HP’s upcoming 23.8-inch Z24m monitor for creative professionals features a webcam that tracks the user’s movements to keep the image centered during video calls, much like Apple ‘s center stage in its StudioDisplay and some iPad models ( Center Stage) function.
The Z24m’s 5-megapixel tilting webcam sits atop the display. Users can adjust the webcam’s settings to make it faster for face tracking. While you can’t move the webcam away from the display when you don’t need it, you can push it down to hide it from view. The Z24m also has dual noise-cancelling microphones and dual speakers, so simple calls do not require any additional peripherals. As for the display itself, the Z24m has an IPS panel with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, a 90Hz refresh rate, a 5ms response time, and support for HDR.
The monitor also supports HP’s Auto Lock and Wake feature. The feature uses a built-in proximity sensor to detect when the user is in front of the screen. If enabled, the display will automatically lock when the person walks away and turn on automatically when they come back.
It’s unclear whether HP’s webcam tracking is better than Apple’s Center Stage, which uses machine learning to help people (and others in the frame) stay centered on the screen.
The 27-inch Studio Display features the iPhone 11 ‘s A13 Bionic chip to help drive the center stage function of the 12-megapixel webcam, among other features. However, there are some issues with the webcam’s image quality – Apple has pushed a software update to fix the issue, but it’s still not fully fixed.
The Z24m is slated for a July release, and there isn’t any price information yet. HP is also releasing the Z24q this month for $347, and the two monitors have very similar specs, but the latter doesn’t have video conferencing capabilities. That compares to a whopping $1,599 for the Apple Studio Display.
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