14-inch & 16-inch MacBook Pro rumored to get 1080p webcam

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited July 2021
Apple's next MacBook Pro updates could include an upgraded FaceTime camera, with one leaker claiming the webcam will increase in resolution to 1080p.

13-inch MacBook Pro
13-inch MacBook Pro


Apple's 24-inch iMac includes a 1080p FaceTime camera above the display, a considerable update for a component that has been at 720p for a long period of time. In the rumored upcoming MacBook Pro releases for later in 2020, it seems that the MacBook line may gain the same upgrade.

According to iOS developer and leaker "@Dylandkt" on Twitter on Saturday, the inbound MacBook Pro will be getting "an updated improved 1080p webcam for the next model and so will the entire Mac lineup."

I know a lot people are referencing Linus's video (which is a great video by the way) but it's good to note that the upcoming MacBook Pro will actually be getting an updated improved 1080p webcam for the next model and so will the entire Mac lineup.

-- Dylan (@dylandkt)


Currently, the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air all use a 720p FaceTime camera. Despite the M1 MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro seemingly being a great opportunity for a better webcam to be used, Apple decided to continue using its well-established camera.

The next expected releases from Apple are a revamped 14-inch MacBook Pro and a 16-inch MacBook Pro. A supply chain report from June 9 proposed the MacBooks would arrive earlier than previously rumored, shifting from Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 respectively to Q3 2021.

Dylandkt has an existing, albeit brief, track record for rumors, correctly predicting M1's addition to the iPad Pro. On July 6, the account shared details claiming the M2 chip will arrive in the first half of 2022 alongside a colorful MacBook Air.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  
  • Reply 2 of 29
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    The iPhone 4S released in 2011 could do 1080p video. Apple is 10 years behind its own products.
    pulseimageshumanaftera11williamlondonchemengin1
  • Reply 3 of 29
    KBuffettKBuffett Posts: 95member
    sdw2001 said:
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  

    Agree, given how cheap cameras are, I really don’t understand the slow pace of upgrade for self facing cameras.

    Surely it hasn’t been a year since M1 was released?
    edited July 2021 mobirdhumanaftera11chemengin1
  • Reply 4 of 29
    AppleishAppleish Posts: 687member
    I haven't given up hope that a redesigned form factor and reduced bezel can make the 16-inch a 17-inch MBP like back in the day.
    neo-tech
  • Reply 5 of 29
    diz_geekdiz_geek Posts: 57member
    sdw2001 said:
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  
    The M1 chip based products didn’t start shipping until November 17th, so it hasn’t even been 8 months yet.  The actual M1 itself wasn’t even announced until November 10th, though the official transition was announced last summer at WWDC (June 22, 2020) and devs had access to the  A12Z based Mac Mini to begin their prep work for the M series chips. 
    fastasleep
  • Reply 6 of 29
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    1) Considering the M1 MBA/MBP has better FaceTime imaging than the Intel MBA it should be expected that the M1X MBP will have a better system, too.

    2) The iPad has more room for a beefed FaceTime camera than the lid of the Mac notebooks. It's like looking at the cheapest MBA and scratching your head as to why it has a better camera than the most expensive Mac Pro. It should be obvious.
    StrangeDaysfastasleep
  • Reply 7 of 29
    mikeincamikeinca Posts: 20member
    I’m going to repeat what another observer here said.  The screens on the MacBooks are much thinner than the iPhones and iPads, so it’s harder to fit a camera in the MacBook screens. 

    That is one cost of a super thin screen:
        no room for a good camera.  
    dewmedesignrStrangeDaysiOS_Guy80doozydozenurahara
  • Reply 8 of 29
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    sdw2001 said:
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  
    They said right up front it was a multi-year project to switch the entire line over. It’s been a year seven months since the M1 shipped.
    edited July 2021 fastasleepurahara
  • Reply 9 of 29
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,694member
    sdw2001 said:
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  
    They said right you front it was a multi-year project switch the entire line over. It’s been a year. 
    Not a multi-year switch over.  Apple said a two-year switch over.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 10 of 29
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    sdw2001 said:
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  
    They said right you front it was a multi-year project switch the entire line over. It’s been a year. 
    Not a multi-year switch over.  Apple said a two-year switch over.
    Sorry, are you suggesting 2 years is not…multiple…years?

    Regardless, it’s been 7 months since the initial M1 Macs. Nothing is late and nobody is entitled to anything by now. 
    edited July 2021 fastasleepdoozydozenFidonet127humanaftera11uraharabeowulfschmidtsphericwilliamlondon
  • Reply 11 of 29
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    sdw2001 said:
    About time, just as with the need for M1X MBP’s.  It’s been over a year since the M1 shipped and we still don’t have a 16” MBP.  
    The first M1 Macs shipped in November.
  • Reply 12 of 29
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    linkman said:
    The iPhone 4S released in 2011 could do 1080p video. Apple is 10 years behind its own products.
    Go measure the thickness of a MacBook lid versus an iPhone 4s.
    doozydozenuraharawilliamlondon
  • Reply 13 of 29
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Fastasleep is correct.

    Moreover the location of the FaceTime camera on a MacBook Air is not at the thickest location of its tapered lid.

    By contrast the iPhone 4S is uniformly thick. Trust me, I've owned both.

    It was widely expected by many that the M1 MacBook Air would reuse the industrial design of the previous Intel MacBook Air it was replacing. Apple made no promises that the each new Apple Silicon Macs would be completely redesigned when the new SoCs shipped.

    Remember that the lens on the Mac notebook FaceTime cameras are extremely small. The possibilities at that lens size (and cost) combined with the sensor size aren't particularly conducive to high definition video image quality. To get better image quality, they would have to consider a combination of: larger lens, larger sensor, and higher cost. As Apple has shown time and time again, they are loathe to fatten up their products.

    So to increase FaceTime camera resolution, their main choices would be to A.) increase component cost, B.) reduce video image quality, and C.) wait for better quality components that are suitable size to come down in price. My guess is that Apple chose Option C.

    Apple is the largest company in Fortune 500 market valuation. It is likely that their labs have sample units for every single commercial viable camera module on this planet including a bunch of engineering prototypes that have yet to appear in ANY device. It's not that Apple hasn't thought about it.
    edited July 2021 robabadoozydozennetrox
  • Reply 14 of 29
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    I want Face ID on my next Mac laptop.
    humanaftera11dewme
  • Reply 15 of 29
    robabarobaba Posts: 228member
    Would anyone be willing to have a “hunchback” bulge on the wafer thin leading edge of a MacBook Air for that nice big wide-angle lens and high-def camera sensor?

    No?  Didn’t think so.

    Perhaps the 16” M1X MacBook Pro will have a beefier lid?
  • Reply 16 of 29
    doozydozendoozydozen Posts: 539member
    linkman said:
    The iPhone 4S released in 2011 could do 1080p video. Apple is 10 years behind its own products.
    Also responding to the tweet in the article: “It’s so odd how the less expensive iPad air has a better front facing camera than the MacBook Air.”
    No, non of this is “odd” or surprising. How does the physics not just slap you in the face? Do you see how thin the bezel of a MBA is vs an iPad? There’s the answer to you incoherent criticism. 
    jas99
  • Reply 17 of 29
    doozydozendoozydozen Posts: 539member
    davgreg said:
    I want Face ID on my next Mac laptop.
    It ain’t gonna fit in the super thin bezel of a laptop. And when PC manufacturers implement actually high end cameras, they’re placed at the top of the keyboard and the awkward camera angle has been dubbed the nostril cam. 
  • Reply 18 of 29
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    davgreg said:
    I want Face ID on my next Mac laptop.
    I'd love that, but I don't think the speed and capacity of the T-series chips make that feasible for putting many faces into a single Mac that would need to be analyzed to determine who needs to login. Hopefully that's worked out soon, but I doubt it with the new iMac getting Touch ID in the BT keyboard.
  • Reply 19 of 29
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    I never use my camera. Like never. But that's just me.
  • Reply 20 of 29
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    It is funny that in past Apple's MAC update schedule was based on Intel chip schedule which was over year. Now Apple moved to it's own M1 chip and everyone complaining why M2 is not here within a year?
    For MBP, remove touch bar and use saved money to upgrade front camera to 1080P,4 USB-C ports for MB AIR/PRO, etc.
    edited July 2021
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