The good news is that the external webcam market also looks like it'll stick around - the pandemic spawned a slew of new webcams (and webcam makers) and spurred innovation. And while we're slowly returning to offices in the post-pandemic era, it looks like remote working is likely to stick around (at least part-time). But since the pandemic made remote working routine, the market for external webcams has exploded. They weren't good, but we didn't use them enough to care.

Pre-pandemic, webcams were mostly an afterthought - built into your laptop's bezel as a convenience, nothing more.