Apple releases Studio Display Firmware 15.5 with improved webcam performance

Apple Studio Display (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

Apple has released version 15.5 of the Studio Display's firmware.
The new firmware can be downloaded and installed after updating to macOS 12.4.
Early reports suggest the new firmware does improve things, but not greatly.

Apple has today released a raft of new software updates and one of them is the new Studio Display firmware 15.5 — the update that many hope will improve the display's webcam performance.

The Studio Display has been under fire since its release with the main problem being the poor quality of its built-in webcam. Apple has been tweaking things throughout the 15.5 firmware beta cycle and now that update has been made available to everyone. If you own a Studio Display now is the time to download the update and cross your fingers.

The Studio Display features a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera that supports Center Stage, but while the feature itself works well the quality of the image that camera produces is less than stellar. Whether this update will fix things isn't clear, but early reports aren't entirely positive.

Those who have a Studio Display can install the new update after updating to macOS Monterey 12.4 and by heading to System Preferences followed by Software update.

Despite the fact that the Studio Display's webcam is clearly lacking, it's still considered to be one of the best Mac displays on the market thanks to its native 5K resolution. Apple announced the new display alongside the Mac Studio, a device that has proven to be so popular among Mac buyers that delivery estimates stretch into the months rather than weeks.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.