Technologies

Why Your MacBook Air Webcam Looks Bad in Zoom Meetings and How to Fix It

Here are some lighting and positioning tricks to help you make up for that grainy 720p webcam on older Macs.

Almost every new MacBook sold today has an upgraded high-resolution webcam, but that only helps if you’ve bought one in the last year or so. Many MacBook owners are still using either older Intel versions or the 13-inch M1 MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, and all of those systems are held back by one unfortunate quirk: a flat-looking 720p-resolution webcam with lots of noise and a lack of depth-sensing technology.

A lot of Windows laptops are barely better, many with similar outdated webcams, but at least some have better light sensitivity, color accuracy or depth sensing for facial-recognition logins. However, many Windows laptops were even ahead of Apple in adding better 1080p webcams over the past few years.

The side effect of MacBooks being in wide circulation and tending to last for many years is that there’s a lot of older hardware out there. And that means your Zoom or other video meetings are not going to look great, both because of the camera and because many people don’t have their laptops set up to capture a decent-looking image.

M2 MacBook Air

$1,049 at Best Buy

Use your iPhone camera instead

There’s at least a reasonable chance you’re beaming into an online Zoom meeting (or other video meeting) from a pre-2022 MacBook Air or something similar. That means you’re not looking your best. Especially for a smaller, low-slung laptop like the Air, your camera isn’t going to be at an optimal angle if it’s sitting on your desk or kitchen table and aimed up at you.

One option is to use your phone’s camera. Either the front or back cameras will be better than any laptop you have. For TV appearances from my work-from-home office, I sometimes use my phone mounted from an eye-level tripod clip.

The latest MacOS version, called Ventura, adds a powerful new feature called Camera Continuity. Take an iPhone with iOS 16 and a MacBook with Ventura, and you can easily link them, using the phone’s superior camera as your webcam. It’s a feature that took far too many years to get, but it solves a ton of problems. Even better, it works on (some) older Intel Macs, and you can see the exact list of compatible systems here.

If you’re using your iPhone as a wireless MacBook webcam, you’ll probably want to mount it. There are commercial mounts you can buy, like this one from Belkin, or you can try 3D printing this custom version I designed.

I designed this iPhone MacBook mount for 3D printing.

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Before Camera Continuity, I’d use EpocCam software from Elgato, which ran on my phone and allowed me to use it as a wireless camera for my MacBook. The Pro version costs a few bucks, and didn’t work for every scenario, but it was a reasonable solution when using a compatible app like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. You could also attach an external webcam from Logitech or another company.

But even with a better camera, your video presence will benefit from proper position and lighting. Here are some tips based on my experience beaming into live TV spots from my MacBook during the pandemic.

Raise your laptop

If your laptop is anywhere close to a good ergonomic position for your hands, then it’s nowhere near the best spot for a Zoom meeting. Get some big books. Get some giant board game boxes. Prop that sucker up. Use big coffee table books or something else heavy, so you won’t get as much wobble. Don’t use empty cardboard boxes.

Where do you want the camera pointing? Get it to sit just above eye level.

2020-mba — A not-great shot from the 2020 MacBook Air webcam. Note the soft image quality, and the laptop should be propped up higher.

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Good lighting cures (most) ills

Low-res webcam signals look especially bad in low-light situations. Even higher-res cameras benefit from lots of light. That’s why movie and TV sets and professional photography are flooded with giant lights. You don’t need all that, but a good source of natural sunlight is an easy and inexpensive way to drastically improve your webcam shot. Face the window, don’t put your back to it. You want the camera to see the light from the window, not the window itself.

If natural light isn’t available, don’t spend a ton on a fancy light setup. This set from UBeesize is under $35 and includes an 8-inch ring light, a tripod to mount it on and phone clip as well. Many people at CNET use this setup or something similar for remote work.

Know the Macs with a better webcam

Among current MacBooks, the M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro both have that old 720p webcam. But the MacBook Pro 14 and Pro 16 have excellent 1080p cameras, along with the 2021 24-inch M1 iMac and the 2022 M2 MacBook Air. Previously, you could only find that in the discontinued $5,000-and-up iMac Pro and 27-inch iMac. The M2 MacBook Air is the biggest game-changer, if you ask me, as it has an excellent 1080p webcam, and is just a great all-around laptop.

My colleague Brian Cooley has many more general webcam setup tips, including some good headset mic suggestions — although your phone headset or AirPods should be fine for anything short of a live hit on CNN.

The best laptops in every category

Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.