Does it have anything to do with how a laptop is built, or do they simply not care?
In: Technology
Laptop cameras will be used primarily for video calls/conferencing, while phone cameras are used most heavily for photography, and often photography designed to be shared with a mass audience EG. Instagram.
In short, phones need better cameras because of how they are typically used.
Most people don’t care about the camera on their laptop and dont want to pay more for a better one, so they just throw a decent cheap one on it.
Most people DO care about the camera on their phone because most people use it regularly, so people are willing to pay significantly more for a good quality camera.
People aren’t trying to play Ansel Adams with a laptop, too unwieldy. They just need to provide a basic image for use with chat services etc. Phones use cameras as one of their biggest selling points, so they put money into making them nice.
Laptop cameras are in demand for making a clear picture for business related conference calls or just video in general. This lets companies save money on adding a lower quality camera in a laptop but making sure that it has enough resources to let the user have a video call while multiple other programs are running that they can share if needed with a clear picture. Phones have a higher popularity for taking still photos so companies spend more money to secure a edge in the market.
Because cameras are extremely expensive. Most of the cost of a phone is the screen and the camera. Everything else is worth like $200.
Theres also no demand for laptop cameras.
People aren’t trying to take a bunch of pictures with their laptops and cameras are fairly complex and expensive. Laptop cameras primarily need to be good enough for video conferencing, not taking high quality pictures.
Cameras are a fairly expensive component so you skimp on it if you can. People take a lot of pictures with their phones, so you kinda can’t skimp on it there or nobody will buy it. But on a laptop you’re just not using it that much and when you are it’s for stuff like video calls where the quality isn’t as important (and it’s gonna get crushed down to save bandwidth anyway).
People aren’t typically using their laptops for much beyond video calls so why spend money on higher end cameras that can take better photos, etc?
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