When we reviewed Apple’s $1,599 Studio Display one thing immediately jumped out: its built-in webcam is bad. Apple spokesperson Jennie Orphanopoulos told The Verge in an email that the company’s latest beta release of macOS Monterey 12.4 includes new firmware for the monitor to address “camera tuning, improved noise reduction, contrast, and framing.” The new software is available for developers now with a public beta version rolling out later today.
Is that enough change to make your average Zoom call look better than... this? Anyone in the beta program who owns one can find out soon.
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The Studio Display’s image quality is inexcusable given the price — and inexplicable for a 12-megapixel sensor with an f/2.4 lens that should resemble your average iPhone or iPad in quality. It’s also a bummer that you have to be running a beta version of macOS to fix the camera, which isn’t something most people would want to do on their work machines. But perhaps it’s understandable that Apple would want to test these changes in a variety of conditions before a rollout to the general public.
If you’ve installed the developer or public beta, you can update your display by going to System Preferences > Software Update. Once Studio Display Firmware Version 15.5 (Build 19F5062g) is installed, you should see the results of Apple’s tweaks.
