The iOS app is free, but is just a connector to the Mac app, where all the magic happens. The free Mac app is limited to 720p resolution and only the standard wide or selfie cameras on your iPhone, and you can’t disable the annoying watermark. Instead of buying a new webcam, you can buy a piece of software that turns your iPhone into one.
That’s one good reason why decent USB webcams are perpetually out of stock these days. Users who have never bothered to use the built-in camera on their MacBook are suddenly relying on it multiple times a week. Now that millions of people who are lucky enough to still have a job are working from home, we’re all doing a lot more Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings than ever before. The best webcam is the one you have with you With the steep price of $40 per year, it’ll cost you, but it’s less than buying a new webcam (and because it’s software, it’s not sold out like all the good webcams are). It’s not the only method of doing so, but it may be the best. Even the front-facing iPhone cameras!Įnter Camo, a handy utility by Reincubate that turns your iPhone into a Mac webcam. The iPhone and iPad’s cameras put not just Apple’s crummy Mac webcams to shame, they outshine any webcam.
This is weird, because Apple also makes some of the best cameras you can buy on a phone or tablet. Resolution aside, they produce video that is grainy, blotchy, relentlessly underexposed, and with horrible dynamic range. They top out at a paltry 720p resolution, with the exception of the iMac Pro’s 1080p model. And every single one, without exception, is total garbage. Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwideĮvery Mac (other than the Mac Pro and Mac mini) includes a built-in webcam, which Apple calls a FaceTime camera.