Have just purchased a new MacBook Air (2020 model). Have bought to use for home working (Zoom meetings, etc) and the image is really grainy when using Zoom or FaceTime. Is this normal with Macs?
MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15
yes. I had purchased exact same 2020 MacBook Air model and it had worse camera than 2015 MacBook Pro. After a lot of research I figured out that since 2018 Apple changed the MacBook design and made the lid slimmer and put in the same camera they’ve used on older macbooks but made the camera hole much smaller. If you compare both camera holes side by side and look at the size you’ll see the new MacBook has small tiny camera hole which leads to less light and all photos and videos look grainy in low light thus your new MacBook has grainy and low quality camera. It doesn’t actually have a worse camera but due to this flaw in the design the camera sensors get less light and makes it blurry. The only fix is to add more brightness with better lighting but it doesn’t help much or to pay for an app and download it to enhance your webcam to apply filters over it and increase the brightness of the image. There doesn’t seem to be any other fix. Just return the MacBook if you aren’t satisfied and wait for new one or buy an external wireless camera or use your phone as the camera or iPad. A lot of users on here have this issue but on reddit and other places most people have ignored this issue and instead blamed the users for not knowing how to use the MacBook properly and not doing their “research” for calling this a downgrade in camera quality. They’re ignorant of the fact that in 2018 this design change happened. The brand new users who don’t complain are either upgrading from latest macbooks or those who never bothered paying attention to camera quality or don’t care or new MacBook users. Only people with older macbooks like 2015 or 2012 are the ones complaining and if you google 2018 MacBook camera issues or 2018 MacBook low quality grainy camera you’ll find tons of posts and stories and even YouTube videos and some general advice or fixes. That’s the best advice I can give you. Google that maybe you’ll find something there. That’s how I found out about this whole issue. You can even google check my webcam resolution and I compared the resolution and sensor of 2015 MacBook and 2020 MacBook side by side and the 2020 has same exact model of camera same exact resolution just worse contrast and brightness due to low light. But do the experiments to find yourself. Good luck!
I sent my computer info to Apple. Now they want me to send them pictures of the camera in different light settings with different apps. It's like they don't believe me. All those Apple techs have to do is look at their own product and see how awful the camera quality is!
I have the same problem. My 2011 MacBook Pro has finally bitten the dust for the last time. The camera on it was superb. I just opened up and set up my new MacBook Pro today and took a FaceTime call and the image quality is horrendous! This is not acceptable. Not anywhere in any of the specs did it warn that the loss of image quality was expected in lower light conditions. If it had done so I could have decided if this laptop was for me. So disappointing to have to return this laptop. I will probably buy a second hand older model.
haha ..good joke! The whole discussion is about poor webcam quality and you are talking about checking internet issues as if it is happening to just a few users. Please read the thread and ask yourself if what you are posting is relevant, then post!
I bought 13in MBP 2020 yesterday (5th Jan2021) in India. Very very disappointed in the camera quality. I have been using mac for nearly 9 years and very disappointed in the camera quality.
Asking apple to do something about it.
:(
Exactly man! Like I got the latest macbook air 2020 and it’s webcam is so so grainy and poor. I just cant see myself in the camera. My friend got a 2017 model and her camera works so well idk what apple is doing with it. I gets so angry about this.
Just returned the 2020 MacBook Air! Horrible product. What is apple doing? Why sleep on the camera? The picture quality is laughable!! I took a video and it was glitching as well. For the price, it’s just disappointing.
I've also had the same issues and actually found this thread due to me Googling the issue. I thought it was my new 2020 mac air, but bitter sweetly am happy to know it's just not me. Apple needs to fix this problem ASAP. We have all spent too much money on this device especially during a pandemic.
Please keep me posted if anyone heres any updates or a resolution to this shared problem.
Yeah. I am facing the same issue the camera quality on my new MacBook is very poor. It is not even three days since I bought my Mac. Very disappointed.I hope apple takes my concern and necessary steps to my needy.
I bought a MacBook Air as a way to take zoom meetings from home for work and meet with family during the pandemic. We have a strong internet connection and the first time I turned on the camera I realized it was worse that any old computer (or phone) I have. The cannot take work calls from home. When you invest so much in apple products you expect quality is every aspect. Since most people bought this as a good way to zoom during the pandemic, I expected other people will also be devastated by this feature. Will apple consider alleviating this issue for people who have purchased (and are now stuck with) this computer?
I returned it. Complete waste of a month’s time waiting for this computer. Went and bought a different brand and the camera looks crisp and clear as it should in the year 2021. Very bad innovation by Apple.
I just bought this laptop for school and everything is online. People keep telling me my images are grainy especially over ft.
Why is this the case, my camera is clean.. is the quality just bad? That makes me very upset considering this is what I will be using my computer for for the majority of the time.
If someone could provide some assistance that would be greatly appreciated as this was not a cheap purchase!
Thank you
Hey,
I also have this grainy image issue, I've complained to Apple and they basically said, this is what they expect of the MacBook Air 2020. So, if this is the case, how do I proceed? Will there be a callback or a software update available? And if not, do you have any recommendations on making this grainy issue better?
Thanks
I don't use the camera in my new M1 MBA but saw this thread so I tried it for the first time. Pretty impressed overall; even in low light conditions. Every bit as good as the camera in my iPhone X, as far as I can tell.
I just contacted customer support for this issue. They claimed it to be "an ambient light issue" and they expect you to sit directly under a super bright light for the grain to be SLIGHTLY less bad. No accountability for their super expensive POS. Love the greed here, Apple. Customer Service didn't even try to trouble shoot with me. Stupid.
Exactly! Last Tuesday, I received my new Macbook Air 2020 and the quality of the camera is just so grainy and bad! I was very upset with that.
I compared it with my 2015 and 2017 Macbook Air and their cameras were way better!
Grainy Image on MacBook Air 2020
