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Yes, the 2018 MacBook Air's FaceTime HD Camera is Awful

lets be honest, nearly all laptop webcams are awful. There haven't been significant improvements in MacBook webcams for years. still grainy, perform poorly in low-light. low resolution. It would be great if there were a company that said "hey lets make video calls a more beautiful experience for laptop users." Apple clearly isn't interested in innovating in this area.
 
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Quu said:
It's sad that computers costing this much have such bad cameras. They should be reusing the cameras from the iPhones in these things.
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Cook never (and still doesn't) realized there was a difference. He thought it was just a cheaper camera for a cheaper computer. That is what finance / supply chain guys think.
 
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That computer offers such unbelievably poor value. The least Apple could do is make the social features, including their proprietary FaceTime feature that most people love, best of breed.

It costs almost nothing for apple to fix this. They deserve all the scorn.

Expect the scorn to intensify to 1997 levels soon. I'm with Gruber in that I think peak price power for Apple is behind them on their current offerings. If they want to keep 35-40% margins they will need to invent a new category.

I love my Apple stuff but I won't pay full price for most of what Apple offers. Used market suits me fine. I paid way less for a 2017 MBP 2x USB C with 16GB/512GB/AC+ than what a new Air costs.
 
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gavroche said:
I just got a Surface Pro 6. I too was reluctant. So far, Windows 10 hasn't been too bad. Got a few gripes here and there, but on the whole it's kinda cool.
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The front camera on the Surface products is pretty good too, isn't it? I had a Surface Go with LTE for a couple of weeks and was pleasantly surprised with the front camera. Its processor was too underpowered, though, (especially compared to my iPad Pro 10.5) so I returned it.
 
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The photos don't do justice to the magnitude of the problem. I bought one of the new airs, and the camera is so bad that I would say there is a technical problem of some kind; it simply can't be that Apple released such an awful camera. To see how bad it is, it is better to watch video of the grain swimming around rather than a still image. I would return the Mac instantly except that I am hoping that I am right, that it is a technical problem, and that Apple will release either a software fix or send out a recall...
 
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I honestly do not understand how Apple comes up with the pricing of their laptop lineup. The Air should start at $799 max. The 12” needs to go away at this point. The 13” Pro should start at $999. Like most things, they are pricing themselves seemingly out of reach for more and more people.
 
My complaint is it appears to have been mostly a financial decision for Apple’s benefit. Then next release Apple can give us the next great thing, upgraded camera. Same story with panel.
 
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TimTheSheriff said:
The front camera on the Surface products is pretty good too, isn't it? I had a Surface Go with LTE for a couple of weeks and was pleasantly surprised with the front camera. Its processor was too underpowered, though, (especially compared to my iPad Pro 10.5) so I returned it.
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Unless Apple changes course pricing, when my iPad and Mac die or become unusable slow I’ll be moving over to a Surface Pro. Apple is honestly missing a huge opportunity. If they released something along the lines of a Surface Pro it would be awesome I’m sure, and quite expensive.
 
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Is the difference because of the MacBook Air 2015 bezel (aluminum with a camera hole cut out) vs new MacBook Air Bezel (black tint)?

Or is it a thinner thing, a better camera is to thick?
 
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33man said:
Well, you are using it wrong !

Buy iphone holder extention and mount it to your mac.

Now you have better camera...

IMG_0534_display_large_preview_featured.jpg


(Please note: Iphone sold separately) :p
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Yeah but I don't remember iPhone 4 FaceTime camera being something to brag about... Might have been better having it turned around?

EDIT: Came here for the AngerDanger gif, was not disappointed.
 
I purchased a 2018 MacBook Air and agree the FaceTime image is appalling but I also note that when using Skype the image using the same camera is much better. I am hoping it is a software issue and resolvable.
 
The problem is really about thinness, and optics jammed into a tiny thin space. On a laptop that clearly is a defining feature. Not sure why iMacs need to have a super thin screen edge (not like you're putting an iMac in a bag and carrying it around on a plane). Adding more pixels won't help the image (you'll just have higher res grain). They need a better sensor (not sure whose sensor they use) with better dynamic range and low-light. And yes, the images look terrible when you watch them full-screen on a retina display. I mean 720p is pretty low res on a 2880-by-1800 screen, pixel scaling looks pretty poor there.
 
Ds6778 said:
A trillion dollar company lol well at least they used to be. Can't wait to see the Apple apologist put a positive spin on this one...
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The market/consumers start to realize that Apple doesn’t offer ‘best’ and start wanting value for money. This is the result of years of milking instead of innovating and making existence gear better.

Their stock is still too high imho. It’s time Cook takes some extra look in his long pipeline and focus on great again instead of money.
 
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macduke said:
What else would you expect from a twelve-hundred dollar computer?

Oh wait…and that's just the starting price, lol.

Though it must be said: No MacBook anything has a good FaceTime camera.
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For the prices they’re sold, they should offer best and won’t make Apple poor.

It’s experiences like this that will hurt the brand. People expect very good quality at this price range, instead they get mediocre hardware.

Stop milking Cook and start delivering. When you really focus more on your customers instead of profits your stock price will go up.
 
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Regardless of whether Apple is penny pinching or not, it is 2019 and all T2-equipped Macs that incorporate a FaceTime camera should be at 1080p, given that one of the USP’s of the T2 is that it performs image processing functions, irrespective of the fact that the Intel CPU in most of these models is beefy enough by itself. The extra weight and thickness is trivial at this point. The 2018 MacBook Air is a complete mess anyways, so none of this should come as a surprise.

A rather anemic dual-core 5w Y-Series CPU instead of the more powerful 15w quad-core Whiskey Lake U-Series (i5-8265U and i7-8565U), a single CPU choice, no Bluetooth 5.0 while almost every other device Apple shipped in 2018 had moved to BT 5.0, a meager 128GB starting storage tier, no 1TB SSD BTO option but a 1.5TB option at an outrageous upcharge, a lower resolution Retina display than what should have been specc'd if this was to be a TRUE Retina successor to the 2015/2017 MacBook Air, half the available ports of the previous version, no SD Card slot (which makes more sense in this model than the Pro) and a $200 higher starting price while the previous-gen model retains its pricing from 2017.

To me, the 2018 MacBook Air is trading on the name while failing to provide the value of its predecessor. Even with its faults (8GB DRAM max and poor display), the 2010-2017 MacBook Air is probably one of the top 5 most iconic Macs ever produced. The new version just seems like a pale shadow, even if it has a slicker wrapper.
 
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TimTheSheriff said:
The front camera on the Surface products is pretty good too, isn't it? I had a Surface Go with LTE for a couple of weeks and was pleasantly surprised with the front camera. Its processor was too underpowered, though, (especially compared to my iPad Pro 10.5) so I returned it.
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Was on the fence with the Surface Go for myself. Played with it several times on an expo shop and loved the Pen. However, the CPU got me concerned, so, I think I'll wait for the next iteration and see if it gets a nice boost.

On the other hand, when the MacBook Pro 13" 2009 that I put on my mom's hand for: facebooking, Excel, Word, Skype and light Web surfing dies, she's 100% getting a Surface Go.
 
wigby said:
In all fairness, most users care about thinness and lightness more than the facetime camera. I would like to see usage stats because I would estimate that most MacBook users have never used their facetime cameras more than once.
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Idk highly doubt that for the pro devices. But never seen a survey like what would you rather want:
a) Even thinner Computer but we will make cameras worse, keyboards hardly working, take away MagSafe and solder your ssd, ram, take away all ports and have battery life decreasing, nevermind the Overheating under heavy workload

b) keep same dimensions but have improved camera (we all know it’s possible not like technology went backward in this field), modular design, working keyboards, have a few ports and card reader, and maybe even increased battery life and improved heat management????


Dam someone really should do that survey :D
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wigby said:
In all fairness, most users care about thinness and lightness more than the facetime camera. I would like to see usage stats because I would estimate that most MacBook users have never used their facetime cameras more than once.
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Well if usage is low, might as welll be because they suck so much?
 
gavroche said:
As opposed to the Apple hatest spin? As if market cap has anything relevant to the discussion?
Honest question... don't you have anything better to do with your time? Or does being here posting hate pay enough?
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Eww. Why haven't I ignored you yet?

Bye!
 
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