and the history.
Side note: It's weird seeing these two on actual television, even if it did get a little awkward towards the end. Enjoy listening to his podcast. He really thinks deeply about how Apple works and more often than not he's right just based on his understanding of the company and the history.
Guber is guilty of the same in his live interviews. I find it difficult to listen to his interviews most of the time; long, winding questions and interruptions of the answers.
He's an amazing writer and I love his site, when he's not stuck in politics, but his audio interviews are trash to me.
Please find a laptop with a lid of the same thickness with a 1080p. Every thread is the same. Someone comes on and explains the physics and people still say its Apple being dumb. Maybe it is but the physics arguments sounds pretty convincing.
Its just as hard as putting FM in an iPod. Everyone can do it. Apple only does think when they believe its necessary. Not when they are able to do it. Its that so difficult to understand. Or what.
Proper lighting is key. Also, if the stream goes out at 720p, image compression will be applied to the video feed.
Isn’t the real story here John’s pronunciation of “hyperbolic”?
720P with very heavy compression artifacts. It might as well be 240p sometimes.
what is the camera in a laptop/desktop used for? primarily video calls, right?so what if the picture quality were indeed full HD? requires way more bandwidth. and when I am in a video call, the window with the other person's video takes up a small portion of the screen, certainly smaller than 720 ... and if you're in a call with 3 or more people, the window is getting even smaller.
in short, I do not see a benefit in a higher quality camera in a laptop.
in short, I do not see a benefit in a higher quality camera in a laptop.
Having watched more webcam exchanges this year than ever before, I say the cameras are almost always acceptable, even if often less than stellar.
The microphones are not. They vary from almost as good as a studio sound feed to as bad as a carbon granule device inside a cardboard box being used by a drummer.
I can sit and watch or discuss when the video isn't fantastic but find awful sound intolerable. Makes it hard to hear, hard to maintain concentration and all in all a deeply unpleasant experience.
Even when the cameras themselves are poor, their issues are made much worse if the camera is shaking around and in poor lighting conditions.
Sort all those out before worrying about 720p or 1080p.
The microphones are not. They vary from almost as good as a studio sound feed to as bad as a carbon granule device inside a cardboard box being used by a drummer.
I can sit and watch or discuss when the video isn't fantastic but find awful sound intolerable. Makes it hard to hear, hard to maintain concentration and all in all a deeply unpleasant experience.
Even when the cameras themselves are poor, their issues are made much worse if the camera is shaking around and in poor lighting conditions.
Sort all those out before worrying about 720p or 1080p.
Personally, the lowest res view of ME, the better. If I'm on a conference call with someone really attractive, maybe they have a right to wish it was higher res. But me... and to be honest John Gruber... won't actually benefit from sharper pixels.
Agreed. I've noticed bad sound a lot more than I've noticed bad video. And bad video has often been a problem of bandwidth.
Was just thinking of editing my reply to say more or less that. Yes, absolutely.