Apple Releases Studio Display Firmware 15.5 With Webcam Update

When do we start to worry that this is a more fundamental problem with the hardware, and Apple are scrambling to work around them? I had always assumed it was a last minute bug and it would be a fairly quick fix to enable the better image quality - but it seems not? :(

So center stage is a wide angle camera system that pans in sw. By definition then the framed image you see on a zoom call is a subset of the pixels available from the camera, thats some of our resolution problem there. One person sitting close to the webcam in a dimly lit room is not what this technology was intended for so overall its a bad fit for most of us. No sw update is going to turn it into the right camera lens.

That being said, the webcam is decent enough for zoom calls and the like. I have not tested this new firmware but have seen the noise get bad if there is light behind me like through a window.

The monitor though is really amazing otherwise. I feel like the webcam gets way too much press compared to the overall build quality and display sharpness.

Should have started worrying when the reviews came out.

Software can only do so much. I think Apple thought they could get away with a middling webcam and call it a day. However, when you put it into context that this is a $1500 display, "middling" doesn't do it.

Frankly this is just turning into another overpriced Apple display that doesn't offer much more than competing panels at this price point (or lower).

What competing 5k monitor do you recommend?

I just find that hard to believe. The webcam in my M1 iMac is better than the Studio Display right now, and that doesn't seem like a hardware skimping thing, that seems like something else. I can't figure they intentionally shipped a worse camera in the Studio Display than the consumer-targeted M1 iMac.

The fact is the iMac does have a much better camera (I also have both) because it's using the entire sensor instead of cropping it down to 1/4-1/6 of its area.

They chose the gimmicky center stage feature. The Touch Bar of 2022.

When do we start to worry that this is a more fundamental problem with the hardware, and Apple are scrambling to work around them? I had always assumed it was a last minute bug and it would be a fairly quick fix to enable the better image quality - but it seems not? :(

Should have started worrying when the reviews came out.

Software can only do so much. I think Apple thought they could get away with a middling webcam and call it a day. However, when you put it into context that this is a $1500 display, "middling" doesn't do it.

Frankly this is just turning into another overpriced Apple display that doesn't offer much more than competing panels at this price point (or lower).

After the update the web cam quality has noticeable improved. Of course nobody should be expecting miracles here. I cannot say that the camera now is worse than what we have on the MacBook Pro or the iPad Pro. Please also consider that we are viewing images on a much higher res display, so of course everything will be much more noticeable..The web cam is good for me now. Others might still want/need something better, but I am happy now with the camera as it is.

The fact is the iMac does have a much better camera (I also have both) because it's using the entire sensor instead of cropping it down to 1/4-1/6 of its area.

They chose the gimmicky center stage feature. The Touch Bar of 2022.

Yeah, that's actually a good point. I had forgotten that. Urgh. It's a great monitor, but I'm super unhappy that I've had to mount a spare iPhone with Camo software right above it to have a reasonable camera. Just feels wrong, having spent so much on something brand new. ::Grumble::