Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Yes, the 2018 MacBook Air's FaceTime HD Camera is Awful
Since the launch of the 2018 MacBook Air, we here at MacRumors have heard multiple complaints from MacRumors readers about the quality of the FaceTime HD camera housed in the device.
There have been multiple threads on the MacRumors forums and the Apple Support Communities complaining about the graininess of the camera so we decided to investigate to see if it's worse than recent MacBook Pro models or the older MacBook Air.
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Many of the complaints that we saw suggested the camera was poor quality without offering direct comparisons, or with comparisons to FaceTime cameras like those in the iPhone, which are wildly better than the 720p "FaceTime HD" camera Apple uses in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines.
In a direct comparison, photos taken from Photo Booth on a 2018 MacBook Air and a modern 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro are almost identical, and both are pretty terrible. The MacBook Air photos are a bit darker, which can be interpreted as "worse," but all in all, both cameras are bad.
When comparing the new MacBook Air and the older 2015 MacBook Air, however, we found a more noticeable difference in quality. The FaceTime HD camera in the 2015 MacBook Air is a bit clearer and brighter, with the 2018 MacBook Air's camera letting in less light and producing an overall grainier, less clear result.
Even though we can clearly see a difference between the 2015 and the 2018 MacBook Air FaceTime HD cameras, it's not a huge gap. Both cameras are subpar, and that the FaceTime HD camera on the MacBook Air appears to have gotten worse over time rather than better is certainly disappointing.
On a modern machine with a Retina display, a 720p FaceTime HD camera just doesn't hold up, especially in comparison to devices like the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and iPad Pro, which have much higher resolution cameras. FaceTime is limited to 720p on all devices, but the FaceTime HD camera does serve other purposes as well.
2018 MacBook Air owners are disappointed, and honestly, MacBook Pro owners should be too. 720p looks awful and it is outdated technology. Apple implemented a better 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the iMac Pro, and the quality is much better.
Hopefully future Mac notebook updates will feature higher-quality webcams as video quality has become an increasingly important feature that consumers look for when making a purchase.
Many of the complaint threads that suggested the MacBook Air camera is worse than other machines did not include comparison images, so we're still working with just a few data points here. If you have a MacBook Air and another machine, please feel free to post comparison images in the thread below so we can further investigate this issue.
There have been multiple threads on the MacRumors forums and the Apple Support Communities complaining about the graininess of the camera so we decided to investigate to see if it's worse than recent MacBook Pro models or the older MacBook Air.
Many of the complaints that we saw suggested the camera was poor quality without offering direct comparisons, or with comparisons to FaceTime cameras like those in the iPhone, which are wildly better than the 720p "FaceTime HD" camera Apple uses in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines.
In a direct comparison, photos taken from Photo Booth on a 2018 MacBook Air and a modern 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro are almost identical, and both are pretty terrible. The MacBook Air photos are a bit darker, which can be interpreted as "worse," but all in all, both cameras are bad.
When comparing the new MacBook Air and the older 2015 MacBook Air, however, we found a more noticeable difference in quality. The FaceTime HD camera in the 2015 MacBook Air is a bit clearer and brighter, with the 2018 MacBook Air's camera letting in less light and producing an overall grainier, less clear result.
Even though we can clearly see a difference between the 2015 and the 2018 MacBook Air FaceTime HD cameras, it's not a huge gap. Both cameras are subpar, and that the FaceTime HD camera on the MacBook Air appears to have gotten worse over time rather than better is certainly disappointing.
On a modern machine with a Retina display, a 720p FaceTime HD camera just doesn't hold up, especially in comparison to devices like the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and iPad Pro, which have much higher resolution cameras. FaceTime is limited to 720p on all devices, but the FaceTime HD camera does serve other purposes as well.
2018 MacBook Air owners are disappointed, and honestly, MacBook Pro owners should be too. 720p looks awful and it is outdated technology. Apple implemented a better 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the iMac Pro, and the quality is much better.
Hopefully future Mac notebook updates will feature higher-quality webcams as video quality has become an increasingly important feature that consumers look for when making a purchase.
Many of the complaint threads that suggested the MacBook Air camera is worse than other machines did not include comparison images, so we're still working with just a few data points here. If you have a MacBook Air and another machine, please feel free to post comparison images in the thread below so we can further investigate this issue.
Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Tag: MacBook Air Camera
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now)
[ 260 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
7 months ago
Well, you are using it wrong !
Buy iphone holder extention and mount it to your mac.
Now you have better camera...
(Please note: Iphone sold separately) :p
Buy iphone holder extention and mount it to your mac.
Now you have better camera...
(Please note: Iphone sold separately) :p
7 months ago
That happens when you spend all the money on making notebooks thinner instead of putting in better components and then decide how thin it can be.
7 months ago
For those of you stuck on a 2015 machine and yearning for that sweet sweet 2018 experience, I've got a DIY solution for you.
Step 1: Make sure your fingers are nice and greasy.
Step 2:
Step 1: Make sure your fingers are nice and greasy.
Step 2:
7 months ago
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...
7 months ago
Yes, it is awful. I complained to Apple and returned my 2018 Air within 48 hours. FaceTime is one of my main apps I use regularly on Mac -- gets about 6 hours of usage daily, to patients and family members.
7 months ago
You have to realize that Apple probably saved 2 or 3 dollars by cutting corners on those FaceTime cameras on their Macs. This was very important to Apple.
7 months ago
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.
Oh wait…and that's just the starting price, lol.
Though it must be said: No MacBook anything has a good FaceTime camera.
7 months ago
To be fair, the guy in the photo was three years younger in 2015. Of course he looked better then!
[ Read All Comments ]
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