Macbook Air M1 camera quality

Just bought the Macbook Pro with the M1 chip today....went to try out Zoom and the quality was horrendous! I’m comparing it to my Macbook Air 2015 and that laptop has such a crisp and better quality than my new laptop. What a shame and what a waste of money! In a world where online meetings with front cameras are a must.....we are left with terrible quality and with no response from Apple at all! Great timing Apple! Thanks for not even recognizing this problem!

Bought a MacBook Air M1 4 days back and noticed significant difference in camera quality. Picture is very blurry. While doing a FaceTime with my wife, I found her picture quality from on older MacBook model to be far clearer than my new machine, which she also pointed out right away.

Another surprising issue is that whenever there is an LED light in the background, it interferes with the FaceTime camera lense and one can see a thick vertical ray of light running across the screen.

Surprising part is that on contacting the apple store and apple call centre, I was just given the response that “Apple is aware of the LED issue”.

The picture quality during FaceTime was so bad that I was thoroughly convinced that the camera is faulty. However service center executive maintained that it is not a hardware issue and also somewhat conceded that camera in the new machine are not that good and that there is nothing he can do.

It is really disappointing that in the latest MacBook model the picture quality is so bad specially in current working from home environment due to Covid.

I actually just got off of a phone call with multiple support agents.

The first one said she wasn't aware of any issue or why anyone would even have reason to complain about the quality of the camera, basically saying it was the hight of Apple engineering. Of course, I asked to be transferred to someone else or to have my ticket escalated and had to schedule a call back for a couple days later.

The second one said she also wasn't aware of any issues, but outright said that even if there should be issues I really shouldn't be concerned about them because no one ACTUALLY uses their MacBook cameras--we've all got iPads and iPhones for that after all. When I asked why she thought people wouldn't be using their MacBook cameras for video calling loved ones or for working during a pandemic she suggested she transfer me to her supervisor.

Leo spent quite a bit of time gathering information. He came back and told me that all the MacBooks have used a 720p camera since 2018 and anyone saying it looked worse than previous years is lying. When I said it looked worse than my 2015 windows 2-in-1 he said that not every camera is created equal and that we could check to see if it was a software issue or a defect in the camera. I tried multiple camera apps--zoom, webex, teams, FaceTime, PhotoBooth, etc, and multiple different lighting schemes. It was until I put a ring light behind my head to give myself a halo that the picture quality actually improved--at the cost of casting my face in shadows and making me look like a corpse. Leo then said that it was definitely due to the quality of the camera and that if I was outside the return period that I would just have to deal with it. When I asked why Apple Support Communities hadn't been updated with a response from Apple he said that it wasn't the job of Tech Support to check this, despite this being the first step I was directed towards when I started trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera. He said if I was unhappy I could call the direct customer complaint number, which I'll post in a separate section because I'm not sure if posting support phone numbers is allowed and I don't want my post to get removed.

The complaint specialist, Jess, said that if I was dissatisfied enough that I should just take my computer to an Apple store and have them try to diagnose the issue, and that just because other people are complaining of an issue doesn't mean it's all true, let alone even for the same reason. When asked he didn't know who moderated this forum either. So it seems like we're out of luck for now.

TLDR; Apple is not aware of why anyone would have an issue with their low quality cameras from 2018 and doesn't expect people to use them for video conferencing, even during a pandemic.

No no improvement. My daughters 2000 ipad camera works way better!!!!!!!! This is legit a joke. And there were no other options by apple except to return. But then what are our options for a device? They need to fix this issue and assist us all with getting a quality camera. For the price of this computer, it must be done.

Bought a MacBook Air M1 (8CPU/8GPU) on Monday (5July2021) and my wife noticed that my Facetime camera from her end is blurry and terrible! We use Facetime everyday (located in different places) she’s using an iPadPro 2020 which has great camera quality. Seems This new M1 MBAir really has a camera issue! Hello Apple??! Is there going to be a recall??

A proper place for this kind of action may be better use of your time as well:

• Apple Product Feedback - Apple

https://www.apple.com/feedback/

Any suggestion/indication of success/failure may not yield Official replies.

Call 408-996-1010 to leave a complaint with a real person. Ask for a reference number just so there's a record of the issue and your complaint.

Or you could send an email through the feedback website (https://www.apple.com/feedback/), but I don't think that's likely to be as helpful--I would imagine Apple ignores that just like they ignore this forum.

Depending on where you made the purchase, Official Apple Store (incl online)

allows 14-day no questions returns. There may be a problem should the unit

not still be in as-new condition. An authorized Apple reseller (a independent

business, has own policy rules) -& may/not- make an exchange; or offer credit.

The ability to offer 'an adjustment' ~ is better through an official Apple source.

I thought I am the only one who’s having trouble with the quality camera of my Macbook Air M1. I was really disappointed that the camera is so blurry. It has the same quality as that of the 2017 Macbook Air (720p Facetime HD camera) as published in the website, but the latter is way better! Can Apple do something about this? I really need to have a good quality camera, as I am using my laptop for work.

Agreed!! Just purchased the macbookair after owning macbookpros for yearssssss! The camera is extremely disappointing. to say the least! So much so, that I will use the 2 week return policy to exchange this machine and will tell all to not purchase. In a day of virtual work, school, daily activities, etc. why would apple miss this one? Honestly, not cool. #partyfoul #apple #macbookirfail #camerafail #iphoto #macbook #applemacbookair #m1 #2021 #facebook #zoom #virtual #school #work #play

I'm having the same problem. The camera quality is so bad compared to my old MacBook early 2014. It's so blurry. I feel like I'm using a beauty filter. When I facetime it's even worse. Will Apple fix or recall this? Am I having a defective one or is it the normal standard for the new M1 MacBook?

Seriously. Apple supervisor told me they are aware of the problem. Of apple is aware of the problem why do they don't in ur to seek a computer with a faulty camera??? And what will they do for the people that went and traded old devices? Even if we return in the two week window now what? No device old or new?

i just got my mba yesterday, and the first thing it shocked me was the image quality from the camera. i immediately noticed difference between my mid-2013 mba and the m1 mba 2020. called apple support and they say they will exchange another one for me and hopefully the camera works fine.

anyone has solution for this issue? or after exchange did the image qualify improve?

I have had my m1 MacBook for over a month now. I was thinking it was just Zoom that was blurry but then I answered a FaceTime call on my MacBook & it was blurry also. I even called myself with my iPhone 11, with both cameras next to each other & the difference was drastic.