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No FaceTime HD on new MacBook...welcome back 2010!

HouseofPi

HouseofPi

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 11, 2009
83
26
Anyone notice, we went back in time?

Apple apparently must have stumbled upon a dusty crate of old camera's in the back of the campus, and thought, "sure, why not!"

Retina Display, bundled with a crappy 480p FaceTime camera...bravo Apple engineers, bravo...;)

Everything else in the Mac line up, uses 720p FaceTime HD camera, and has been for years now. :apple:
 
Another deal killer... I never thought I would use facetime originally, but while I am traveling I have come to really love it on my MBP rather than using my phone.
 
while they probably put that camera in there just to piss you off specifically... it is what it is. am sure there's a reason for it.

meanwhile, you can get a different mac model that has the HD you need. there are always choices, and apple has more of them than it's had in a long time...
 
im upset with macbook's specs... but if you think about it, how many times you use the front camera? and how bad you need 720p?
I have my macbook air since 2 years and have used the camera probably for 10 pics and 5 ft calls
 
ezio007 said:
im upset with macbook's specs... but if you think about it, how many times you use the front camera? and how bad you need 720p?
I have my macbook air since 2 years and have used the camera probably for 10 pics and 5 ft calls
Click to expand...

I'm sorry you don't know that other people have more friends and more of a social life. I use FaceTime HD at least 4 or 5 times per week. And that's just for my social life. Business wise? I've conducted at least 3 interviews in the last month through Facetime and 2 on Skype.
 
In all fairness, FaceTime and Skype don't seem to use 720p anyways.

It's not ideal but I suspect it had more to do with making the camera super thin with its lens than trying to be cheap (like the 1GB of RAM in the iPhone, for example).
 
Altis said:
In all fairness, FaceTime and Skype don't seem to use 720p anyways.

It's not ideal but I suspect it had more to do with making the camera super thin with its lens than trying to be cheap (like the 1GB of RAM in the iPhone, for example).
Click to expand...

Not true for FaceTime. FaceTime HD supports 720p especially on MacBook and OSX. There was a huge push for FaceTime HD back when it became... FaceTime HD.
 
Hey hey hey..... When they update it in 12 months time, they need a killer feature!!!!
 
ezio007 said:
im upset with macbook's specs... but if you think about it, how many times you use the front camera? and how bad you need 720p?
I have my macbook air since 2 years and have used the camera probably for 10 pics and 5 ft calls
Click to expand...

What the hell kind of response is this? Lots of people, including myself, use Skype+Facetime every day.
 
Essenar said:
Not true for FaceTime. FaceTime HD supports 720p especially on MacBook and OSX. There was a huge push for FaceTime HD back when it became... FaceTime HD.
Click to expand...

I must just have rotten luck. It usually looks pretty compressed to me.
 
I would have been disappointed if it was only a 720p camera on a notebook in 2015 camera but 480p is a joke. Can't believe it to be honest.
 
Pumapayam said:
Anyone notice, we went back in time?

Apple apparently must have stumbled upon a dusty crate of old camera's in the back of the campus, and thought, "sure, why not!"

Retina Display, bundled with a crappy 480p FaceTime camera...bravo Apple engineers, bravo...;)

Everything else in the Mac line up, uses 720p FaceTime HD camera, and has been for years now. :apple:
Click to expand...

This certainly surprised me. I don't know how the FaceTime camera on an iPhone is better than one on a MacBook. However, I rarely use my laptop for FaceTime so this doesn't matter to me.

----------
ezio007 said:
im upset with macbook's specs... but if you think about it, how many times you use the front camera? and how bad you need 720p?
I have my macbook air since 2 years and have used the camera probably for 10 pics and 5 ft calls
Click to expand...

I've used MBA for over three years now and have probably used FaceTime maybe twice - twice! I have used FaceTime more on my iPhone...but I don't even think about using it on my laptop. So, this is not important to me.
 
One would assume that a device designed for portability would also allow people to communicate effectively with it, especially since they seem to be pushing FaceTime so hard. If there is a laptop that needs it most, it’s this one.
 
KALLT said:
One would assume that a device designed for portability would also allow people to communicate effectively with it, especially since they seem to be pushing FaceTime so hard. If there is a laptop that needs it most, it’s this one.
Click to expand...

facetime IS on the mac. no, it's not HD. if that's a dealbreaker for anyone, there are more macbook choices then there's been in some time; easy to find one that has what you need...
 
I really can't see the logic behind this one. Can't be price at this level. Can't be to save space because the tiny Airs and iPhones have Facetime HD. Why gimp the camera to 480p?
 
fisherking said:
facetime IS on the mac. no, it's not HD. if that's a dealbreaker for anyone, there are more macbook choices then there's been in some time; easy to find one that has what you need...
Click to expand...

Sure, but we are looking for answers here. It makes wee sense for Apple to do this, since they’ve been pushing FaceTime for years now and even upgraded cameras on all portable devices. In the end we have to evaluate the product in its entirety and why Apple chose to design it that way. At this point I’m not entirely sure what kind of person Apple had in mind when they designed this. At this point it’s probably closer to a Chromebook than anything else.
 
poppy10 said:
I really can't see the logic behind this one. Can't be price at this level. Can't be to save space because the tiny Airs and iPhones have Facetime HD. Why gimp the camera to 480p?
Click to expand...

Well, the screen on the rMB is thinner than the one on the MBA, and thinner than the iPhone, so maybe that's why ?

Or maybe it's a way to cut price, as they couldn't really make it more expensive than it is. So maybe they did go cheap on some things, like the cam, or the lack of power cord extension ?
 
fisherking said:
facetime IS on the mac. no, it's not HD. if that's a dealbreaker for anyone, there are more macbook choices then there's been in some time; easy to find one that has what you need...
Click to expand...

I need an 11" machine with a decent keyboard, a retina screen and an HD FaceTime camera.
 
poppy10 said:
I really can't see the logic behind this one. Can't be price at this level. Can't be to save space because the tiny Airs and iPhones have Facetime HD. Why gimp the camera to 480p?
Click to expand...

The place where the camera is on an iPhone or MacBook Air is a lot thicker than the corresponding place on the new MacBook.

I doubt it's a cost-cutting move - but bear in mind they don't design the cameras themselves. There may simply not be a 720p camera out there in the size they need
 
No wonder they didn't mention anything about the camera at the keynote. If they had ever said 480p camera... there would've been an audible collective gasp from the audience
 
The Phazer said:
I need an 11" machine with a decent keyboard, a retina screen and an HD FaceTime camera.
Click to expand...

and apple has one for you. so what's the problem?

and for all the whining...dare, just for a second, to imagine that there is actually some reason apple went with a 480p camera on the new mb. possible? or is it more likely they didn't go with an HD camera just to piss people off?

apple has numerous models now, with lots of options. go for the one that best suits your needs...simple.
 
ezio007 said:
im upset with macbook's specs... but if you think about it, how many times you use the front camera? and how bad you need 720p?
I have my macbook air since 2 years and have used the camera probably for 10 pics and 5 ft calls
Click to expand...

I use mine everyday for meetings and teleconferencing.
 
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