I have a 13 year old Thinkpad with a webcam and an M1 Macbook Air. I have been meaning to compare the recording from their webcams, but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't that big of a difference.
I also have a nice external USB webcam that I normally use, but when you run that through Zoom or Google Meet the quality is degraded tremendously, to the point where I don't think it make sense to upgrade your camera, until you are able to use better video software.
As for audio, I tested both the microphone in my external webcam today and a Rode Lavier, and the webcam had a distinct room sound to it, that the Lavier didn't.
I also have a nice external USB webcam that I normally use, but when you run that through Zoom or Google Meet the quality is degraded tremendously, to the point where I don't think it make sense to upgrade your camera, until you are able to use better video software.
As for audio, I tested both the microphone in my external webcam today and a Rode Lavier, and the webcam had a distinct room sound to it, that the Lavier didn't.