Center Stage camera on the OLED MacBook Pro, explained

The OLED MacBook Pro has a 12MP Center Stage camera. Center Stage helps keep you in the frame during a video call, so if you lean back, stand up or shift to one side, the picture follows. The camera sits at the top of the screen, where the notch used to be.

Center Stage itself is not new to the Mac, and you don't need this model to use it. What is new is the combination: a 12MP camera, an island where the notch was, and a touchscreen you might tap mid-call. Below: what Center Stage does, how to turn it on, and what Apple has and hasn't said about the camera on this Mac.

What Apple has said about the camera

From Apple's announcement and the early reports:

• The camera is a 12MP Center Stage camera.
• The Mac unlocks with Touch ID. It has no Face ID.
• During a video call, video stabilization smooths the camera feed while you use Touch.
• A redesigned hinge is steadier while you touch the screen.
• Early hands-on reports, passed on by TidBITS, describe a hole-punch opening for the camera instead of a notch. That is the reporters' description, not Apple's.

What Apple hasn't said: exactly where the camera sits in relation to the Dynamic Island, whether the island shows any sign that the camera is on, or how the island behaves during a call. If you are used to a green light beside the camera as your sign that it is on, check what this Mac shows once you have one, because Apple hasn't said. Everything Apple has confirmed so far is on one page, with the gaps marked.

What Center Stage does

Apple's description is short: Center Stage helps keep people in the frame when you use the camera. On a Mac, that means it keeps you centered during video calls as you move around.

It is not the same as background blur. That is Portrait, a separate effect listed in the same Video menu.

Center Stage helps in a few common situations:

• You pace while you talk.
• You sit back from the desk, to stretch or to think.
• Two people share one screen and one camera.

It can get in the way when you want a steady, fixed picture, for example while recording a lesson or a demo. In that case, turn it off and frame the shot yourself.

How to turn Center Stage on or off

Apple's instructions say Center Stage needs a video app that supports it, such as FaceTime, with the camera active.

1. Start a video call, or open an app that uses the camera.
2. In macOS Sonoma or later, open the Video menu in the menu bar and choose Center Stage. In macOS Ventura or Monterey, click Control Center in the menu bar, then Video Effects, then Center Stage.
3. Choose Center Stage again to turn it off.

If your Mac doesn't support it, the option won't appear. Apple's list includes the built-in cameras of MacBook Pro and iMac models from 2024 on, MacBook Air from 2025 on, the Studio Display's camera, and any Mac using Continuity Camera with an iPhone 11 or later (not the SE models). Check Apple's support page for your exact model.

Frame yourself by hand

With Center Stage off, you can frame the picture yourself. Move the pointer over the preview in the Video menu, and controls for zooming, panning and recentering appear. This helps if the automatic framing keeps drifting, or if you want the same shot every time.

Center Stage and Touch together

The new pairing on this Mac is Center Stage with Touch. On a touchscreen laptop you might scroll a document or drag a file during a call, and a tap on a laptop screen can nudge the lid. Apple's answer is two things: stabilization of the video feed while you use Touch, and a hinge redesigned to be steadier. Both are Apple's claims, and nobody outside Apple has tested them on real calls yet. If you present a lot, make a test call before the first important one.

If the picture still wobbles, the trackpad is right there. Touch works alongside the keyboard and trackpad, and you can keep your hands off the screen while the camera is on. The touchscreen MacBook Pro explained has more on how Touch works.

Looking good on a call, whatever the camera

A better camera helps, but most of the difference comes from three things you control:

• Light. Put the main light in front of you, not behind. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
• Height. Raise the laptop so the camera is near eye level. A stack of books works.
• Distance. Sit about an arm's length from the screen. That frames your head and shoulders, and it is a comfortable distance for your eyes too.
• Background. Look at what sits behind you before the call starts. With Center Stage following you around, more of the room can end up in the picture than you expect.

Many people find long video calls tiring, partly because they see their own face the whole time. If that is you, hide your own picture in the call app, if it offers that.

Where Notchpals fits

Notchpals stays quiet while the camera is in use, so a character won't slide down mid-meeting while everyone is watching. It checks only whether the camera is on, never what it sees.

The visit that suits a call-heavy day comes from the Self-care area. After 90 minutes at the Mac in a row, Clover, a floppy-eared bunny, asks for three slow breaths. If that moment comes during a call, Clover stays away while the camera is on.

CloverBunnies breathe super fast. You don't have to. Three slow breaths, please.

Before your first call on a new Mac

1. Open a camera app and check the framing with Center Stage on and off.
2. Check the light on your face, not only the sharpness.
3. Make a call with someone you know and ask how it looks.
4. If you plan to use Touch during calls, test whether the picture holds steady.