NEW Macbook Air 2020 Camera Quality

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Level 1

19 points

NEW Macbook Air 2020 Camera Quality

Hi All:

I have been constantly going back and forth with Apple about the camera quality on my brand new Macbook Air 2020. On the first day I got the laptop, I was able to facetime people with the regular/standard video camera quality. Later that night, when I opened the camera, the video quality was extremely grainy and was obviously worse than what I was using earlier. When I spoke with customer service, they had me run tests, which resulted in them telling me that I should order a replacement and send back in the defective one.

I just received my replacement Macbook Air 2020, set up the laptop with my Apple ID. I also downloaded Chrome and Microsoft 365. And then I checked the camera of the BRAND NEW laptop, grainy.

At this point, I don't even know if I'm just extremely unlucky or if I am doing something wrong. I love Apple products, but this is very frustrating, especially since all the stores are closed.

Please let me know if you are having this issue or if you have possible solutions.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 10, 2020 8:42 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Tutoreskate24

Level 1

33 points

Jul 2, 2020 2:31 AM in response to jamieqla

Nvm I figured out what the issue was. If you compare an older MacBook (2015 MBP) and look at the camera hole its much larger than the new MacBook camera hole. They switched to this new design in 2018 and I guess consumers just let it slide. The smaller hole leads to less light and makes the picture quality look very grainy especially in low light. It is just a design flaw and you'll have to live with it or return it and wait for next MacBook to be released maybe they'll fix it. This is all just a theory but I compared both camera hole side by side and the new ones are smaller. You can go online and google test webcam resolution to check your camera is actually 720p and I checked it and it was 720p even though it looks very grainy (480p) quality. I opened the exact website on my old MacBook and it has same exact camera but got a higher "Camera" score due to better colors and lighting but same megapixel count and resolution.

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Answer 2

Jul 2, 2020 12:52 AM in response to jamieqla

Had the exact same issue. I have returned 2 MacBooks so far. This is my 3rd 2020 Macbook and this also has a worse webcam than my 2015 Macbook pro. Specs say both are supposed to have a 720p webcam but this is not 720p quality. Something is wrong and Apple needs to do a recall or software update to fix this.

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Answer 3

i_rina

Community Specialist

Jun 14, 2020 12:45 PM in response to jamieqla

Hey jamieqla,

I understand that you have a concern about the camera quality of your MacBook Air.

Ensure that you're testing the camera in a well-lit environment. If you are, and it's still appearing grainy, you can provide feedback about this here: Product Feedback - Apple.

Have a great day.

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NEW Macbook Air 2020 Camera Quality

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