Apple’s solution for bad Mac webcams shouldn’t be the iPhone

There was a time when Apple really cared about Macs having better video chat quality than any other computer you could buy. Almost 20 years ago, it introduced the iSight Firewire webcam, and it was a revelation. For $149 (less than the best webcams today!) it delivered clarity and audio quality far superior to all those PC webcams.

Fast forward 20 years, and Apple’s just not keeping pace. The webcams built into Macs these days are fuzzy, grainy, and low-res. Some are still capable of only 720p video, and only the latest models support 1080p. I regularly use a Logitech C920 webcam from 2012 that has the same video resolution, and usually far superior color and clarity. Only now are Mac webcams getting to be on par with the USB webcam I’ve used for a decade!

Meanwhile, the front-facing camera on the iPhone has supported 4K resolution since the iPhone 11 and has better clarity, too. Fortunately, when iOS 16 and macOS Ventura are released this fall, you’ll be able to seamlessly use your iPhone’s rear camera as a wireless webcam, which makes a drastic difference in quality.

Comparing webcam quality

Apple’s latest laptops have upgraded the webcam (Apple calls them FaceTime cameras) to 1080p, and claims much improved color and clarity thanks to the awesome image processing capabilities of Apple Silicon.

While the processing has definitely made a difference, the resolution hasn’t really. When the image is grainy and fuzzy to begin with, pumping up the resolution doesn’t really improve things.

Consider these three images taken in my home office, with regular office light and sunlight filtering in through the blinds. It’s not nearly as bright as an office building, but it’s not what I would call a “low-light” situation. (It may help to right-click and view the full image in a new window.)

The 720p webcam from the M1 MacBook Air:

IDG

And the 1080p webcam on the M2 MacBook Air (the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro have the same camera):

IDG

It’s hard to see any real improvement there, isn’t it? It’s a little better, sure, but still barely passable. Compare those images against my trusty 10-year-old Logitech C920 running on a…