We all want thinner bezels on our laptops, but no one wants to sacrifice webcam quality. That situation leads to clumsy solutions like the notch on the MacBook or far worse options like hiding the webcam under a key.
A new laptop, however, has an innovative way of getting around this problem by using a removable webcam. The device in question is the MagicBook Art 14, a new laptop from the Chinese company Honor, covered first by Tom’s Hardware. The webcam attaches to the top of your screen when you need it, and then can be stored away in a special push tray in the base of the laptop. Give it a press, and it will pop out so you can place it on top of the laptop screen where it attaches magnetically.
The benefits of this are twofold — you get to enjoy a big screen, super-thin bezels, and no notch, and by removing the camera when you’re done, you have the ultimate guarantee that no one can hijack it. Pretty ingenious if you ask me.
One potential drawback, according to some, is that the camera can easily be lost. And yes, since it’s no longer permanently attached to the laptop, it’s now possible to misplace it. Considering it has its own slot right in the laptop, I’d argue that you’re no more likely to lose the camera than you are to lose one of your AirPods. Sure, it happens, but it hardly counts as a design flaw.
As someone who doesn’t use their M2 MacBook Air’s webcam that often, I think this little “gimmick” has legitimate potential. And I think a lot of notch-haters and webcam-cover owners out there probably agree.
Outside of the webcam trick, the device itself looks impressive in its own right. It comes with a 3120 by 2080 OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, along with options for either an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Core Ultra 155H. It even packs 1TB of storage all for around $1,100. It’s also very portable, weighing just 2.2 pounds and measuring in at 0.51 inches thick.
For people who like a bit of color, this laptop comes in a beautiful pastel pink-to-blue gradient, inspired by the Monet painting titled Impression, Sunrise. The other color option is a grayish olive-color inspired by Van Gogh. The OLED display adopts PWM Dimming, which simulates brightness by adjusting the strobe rate and is designed to reduce strain on the eyes. It’s pretty new tech, however, so we don’t know for sure how effective it is yet.
In terms of ports, the MagicBook has a USB-A, USB-C, USB-C with Thunderbolt, and an HDMI 2.1 port — along with a 3.5-milimeter headphone jack. And next to those USB-C ports, of course, is the webcam slot.
Now, before anyone gets excited, this laptop is only available in China, so if you’re based literally anywhere else in the world, you won’t be seeing this model on store shelves anytime soon. This is a shame because between the massive OLED screen, 1-kilogram weight, and 1-centimeter thickness, it looks like a really nice little notebook.
During its time as a Huawei sub-brand, Honor built a reputation for affordable but high-quality hardware, and since separating from Huawei, it has continued the trend with phones like the Magic 6 RSR. Regardless, hopefully the unique design inspires other laptop manufacturers to try out new ways to reduce bezel size without giving up your webcam.
