Apple’s rumored webcam switch in MacBook Pro M5 might be the first step towards the ‘thinpossible’ laptop dream
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Apple will switch its camera in the MacBook Pro to a new model from a different supplier, or that’s what a respected leaker believes – and this could help trim down the laptop.
This is analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the more reliable sources out there for Apple-related speculation, who posted on Medium to inform us that the MacBook maker is going to use Sunny Optical’s compact camera module in the MacBook Pro M5 (which should debut in 2025, to follow the M4 model which is slated to arrive later this year).
MacRumors spotted the post and reminds us that webcams for MacBooks are currently supplied by LG InnoTek and Sharp.
We can expect Sunny Optical to supply both camera module and lenses in a single package, and if all goes well with the new (rumored) partnership, Apple might turn to the Chinese firm for iPhone and iPad cameras down the line.
Scatter the usual seasoning around at this point, and remind yourself this is just a rumor – for now.
Analysis: The quest for ever-thinner laptops
Why is a new webcam so interesting? Well – if it happens – this would probably mean a slimmer camera for the MacBook Pro (and likely a higher-quality model, to boot – and any component upgrade is always good, even a more minor one).
A slimmer camera module could be part of Apple’s grand scheme to make the ‘thinpossible’ (see the latest iPad) come true for the MacBook, as it’s already rumored that the MacBook Pro will be made trimmer in future incarnations.
While the MacBook Pro M4 supposedly coming later this year has very little in the way of design changes, going by rumors (or indeed lack of them), the successor in 2025 – which should pack the M5 chip as noted – is expected to make bigger changes in a bid to boost it up the rankings of the best laptops out there. And getting slimmer could be a key point of any redesign, with a nifty new webcam perhaps playing a small but important role therein.
That said, the real slimming-down of the MacBook Pro may not occur until OLED comes into play – which will be a major trump card in the quest for thinner notebooks – and that’s rumored for 2026 at the earliest. Still, you never quite know how all these rumors will pan out…
