The webcam in Apple Studio Display is still bad
Several users complain that the webcam in the Apple Studio Display is bad. Apple has since released an update, but it still doesn’t seem to solve the problems. iPhoned tells you why.
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Webcam in Apple Studio Display is bad and substandard
It is almost beyond dispute that the Apple Studio Display is a beautiful screen. This is partly due to the housing that is largely made of aluminum. This feels sturdy and looks very professional. In addition, the rounded corners and straight sides make the Studio Display look like the latest iMac.
However, not everything was smooth sailing when the screen went on sale, because the webcam was quite substandard according to the first user reports. This was remarkable, because Apple was still talking about a ‘sensational webcam’ of 12 megapixels during the announcement. If we have to be honest, the quality can still go on, but for such a high-quality screen you also expect the webcam to be of the same quality.
Update for bad webcam in Studio Display
Apple soon made an announcement, saying that with an update they would fix the Studio Display’s underperforming webcam. The update is currently only available in the most recent beta version of macOS Monterey. It is not yet known when this update will be available to everyone.
Several users have already installed the update. They believe that the image of the Studio Display webcam has improved a bit, but it is actually still too bad. This is secretly understandable, and here’s why.
The webcam supports Apple’s Center Stage. With this, the ultra-wide-angle camera follows your movements and you always stay in the center of the image. When a second person walks into the room, the webcam automatically recognizes them and adjusts the frame so that both people can be seen.
However, the webcam cannot zoom in optically and will therefore constantly crop the recorded video from the ultra-wide angle camera. This makes it seem as if you are being followed by the camera, but in fact a kind of crop moves over the video image. That is why the image of the webcam that you see is not 12 megapixels, but a lot less sharp. After all, large pieces of footage are cut away and that is reflected in the quality.
The real solution is yet to come (we hope)
With a software update you are limited with what you can fix. To improve the quality of the camera, something will probably have to be done to the hardware. Whether that will come in an improved version of the Studio Display? Or that Apple might launch a recall in the future? That is unknown. Until then, the webcam quality in the Studio Display will remain poor and substandard. And that’s a shame for such a beautiful screen.
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