The Apple Studio Display launched last Friday (March 19) alongside the Mac Studio, and while reviews are generally positive (ours included), several reviewers have criticized the monitor’s built-in webcam.
Notably, the 12MP ultrawide camera built into the top bezel of the display is taking the heat for capturing images that look blurry, washed out, or too smooth, which some users may find deeply close. These complaints are common enough that Apple has said that there is an Apple Studio Display camera update in the works to address them, although we don’t yet know when to expect it.
This topic is of particular interest to me as I write my Apple Studio demonstration review And really admired the camera, as I felt the quality of the images and videos was just too good for a webcam. I also like the fact that it supports Center Stage, though the feature seems less useful on a deskbound monitor than on a portable device like the iPad Air (2022).
While I’m not the only one to like the Studio Display’s camera, the fact that so many reviewers felt differently prompted us to do some follow-up testing to understand why the Studio Display’s camera differs in light. and how it performs in different video chats. Apps (with all image enhancement features turned off, of course). At times with the Studio Display I realized that I often looked a little sharper in Google Meet than in FaceTime, for example, so I asked my testing chief Matthew Murray to shoot some comparison shots in his test lab while That was putting the performance through our suite of performance tests.
Since we also have the new iPad Air (2022), we decided to shoot similar photos using its 12MP ultrawide front-facing camera and compare the two side-by-side. Both have almost identical front-facing cameras (12MP ultrawide with 122 field of view, /2.4 aperture), so we expected a slight difference between the two. However, when it comes to these cameras, the software makes a big difference because the onboard Apple silicon (the A13 Bionic in the display, the M1 in the iPad Air) does the image processing, so these shots help us understand that difference better. can do.
Plus, these comparison shots will give you a good idea of how the Studio Display’s camera performs and how it looks to you in different lighting conditions and videoconferencing apps. Note that we used the macOS versions of these apps running on Mac Studio for the studio display shots, while the iPad is of course running the iPadOS version.
Apple Studio Display vs. iPad Air: FaceTime
Let’s start with some test photos shot in Apple’s FaceTime app for Mac and iPadOS. Matthew was kind enough to shoot multiple photos with both blinds open and closed, so you can see how the camera performed with and without natural light.
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Apple Studio Display: FaceTime (Blinds Open)
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Apple Studio Display: FaceTime (blind off)
As you can see, the picture with the blinds closed has markedly less detail than the one with the open-blind, especially around the face and head. It’s that kind of washed-out, hazy look that people have been complaining about. I like the way Matthew looks with the blinds open here, but if you click the zoom button in the lower-right corner of the image, it’s easy to see noise in the image.
Now let’s see what the iPad’s camera was able to capture under similar conditions:
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iPad Air (2022): FaceTime (Blinds Open)
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iPad Air (2022): FaceTime (blind off)
what do you think In my eyes the iPad Air (2022) appears to capture slightly worse images overall in FaceTime versus the studio display, but there seems to be more consistent image quality between natural light and artificial light.
Apple Studio Display vs. iPad Air: Google Meet
The next Matthew captured a similar series of screenshots in Google Meet showing the image quality captured by both these cameras.
During my testing of the performance I loved the way it looked on camera during a Google Meet call, so I was especially curious to see how Matthew’s shots turned out here, as they had different lighting than mine. Is. My desk is facing a window so I was lit by direct sunlight during the call while it lights up from the side.
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Apple Studio Display: Google Meet (blind open)
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Apple Studio Display: Google Meet (blind closed)
Do you think he looks better in Google Meet than in FaceTime? I think I do. I definitely think he looks better in natural light, because under artificial light the studio display’s camera again captures an image that looks blurry and, for lack of a better word, plasticy. If it’s the A13 Bionic’s processing at work, a software update can’t come soon enough.
Here’s the iPad Air running Google Meet:
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iPad Air (2022): Google Meet (Blinds Open)
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iPad Air (2022): Google Meet (Blind Off)
Again, image quality between the two cameras appears pretty similar. I think Matthew actually looks a little better with the blinds on the iPad Air (2022) camera, although that may be because he is closer to the lens in these shots (a way of holding the iPad to capture the screenshot). Result) )
Apple Studio Display vs. iPad Air: Zoom
In the end, we shot the same series of photos in Zoom.
There’s a special caveat to these photos: Due to the fact that we were testing over two days, some of these shots have different lighting quality. Notably, we captured the zoom screenshot of the display in the morning, while all the other photos in this article are from around noon.
I think it’s useful to show because it gives you a better understanding of how image quality can change depending on the time of day, but keep in mind that the studio display shots in Zoom were taken in bright early morning sunlight , while the iPad Air (2022) took zoom shots in the afternoon.
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Apple Studio Display: Zoom (Blinds Open)
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Apple Studio Display: Zoom (Blind Off)
As you can see there’s bright morning light coming in from the window here, and I have an easier time appreciating the shot’s finer details. However, as the light goes off, Matthew’s face is once again washed out and withered.
And on the iPad?
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iPad Air (2022): Zoom (Blinds Open)
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iPad Air (2022): Zoom (Blind Off)
I’m starting to see a pattern here: In the absence of good lighting, neither camera captures very good images. I find that the front-facing camera on the iPad Air (2022) delivers slightly worse image quality at zoom under artificial light than the studio display’s camera, but overall it’s clear that any device’s camera will work under these conditions. does not do well.
Decision
So is the Apple Studio Display’s camera really that bad? It depends on your expectations, but even based on our quick testing it’s clear that yes, it’s actually quite bad without good lighting. Even with good natural light, images captured by a studio display contain a visible amount of noise that can be off-putting for those who prize image quality.
However, it’s important to remember that this is functionally an Apple mobile camera being repurposed as an integrated webcam. It may sound ridiculous that this $1,499 monitor doesn’t come with the best camera Apple has ever made, but remember that the Studio Display also comes with a great (for the monitor) six-speaker sound system, 27-inch 5K display, and an onboard Packs the A13. The bionic chip that helps drive features like Center Stage and Siri.
In short, it’s a package of repurposed Apple hardware that really only shines when connected to a Mac. For Windows users, it’s just an overly expensive 5K display. Webcams are on par with cameras you’ll find in mobile devices like iPads and laptops, and in fact I think it’s better than the lion’s share of laptop webcams I’ve tested. But of course, that’s not saying much laptop webcams are generally bad, and we’re only just starting to see premium laptop makers abandon 720p in favor of incorporating 1080p webcams into their new devices. .
So while I still agree that the Studio Display is one of the best monitors for MacBook Pro users who want an external display, those who want to look their best on video calls should consider investing in one of the best webcams on the market. It would be wise to do
