The comparison images/videos look like their ISP tuning (/ neural net) is cranking up the saturation too much and metering only in the center. Might just be the way it was set for the promotional video, so time will tell. All of these can be easily integrated into Macbook webcameras via software updates/tools.
"We gave the Opal C1 the fastest neural processing chip ever on a webcam. At 4 trillion operations per second, it rips through ML models at blazing speeds"
If they want/wanted optimal lens+sensor performance, the industrial designers would need to give a bit. The 0.9" depth is tricky for all-glass wide-angle lenses and 1/2.3" format type sensors. My guess is the device would need to be ~1.4" to incorporate an all-glass lens that's fully suitable for this sensor, particularly at F/1.8. Can talk more about this offline (commonlands.com).
It sounds like they are still figuring out their lens. The writing on the camera says 3.3mm~=100deg DFoV; 19mm equivalent on 35mm full frame. The webpage indicates 4.81mm~=78.6deg DFoV; 28mm equivalent on 35mm full frame.
When I read about webcams most of the comments revolve around the microphone quality, I think there should be more focus on that, for example noise reduction technology etc. Marketing could also be made towards video game streamers who often use digital cameras and dedicated mics.
Also, with regards to the "works in low light" point: we recently had a problem where the lights went out during a web meeting in the evening. I was surprised to see my $75 Logitech C920 took about two seconds to adjust exposure and give a perfectly good image just from the light of my monitor.
And with the amount of video compression that is used, I'm not sure anyone is able to tell the difference.
Most people are going to look at the comparison between the Opal and A7 and not see much of a difference, but the Opal is 7x cheaper.
I'm not trying to be the one with the hot take here, but the depth of field is too shallow, the edges are fuzzy, and the colors are blown out. Perhaps the comparison would have been better between similar devices in a similar cost bracket, like a GoPro or actual higher end webcams.