Android 14, Google’s upcoming mainline Android version, may feature native support for using an Android phone as a webcam on a computer. This would mark a significant shift from the current method of relying on third-party apps for this functionality.
According to code changes spotted in AOSP by Mishaal Rahman via 9to5Google, Google is working on a feature called ‘DeviceAsWebcam’—allowing you to plug-in an Android device and use it as a webcam on a wide range of devices like Macs, PCs and Google’s own Chromebooks. And, unlike Apple whose ‘Continuity Camera’ feature operates only between iOS and Mac devices, Google is opting for the universally compatible ‘USB Video Class’ (UVC) standard.
Android is adding a new “DeviceAsWebcam” service that “turns an android device into awebcam.” 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 notes that “Android has supported external plug-and-play USB webcams for a while now, but support for using your phone as a UVC gadget is new,” and “plenty of third-party apps that accomplish similar functionality.”
He further states that it is important to keep in mind that even with the new feature, a separate app or service will still be necessary to transmit video data from the camera to the host device.
Notably, phones like Motorola Edge 20, can already be transformed into a webcam simply by switching the USB mode to webcam and connecting it to a PC. The device is then recognized as a ‘Motorola UVC Camera.’
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