> A laptop camera is used for conference calls

And youtube videos.

I agree that 4K can be considered excessive, but 1080p would be the appropriate resolution in 2019 for a high end machine.

When doing user research (and I for one reason or another don't have other/better equipment around), I've used the MacBook as camera, mic, and screen recorder, when applicable (attaching a non-Apple mouse, of course, because those things are bonkers).

In these situations, a higher resolution camera wouldn't hurt. A better mic is higher priority though, so I'm happy to see that in the specs.

> no one needs to see all my facial flaws in 4K detail

Exactly. I would prefer a 200p camera.

I think you missed the point when you compared a $4000 laptop to a phone that tops out at $1,500 (which actually comes with 4 cameras)

For the pro line I would expect something I could just use to record video of me doing training or youtube reviews(at least in a crunch). I don't think it's too much to ask for at this price point. If I want to do the video editing it would be simple at times to use it for voice and video recording as well.

At a $2400 price point. You should get a 1080p camera included regardless of your use. If you don't want that much detail on a webcam, you should have a setting to turn it down to 480p or something. But higher quality should the ceiling. Besides some people vlog and want that type of quality on facetime

> I don’t consider this in any way to be a dealbreaker.

Fair enough. But for some people it might be.

It is much more comfortable to perform video calls via laptop than via phone because a phone typically needs to be held in position manually. Therefore, I believe that most people would, if given a choice, prefer to use a laptop for video calls.

Also, people might actually want their video to have high resolution. For whatever reason. Even to show their facial flaws. Not providing them an option to do that, despite the fact that the required hardware is cheap and available, is an unnecessary restriction.

Finally, if a high resolution camera was included and someone would not want to use that high resolution, they can simply switch the camera to a lower resolution mode.

> So, no, I don’t consider this in any way to be a dealbreaker.

There are plenty of premium and luxury laptops at that price point that have HD cameras, and they don't prevent you from running unauthorized software[1].

Even the Surface has better cameras.

[1] https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=09032019a

Cringe

'Posterity' is a stretch? Snapchat would dispute that.

In fact, if a phone really wanted to take good pictures (and not just market 'megapixels') they'd have focus, light balance, shutter speed controls. About all they can do is take still portraits.