How Steve Jobs Used Photo Booth Filters to Sell Webcams

aakashgupta · x · 2026-08-19

The article recounts how in 2005, Steve Jobs tested Photo Booth with designer Mike Matas. At the time, built-in webcams were a cost burden and rarely purchased. Apple shipped Photo Booth with fun filters as a "toy" to force usage, transforming the camera from creepy to mandatory. The author notes Apple has reused this strategy: FaceTime for the front camera, Portrait Mode for the second lens.

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