Laptops coming in Holiday 2021 to have better webcams and mics, Microsoft mandates 1080p webcams in all premium Windows 11 laptops

[Redaktion]

We have accessed exclusive documentation from our sources that indicate Microsoft has set stringent webcam and real-time communication (RTC) requirements for all Windows 11 laptops coming this Holiday 2021. Microsoft's recommendations are categorized into entry-level, mainstream, and premium and may finally herald the arrival of some much-needed standardization in webcam and microphone quality.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Laptops-coming-in-Holiday-2021-to-have-better-webcams-and-mics-Microsoft-mandates-1080p-webcams-in-all-premium-Windows-11-laptops.581021.0.html

[Nick Evans]

This is *fantastic* news, thanks for posting.

But I have to ask - is NotebookCheck ever going to fix its broken webcam ratings? Among the models you list as having the best webcams, none score better than 46/85. Also the little red histograms indicate that there are multiple models that are much better but I have never managed to find one in your reviews.

So which are the mystery laptops with amazing webcams? Or are their high scores due to flawed or outdated testing?

[Vaidyanathan]

This is *fantastic* news, thanks for posting.

But I have to ask - is NotebookCheck ever going to fix its broken webcam ratings? Among the models you list as having the best webcams, none score better than 46/85. Also the little red histograms indicate that there are multiple models that are much better but I have never managed to find one in your reviews.

So which are the mystery laptops with amazing webcams? Or are their high scores due to flawed or outdated testing?

Thanks :D
The apparent "low scores" is because the ratings system is unified with smartphones that have much better cameras. Having said that, the webcam's weightage itself towards the overall rating is low, so it shouldn't affect the total scores much. Hopefully, with these new webcams, the scores see a tangible increase.

[Nick Evans]

Thank you for the explanation, that finally solves the mystery for me. I never would have guessed, mostly because I don't understand the rationale for unifying the ratings. A typical phone is at least twice as thick as a typical laptop screen and can therefore fit a much better camera module. You wouldn't compare phone speaker quality with laptop speakers, because that would be completely unfair in the other direction. Or CPU power or (for a really extreme example) screen size. If you ever recalibrate your ratings I hope you reconsider this choice.

[Vaidyanathan]

Thank you for the explanation, that finally solves the mystery for me. I never would have guessed, mostly because I don't understand the rationale for unifying the ratings. A typical phone is at least twice as thick as a typical laptop screen and can therefore fit a much better camera module. You wouldn't compare phone speaker quality with laptop speakers, because that would be completely unfair in the other direction. Or CPU power or (for a really extreme example) screen size. If you ever recalibrate your ratings I hope you reconsider this choice.

Thank you for the feedback. This is a tricky aspect since a wrong change would affect recommendations and judge the device unfairly. We are always looking at ways of fine-tuning the ratings system as capabilities of device evolve. Hopefully, once the said RTC capabilities actually start becoming mainstream, it will give us enough leverage to adjust. For instance, we already consider awarding higher points to laptops that offer dual array or quad array mics with noise cancelation etc.

[720p camera vendor]

1080p's just a resolution, babe-. Oh, come on, where are you going?