At a time when video conferencing has become the norm and an essential part of day-to-day life, laptops continue to feature webcams that deliver horrible quality. Almost every single notebook today is stuck with a low-resolution 720p camera, which is quite surprising considering front-facing cameras on smartphones are quite impressive.
One of the reasons laptop manufacturers haven’t pushed enough to deliver better quality webcams on laptops is that, unlike smartphones, users don’t click a lot of selfies or make videos with their laptops. On top of that, cramming a high-end camera right above the display isn’t an easy job, especially when customers demand super slim bezels. Then there’s Window Hello, which requires infrared sensors for facial recognition, thus requiring more space.
Thankfully there are a handful of laptops (mostly hybrid tablets) on the market today that offer a 1080p webcam and we’re expecting more manufacturers to follow suit. We’re also expecting all of the Windows laptops below to get the upcoming Windows 11 update around the holiday season.
Here are the best laptops with 1080p webcams:
Navigate this guide:
- Best overall: HP Elite Dragonfly Max
- Best tablet: Microsoft Surface Pro 7
- Best gaming laptop: MSI GE76 Raider
- Best business laptops: Dell Latitude 7420
- Best ThinkPad: Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable
- Best convertible laptop: Dell Latitude 7320 2-in-1
- Best tablet for creators: Microsoft Surface Book 3
- Best Chromebook: Google PixelBook Go
Best overall: HP Elite Dragonfly Max
The HP Elite Dragonfly Max is our pick of the best laptop with a 1080p camera. In fact, the laptop comes with a large 5-megapixel sensor that can handle 1440p video, which is far better and much sharper than most laptops out there. It also features facial recognition for Windows Hello and a physical webcam cover for extra privacy. The HP Dragonfly is also one of the best business notebooks from the company featuring a sleek design and premium hardware.
It can be configured with the latest 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake processors going up to the Core i7-1185G7 processor, with 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB PCIe NVMe TLC SSD. The laptop also comes with an impressive 13.3-inch anti-glare FHD (1920 x 1080) touchscreen, with 1,000 nits brightness, HP Sure View Reflect Privacy feature and Gorilla Glass protection.
- The HP Elite Dragonfly Max offers one of the best webcams that you can find on a laptop with support for video up to 1440p resolution.
Best tablet: Microsoft Surface Pro 7
The Surface Pro 7 is one of the best Windows tablets out there and also one of the few that features a 1080p webcam. The front-facing 5-megapixel camera also offers support for Windows Hello facial recognition, while the rear camera with an 8-megapixel resolution can also shoot 1080p video.
As for the device itself, you get a 12.3-inch display, Intel’s 10th-gen processors, up to 16GB of RAM, and 1TB storage. Adding the Surface Type Cover keyboard transforms the tablet into a laptop, allowing you to expand your productivity.
Note that we’re expecting the new Surface Pro 8 to arrive later this year with new upgrades, including the newer 11th-gen or even 12th-gen Intel mobile processors.
- The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is the best Windows tablet on the market today offering a 1080p webcam that delivers good quality while making video calls.
Best gaming laptop: MSI GE66 Raider
MSI is not a brand you would expect to utilize a 1080p webcam for their laptops. However, the company’s premium GE66 Raider gaming laptop does include the same, limited to 30fps, which is still pretty good compared to 720p. This means that apart from video calls, you can use this webcam for streaming, especially if you want to enable the face-cam.
The notebook is available with the latest 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake-H processors configurable to the Core i9-11900H, support for up to 64GB RAM, and dual M.2 SSD slots with one of them supporting PCIe Gen 4. Graphics are powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series going all the way up to an RTX 3080.
- The flagship gaming notebook from MSI, the GE66 Raider comes with high-end features including the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs, a 300Hz refresh rate display, and a 1080p webcam which should serve you well for streaming purposes.
Best business laptops: Dell Latitude 7420
A solid laptop available in a clamshell or 2-in-1 form-factor, the new Dell Latitude 7420 comes with an optional 1080p camera, an upgrade from the last-gen model. Offered in aluminum or carbon fiber styling, this is a highly recommended business laptop that’s loaded to the brim. It can be configured with a 4K or FHD touchscreen with 400 nits brightness, up to an Intel Core i7-1185G7 vPro quad-core processor, 32GB non-ECC RAM, and 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 Class 40 SSD. You can even expand your storage using a microSD card, while the laptop offers a wide range of connectivity options including Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.0, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, and optional 4G/5G using a SIM card.
- The Dell Latitude 7420 has all the whistles for a great business laptop including an optional 1080p camera for your business meetings.
- The 2-in-1 version of the Latitude 7420 offer the same performance and premium quality along with the option of a 1080p webcam for your video calls.
Best budget tablet: Microsoft Surface Go 2
A compact Windows tablet, the Surface Go 2 is meant for users looking for a detachable hybrid laptop with a small footprint and a 1080p front-facing camera. It features a similar design and form factor as the Surface Pro tablet, including a kickstand and Type Cover keyboard. It also rocks the same 5-megapixel front (with Windows Hello) and 8-megapixel rear camera combo, both supporting 1080p video.
The Surface Go 2 can be configured with either an Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y or an 8th-gen Intel Core m3 processor with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD.
- The Surface Go 2 is a compact version of the Surface Pro offering a similar form factor and the same 5-megapixel front camera that supports 1080p video.
Best ThinkPad: Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable
As mentioned, most modern tablets running on Windows are equipped with 1080p webcams, with the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable being one of them. It features a similar form factor as the Surface Pro series with the tablet having a kickstand at the back and a detachable keyboard, which comes with the familiar ThinkPad styling, including the red TrackPoint in the center.
The front camera features a 5-megapixel sensor along with Windows Hello face recognition, while there’s also a rear camera with an 8-megapixel resolution with support for 1080p video. Since it’s a ThinkPad, it’s recommended for work professionals who are always on the move and need a secure Windows 10 tablet instead of a typical clamshell or 2-in-1 form factor.
- Lenovo's take on the Surface Pro series, the ThinkPad X12 Detachable features a 5-megapixel front camera that supports 1080p video which should be great for your Zoom call meetings.
Best convertible laptop: Dell Latitude 7320 2-in-1
Dell updated its Latitude series this year giving the option to consumers to opt for a 1080p webcam. The Latitude 7320 2-in-1 is one of the new models and a recommended option if you want a powerful 13-inch 2-in-1 laptop. It’s more or less a smaller version of the Latitude 7420 2-in-1 available with the 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake processors, configurable with up to a Core i7-1185G7 vPro, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and 1TB of M.2 NVMe SSD.
The full-HD camera is an optional feature and comes with an infrared sensor which means it also supports Windows Hello facial recognition login, alongside fingerprint authentication. The 13.3-inch can be configured with a 1080p panel with up to 400 nits brightness and since it comes with a rotating hinge, it’s great for using in tent mode or tablet mode as well.
- The Dell Latitude 7320 2-in-1 is a recommended convertible laptop that's powered by the latest 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake processors and of course can be configured with a 1080p webcam.
Best tablet for creators: Microsoft Surface Book 3
The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is a powerful hybrid laptop that features a 1080p webcam, and like the other Surface products, features an IR sensor for Windows Hello face recognition.
It can be configured with up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor with NVIDIA’s GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q design GPU with 6GB GDDR6 graphics memory. It has a solid bottom chassis that houses the keyboard, an extra battery pack, and a unique hinge design to secure the tablet.
- The Surface Book 3 is the most powerful Windows tablet featuring a detachable form factor and a 5-megapixel front camera that supports 1080p video.
Best Chromebook: Google PixelBook Go
If you’re looking for a Chromebook that offers a great video calling experience, then the Google PixelBook Go is a recommended option. Expect superior video quality compared to other Chromebooks on the market with its 2-megapixel camera that supports 1080p 60fps video.
The only downside with the PixelBook Go is it’s running on an older 8th-gen Intel dual-core processor, which shouldn’t be a huge problem when it comes to running Chrome OS. But if you’re the kind of person who wants the latest hardware, you might have to look elsewhere. But as far as we know, there are hardly any other Chromebooks that offer a 1080p camera.
- The PixelBook Go is Google's lightweight Chromebook offering that offers a 1080p webcam which should offer great quality in most video conferencing app.
These are some of the best laptops that feature a 1080p camera. Our pick would be the HP Elite Dragonfly Max as it offers the highest resolution and offers excellent quality for your video calls. If you’re planning to buy a new notebook, check out our list of the best laptops to buy in 2021. We also have a recommended list of the best laptops with Windows Hello and the best 15-inch laptops.
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