Attention Windows users: your own smartphone could soon be used as a webcam on a PC, which in most cases is likely to be a very strong webcam. A corresponding function is to be rolled out soon.
With Microsoft Phone Link, Microsoft provides a way to operate your own smartphone from your PC. Messages can be read and answered from the PC, which allows users to use the keyboard to type up messages. In the future, Microsoft is likely to expand the functionality of the connection between PC and smartphone considerably.
Android Authority reports that an Android smartphone could also be used as a webcam on a Windows PC. This is shown by a code analysis of the corresponding APK, which provides clear clues of a webcam function. However, there has been no official announcement and this function has not been rolled out yet.
According to the code analysis, applying special effects to the video should be possible and the corresponding filters should be available, such as retouching the face. The code also contains error messages, including the message that the smartphone has become too hot. The advantage of such a solution is that most smartphones now offer high-quality cameras, even in the entry-level range, which makes purchasing an additional webcam unnecessary. In addition, many notebooks are equipped with poor webcams, so using a smartphone would mean a significant increase in quality.
Apple already offers such a solution, so it is available to all owners of a device with macOS 13 and an iPhone with at least iOS 16.
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Editor of the original article: Silvio Werner – Senior Tech Writer – 8644 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2017
I have been active as a journalist for over 10 years, most of it in the field of technology. I worked for Tom’s Hardware and ComputerBase, among others, and have been working for Notebookcheck since 2017. My current focus is particularly on mini PCs and single-board computers such as the Raspberry Pi – so in other words, compact systems with a lot of potential. In addition, I have a soft spot for all kinds of wearables, especially smartwatches. My main profession is as a laboratory engineer, which is why neither scientific contexts nor the interpretation of complex measurements are foreign to me.
Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 418 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.
Silvio Werner, 2023-12- 1 (Update: 2023-12- 1)
