HACKINTOSH.ORG | Macintosh discussion forums

Joanna Stern and John Gruber Discuss Apple M1 Transition and 'Craptastic' 720p FaceTime Cameras

In a new interview for CNBC (https://youtu.be/JkRel8PLnHc), The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-m1-macbook-air-and-macbook-pro-review-the-laptops-biggest-leap-in-years-11605621601)'s Joanna Stern and Daring Fireball (https://daringfireball.net/2020/11/the_m1_macs)'s John Gruber discussed their thoughts about Apple's transition to Apple Silicon (https://www.macrumors.com/guide/apple-silicon/) with the M1 and showed a real-world comparison of the new MacBook Pro's 720p camera.





<div class="center-wrap"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JkRel8PLnHc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen data-thumb-size="hqdefault"></iframe></div>





During the course of the interview, it became apparent that Gruber was using the M1 MacBook Pro's built-in webcam, while Stern actively chose to use an external camera connected to the M1 MacBook Pro. The result is a clear comparison between the MacBook Pro's 720p camera and an external camera in a realistic video-call use-case.





Though it is clear that the cameras are different, the quality of the MacBook Pro's camera does seem to be a surprising step up from previous generations. This is likely because the M1 chip's Image Signal Processor enables (https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/10/new-13-inch-macbook-pro-apple-silicon-unveild/) sharper images, as well as more detail in shadows and highlights on video calls.





In August, Apple upgraded (https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/04/new-27-inch-imac-10th-gen-intel/) the 27-inch iMac (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac/)'s camera from 720p to 1080p, but the new MacBook Air (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-air/) and MacBook Pro remained at 720p resolution.





Amid glowing reviews (https://www.macrumors.com/review/m1-apple-silicon-macs/) for the M1-powered Macs, the 720p camera was the most heavily maligned aspect of the new &zwnj;MacBook Air&zwnj; and MacBook Pro. For example, The Verge (https://www.macrumors.com/review/m1-apple-silicon-macs/)'s Nilay Patel said, "We really considered giving these machines 10 out of 10 review scores, but this camera is bad enough to keep that from happening, especially on a pro laptop that costs more than the Air."<div class="linkback">Related Roundup: MacBook Air (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-air/)</div><div class="linkback">Tags: John Gruber (https://www.macrumors.com/guide/john-gruber/), CNBC (https://www.macrumors.com/guide/cnbc/)</div><div class="linkback">Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now) (https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Air), 13" MacBook Pro (Buy Now) (https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Pro_13)</div>
This article, &quot;Joanna Stern and John Gruber Discuss Apple M1 Transition and 'Craptastic' 720p FaceTime Cameras (https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/19/stern-and-gruber-discuss-m1-and-720p-cameras/)&quot; first appeared on MacRumors.com (https://www.macrumors.com)

Discuss this article (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/joanna-stern-and-john-gruber-discuss-apple-m1-transition-and-craptastic-720p-facetime-cameras.2269931/) in our forums

<div class="feedflare">
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img> (http://feeds.macrumors.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?a=jj66jR_Gdn8:hkHU__pbzO8:yIl2AUoC8zA) <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=6W8y8wAjSf4" border="0"></img> (http://feeds.macrumors.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?a=jj66jR_Gdn8:hkHU__pbzO8:6W8y8wAjSf4) <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img> (http://feeds.macrumors.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?a=jj66jR_Gdn8:hkHU__pbzO8:qj6IDK7rITs)
</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MacRumors-Front/~4/jj66jR_Gdn8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Source: Joanna Stern and John Gruber Discuss Apple M1 Transition and 'Craptastic' 720p FaceTime Cameras (https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/19/stern-and-gruber-discuss-m1-and-720p-cameras/)