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So still only 2 ports? On a pro machine? Joke. This instantly killed my interest as I know it will for many others.
And them selling the M1 models as a base models still shows they believe Intel are better at this point
That's actually OK at best. I am docked with my macbook(s) - but I have a monitor that has a dock that has multiple ports and so forth. Most of the time a laptop is meant to be undocked. So having 2 ports isn't that bad most of the time... When you serious about working with peripherals you'd have some kind of expansion dock anyway. But yes, silly to include JUST 2 ports. The other side of the laptop is just bare with open space.
 
Man, the hysteria in here is crazy. It's 720p because the camera and lens have to be basically paper thin to fit in the LCD housing. The iPhones have nearly 8mm of depth to play with for the camera module and the MacBook cameras have about ~1.5mm of depth to play with. There simply is not a better camera for that space and there's nowhere they can realistically relocate it to.
CMOS camera technology has moved on a lot in 9 years. This has a CMOS chip from 9+ years ago. I've found a £15 camera from Amazon is better than the camera on my 16inch MBP.
 


During today's event where Apple unveiled the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, there was a mention of a new image signal processor for the camera, which brings some improvements to camera quality.

apple-m1-macbook-air-camera-720p.jpg

Apple did not, however, add new camera hardware to the two machines, and the technical specifications pages continue to list the same 720p camera used in prior-generation models.

Camera quality, especially in the MacBook Air, has been something that Mac owners have complained about for years now. Apple has gone through many generations of the MacBook Air without adding any new camera hardware.

Apple says the M1 chip improves MacBook camera quality with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, improved auto white balance, and ML-enhanced face detection so users "look their best during video calls," but we'll need to wait to see the camera tested out to see if there's a notable difference between this model and the prior model.


Article Link: New MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Still Have 720p Camera, But Apple Promises Better Quality From M1
These machines have remained unchanged for 1.5 decades. The battery life, if accurate, is moving, but man, why is innovation so slow? Doesn't anybody dream anymore? Like movie studios, reboots are safe.
 
My guess is they are working to completely redesign the camera on the macbook to be iPhone style which will include all the various distance/IR type sensors for face ID. My guess is this is taking a long time because they need to keep it flush/small so the laptop can close flush with the chassis.

Really here this was a celebration of Apple's purchase of PA Semi. Yes, they did work in Big Sur to optimize, but not many new features were really introduced and we're looking at a rather old body right now.
 
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All machines designed for maximum profit and not the best Apple can do. The first gen of current MBA is perfect example. Apple had that trimmed down to where ever could to the penny and still get people to buy.
 
2020 MBA camera is downright embarrassing...hope this one is at least respectable.

We received so many complaints about the 2020 MBA cameras from users upgrading from the 2015 MBA. There is a big difference. Older is much clearer/crisper. New one is much more grainy. I'm not sure how you can go backwards with a 720p cam but Apple managed to figure it out!
 
Apple is notorious for trickle feeding you updates so they can make their next quarterly earnings profits. This is how the company is run and there is zero evidence otherwise.
Zero evidence, sortof like your source for how the company is run?

Re: the camera, nobody had any complaints any of the the three times I've used the webcam on my 2017 MBP. And I probably also "speak for millions."
 
What's stopping Apple from adding a 1080P camera? Is component cost really the biggest deal for the business to still choose 720P or is there some technical/functional reason?
 
I’ll wait until the next gen MacBook Pro when they upgrade the camera, and potentially redesign the body.

My 2017 MacBook Pro is still going strong despite almost cracking the screen last week, thank god it was just a deep gouge and didn’t break.
 
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I just looked through laptops that were thin and didn’t easily find one that was 1080p. Is the standard? I was disappointed in Apple but in my quick efforts I cannot find thin laptops with 1080p cameras. Not sure why this should be as it primarily a sensor issue.
 
I’ll happily wait another 6-12 months for the Rev. B redesign with bezel-minimised LED touchscreen display, illuminated logo with old ‘breathe’ indicator light, MagSafe 3.0, improved camera, FaceID and support for 32GB RAM.
 
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And only 2 TB3 Ports for either model too. What's up with that? I would have expected 4 ports on the MacBook Pro 13". That's a no for me...
I would expect at least 4 TB3 ports on any "Pro" level notebook.

I’ll happily wait another 6-12 months for the Rev. B redesign with bezel-minimised LED display, illuminated logo with old ‘breathe’ indicator light, MagSafe 3.0, improved camera, FaceID and support for 32GB RAM.

Yes. THIS is the one to wait for, folks (although I'm quite happy with the current TouchID).
 
Would you be willing to have a laptop lid as thick as the current iPad? Better camera and FaceID need space.
As for touch and portability... well, if you want an iPad get an iPad.
I'd prefer one a little thicker than the one of my 16" MBP that makes you worried that it will snap if you aren't anything but extremely gentle with it. Make the lid a little thicker and the body thinner to keep the overall size the same - maybe put the battery, or some of it, in the lower half of the screen housing which then becomes thicker so there is room for a decent camera.

Its not really the resolution that's the problem. The low light performance is awful, in anything other than greater lighting you end up being the 'Mac guy' on a Teams conference - the one with the noticeably worst video quality. Put in a larger sensor and a larger, brighter lens.
 
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