I think most of us can agree that Apple makes some nice laptops.
I’m not just saying that as a proverbial “Mac guy,” either; we’ve got the benchmarks and side-by-side tests to prove Apple’s laptops excel in a lot of the categories you want/need a laptop to excel in.
And as a MacBook Pro user (I’m currently using a machine with Apple’s M2 chip), there’s not much I can say I dislike about Apple’s laptops. Though, after testing Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14 Gen 5, there might be one thing…
Webcam woes
A webcam might not be the most important thing on your laptop, but if you’re in more remote work meetings than you’d prefer, and I’m sure lots of you are, having a solid webcam is very nice to have.
That’s what I learned while testing Lenovo‘s ThinkPad T14 Gen 5. Sure, Lenovo’s iconic business laptop didn’t have the best battery life or performance, but if you want to come in crisp on a video call, the T14 Gen 5 has you covered — and then some.
What makes the T14 Gen 5’s webcam quality even more stark for me is the fact that every MacBook Pro webcam I’ve used extensively (the M1 and the M2, for reference) is, frankly, surprisingly lackluster, especially for Apple.
Compared to the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5, even my M2 MacBook Pro’s webcam looks dull and washed out. And sure, it still works, but there is something that’s just concretely more professional about having a webcam that doesn’t make you look like you’re dialing in from a flip phone in 2005.
For the uninitiated, the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5’s webcam is a 1440p QHD camera that renders my face crystal clear — much clearer than most laptops I’ve used, including the MacBook Pro M2 which comes with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
I can say for certain that you’ll be among the most high-fi talking heads in your Zoom meeting if you use this as your work machine. And yeah, you probably won’t ever buy a laptop for its webcam, but at the same time, it’s easy to appreciate the inclusion of an above-average one when it finds its way into your machine.
And if you’re marketing a laptop to professionals, it just makes sense to go the extra mile. Sure, you could buy an external webcam to mount onto your MacBook, but once you’ve paid the Apple premium for a machine, it might sting a little having to shell out extra money just to get your webcam fidelity up to snuff.
Bad but getting better
To be fair, Apple has identified its webcam woes and has been making strides to improve the MacBook Pros cam quality. The newest M4 spate of MacBook Pros comes with a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera that definitely brings the laptops’ quality to the next level.
In our own M4 MacBook Pro review, we outlined just how much of an upgrade Apple’s new Center Stage camera really is:
“The 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro’s 12MP Center Stage camera is one of, if not the best, laptop webcams I’ve tested. The crisp and color-accurate image won’t embarrass you on a Zoom call, and it also deals with shifting lighting conditions better than any laptop webcam I’ve used.”
So, if you’re still clacking away on a laptop like mine, then I can say for certain that Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 will definitely impress — at least in the webcam department.
My MacBook might still excel in all of the categories that matter, but if you want to do yourself and your coworkers a major favor you might want to think about your webcam for once.
