2018 MacBook Air HD camera is in poor quality.

Ruskes your findings and questions still don't make sense to me.It's obvious something wrong with this camera.If a camera from 2011 Mac does better job than 2018 model Apple screwed something up.Period and end of question.We know what the problem is and waiting for Apple to address the issue.

Ruskes you continue making irrelevant arguments.There is nothing wrong with FaceTime app since it works perfectly and much better with an external camera.I tested myself.Logitech c920 hd cam.Picture is sharp like Apple claims with their integrated camera.

If the issue can not be resolved with a software update more than likely it's hardware.Camera sensor..etc since it works terribly in room light conditions.

We need to hear from Apple what they say.

It was established long ago that the real resolution is 720p, so your result is not new. The issue is not with resolution but with sensitivity/noise.

The problem is visible with all applications using camera (Facetime, Skype, Photobooth etc.)

Looking at what files and drivers the Facetime.app loads, it loads the SD resolution from the Face Time Camera driver, instead using the HD resolution./System/Library/Frameworks/CoreImage.framework/Versions/A/Resources/ci_kernels.metallib

/private/var/folders/xl/fxfqtrn56kb_hn6s2rcns3p80000gn/C/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.metal/libraries.maps

/private/var/folders/xl/fxfqtrn56kb_hn6s2rcns3p80000gn/C/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.metal/libraries.data

/private/var/folders/xl/fxfqtrn56kb_hn6s2rcns3p80000gn/C/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.metal/Intel(R) Iris(TM) Graphics 6000/functions.maps

/private/var/folders/xl/fxfqtrn56kb_hn6s2rcns3p80000gn/C/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.FaceTime/com.apple.metal/Intel(R) Iris(TM) Graphics 6000/functions.data

All other apps on my mac do use the HD output (like Quick Time app).

At this moment I do not know why is it using the wrong resolution for Facetime.app.

In my Air 2018:

FaceTime HD Camera:

  Model ID: UVC Camera VendorID_1452 ProductID_34068

Also, could I ask you do make 2 Photo Booth photos - with the old and in the new Air (you do not need to publish them here, just comment on them)? For me that is the best demo of the difference. No Facetime involved in that case.

Guys.You are wasting your time.There are some apple agents here trying to confuse people I guess..It’s the same no matter what app you use.Also there is nothing wrong with the Apps.I have tested them all with my external camera.Image quality real 720 HD and sharp like Apple claim for theirs.Its the crappy camera sensor that is terrible my guess.

i had the same issue. i had to return my Gold macbook air. My 2014 macbook air has better Webcam (Camera) than the 2018 which is sad. when Apple going to fix this issue? i really like this new Air. but i cant waste 1600 for one flaw. it has to be perfect or they should just lower this Air 2018. too expensive for a horrible camera

I have an appointment on Wednesday to see what can I do. I really want the camera fixed, I love the air. If I have to upgrade to the pro I will but I heard that as well as the same issue. so i dont know what to do maybe return get my money back.

I spoke with apple care and I told them that I have the MacBook Air 2018 model with 16GB of Ram and the camera was very blurry and grainy. The lady put me on hold for a few mins and she came back on and wanted to setup a repair. It's like she knew exactly what was going on. So it looks like they installed defective cameras in the MacBook Airs.

They sent it in for repair. The repair Center sent it back without fixing it, TWICE. They said they could not replicate the issue. The store offered me to swap it for a new one. I just returned it all together.

You are welcome to wait for Apple.

Meanwhile I fixed mine.

How irrelevant is that now.

Testing with external camera proves nothing. If you would understand the workings of a computer you would know that for each device there is a driver. In plain language, the driver the Face Time uses with Face Time Camera is the wrong one.

Hi Becky,

I am experiencing the same issue with my new laptop. I tried all of the three troubleshooting steps mentioned (New account, different apps to test the webcam, and under Applications > Utilities > Profile I can see my FaceTime HD camera Model ID and Unique ID).

The problem persists, how can it be solved?

I just purchased this computer as a gift for my daughter (not knowing the camera was an issue). She's experiencing the same terrible resolution/noise camera problem even in excellent lighting. The camera quality is FAR, far below her 6 year old MBP. What is going on and how come Apple is not owning up to this issue? Is there a fix coming or should she return the computer and explore other options?

Hi DJ Hardy

21 pages of posts is a lot to read. I’ve been following this issue for a couple of months and to my knowledge the only solution is to take the MacBook Air back to Apple and wait for a model that meets their published description of “friends and family see you in sharp detail”. - if they can see you at all - right?

As I have previously mentioned in the 21 pages of MBA poor HD camera history - it could take 6 months to see a fixed model - if not more. As MBA 2018 early adopters we can help apple by taking every MBA back to help cycle their inventory.

I read posts about finding a fix by editing some files - but it seems that people are not convinced.

My gut (based on over 20 years of electronic manufacturing experience) tells me this is a Hardware issue and is a hassle to resolve.

The most shocking thing is the response from Apple - or should I say - the lack of response...

so I took my MBA 2018 to the Genius Bar and they tried to reset it and tried their magic but no luck. The workers agreed that it was blurry and grainy they also compared it to the ones they had on the floor and they were as well blurry and grainy. They said they can’t do nothing eles because Apple didn’t say anything about the issue, i checked the pro and decided to upgrade to the pro. That’s my solution since I always wanted a MacBook and being a little disappointed it’s my first MacBook.