Our phones come equipped with powerful cameras that approach professional-grade performance. Why shouldn’t we use it while streaming on Twitch or presenting at a meeting? Well, according to Mishaal Rahman (via Android Authority), you might be able to do that. Google might let you use your Android phone as a webcam.
You’re able to use your phone as a webcam now, but it does take additional software. There are programs out there like Driodcam that let you use your phone as a wireless webcam. You’ll need to download the Android app and the desktop client to get it to work. It’s a good solution if you need to use your phone as a webcam now.
Google could turn your Android phone into a plug-and-play webcam
Since we’re talking about a potential feature for Android you’ll want to take this news with a grain of salt. Android Analyst Mishaal Rahman dove into the operating system and came up with this doubloon. It appears that Google wants you to use your phone as a webcam without the need for extra equipment or software.
Some new code was submitted to the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) that hints at this potential feature. The AOSP is Android’s development project. It’s open-source which means that the community can contribute their own code to it, but, as you can expect, the added code is heavily supervised by Google.
Android is adding a new “DeviceAsWebcam” service that “turns an android device into a
webcam.” Specifically, Android devices that support the standard UVC (USB video class) gadget mode will be able to send video data that hosts can read from /dev/video* nodes. pic.twitter.com/oOgIqr1KkE— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 2, 2023
Rahman posted a screenshot of the commit and it reads, “DeviceAsWebcam is a new service that turns an android device into a webcam.” What’s notable about this is that the feature will target devices that support UVC (USB Video Class). This is the standard that allows devices to send video through USB.
Since this is so early on, we don’t know how this feature will work or if we’ll ever see it. Ideally, you’ll plug in your phone and select the appropriate option from the USB connectivity popup on your phone. Then, your computer will read the device as a webcam.
2023-02-04 15:07:18