Microsoft’s long-awaited new webcam reportedly arriving at Surface’s spring event

Microsoft is planning to launch a new webcam this spring. The software giant had previously offered a variety of webcams under its LifeCam brand, but Microsoft has not updated them significantly for 10 years. Petri reports that a Surface event will take place this spring, and a new webcam will be on the agenda next to Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 4.

The webcam will include privacy coverage and support high dynamic range (HDR). Although Microsoft uses 4K USB-C webcams on its Surface Hub 2 device, it is rumored that this new webcam skips 4K support. It is unclear what resolution will be supported or whether it will support Windows Hello facial recognition.

Image: Microsoft

If Microsoft chooses to use the Surface brand on this new webcam, it is also to be seen. Microsoft’s Windows and devices chief, Panos Panay, tipped in 2018 in an interview with The Verge that the company was considering launching Surface branded webcams. “Look at the camera on the Surface Hub 2, note that it’s a USB-C-based camera, and the idea that we can bring a high-fidelity camera for an experiment, you can probably guess that it will happen,” suggested Panay at era .

This is not the first time that a new webcam from Microsoft is rumored. Thurrott reported that two new webcams would arrive in 2019, one for Windows and one for Xbox. These webcams have never been launched, and consumers and businesses have relied on webcams from Logitech, Razer and others.

Webcams quickly became the gadget of 2020, when consumers flocked to buy devices to work from home during the pandemic. Webcam prices also shot up briefly at the start of the pandemic, before supply increased and demand stabilized in late 2020.