The webcam is not of high quality, even if it is built into an expensive laptop, or you can buy a separate fancy camera, but there is a better solution for you through which you can use a better camera that you use almost ever day, yiu can connect it to your laptop and use it as a webcam on a Windows or Moc computer as not everyone can afford a webcam as the average price of an exernal webcam is very high, so you can phone’s camera as an alternative to the internal webcam of the computer.
What is the difference between a webcam and phone camera?
There are not many differences between webcam and a phone camera, as the purpose of the phone camera is to compress images and videos sometimes, at the same time, webcames are the opposite as they are used to shoot videos or attend video conferences insteade of compressing images, the mobile phone camera is usually internalto the phone, while webcams can be internal and external.
When do you need a webcam?
Webcams are generally used to attend video calls or online classes, therefore if you want to attend an important video call with a good quality camera, you can choose to use your phone's camera as a webcam.
Use Android phone as a webcam for Windows:
High-quality webcams are not cheap so people try integrate Android phone camera into webcam for Windows PC and below are the steps to convert Android phone into webcam for Windows PC.
Step 1 - You need to download DroidCam app from Play Store, it requires a device running Android 5.0 Lollipop or later.
Step 2 - Next download DroidCam app for Windows app.
Step 3 - While downlaoding this app you will be asked to grant permission to download audio drivers.
Step 4 - after completing all the steps launch the Windows app.
Step 5 - When you open the app on your phone you shoud notice that both the apps on your phone and PC, should be connected via wifi.
Step 6 - you will get your device IP address in the phone app which you need to copy and paste into the Windows app.
Step 7 - Before starting the video conference you need to make sure that the video and audio boxes are checked.
Step 8 - You will be given the option to use either the rear camera or front camera.
Use Android phone as a webcam for Mac:
There are many ways in which you can use your Android phone camera as a webcam for Mac but you have to follow some steps.
You will need a USB cable for this process
Step 1 - Download the Iriun app from google play store.
Step 2 - Download the Iriun app on your Mac.
Step 3 - You need to enable the developer options on your phone.
Step 4 - To enable the developer options ,go to setting and then go to about phone and click/tap on build at least times.
Step 5 - Go to developer options and turn off debugging options and turn on USB connection.
Step 6 - Open the Irium app on your Mac.
Step 7 - You need to connect your phone camera to your Mac via USB cable.
Step 8 - Open the Iriun app on your phone and use USB to connect it to your Mac for best video quality.
Step 9 - Now you are ready to open any video conferencing app and use your Android phone camera as a webcam for Mac.
Use a Webcam on Android 14:
Fortunately, Android 14 offers a new feature that lets you connect any Android phone to your computer, and it will be identified as a webcam. This feature works on any platform that supports webcams, so you won’t need to install any external software on both your phone and your PC.
Step 1: Connect your Android phone to your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer using a USB cable.
Step 2: A notification will appear on your Android device that says “Charge this device via USB” Click on it.
Step 3: Select “Webcam” under the “Use USB” section.
Step 4: Your computer will identify your phone as a webcam, which means you simply won’t need to select it as a video source in your video conferencing app.
Step 5: You’ll see some options on your Android phone for how your webcam feed will appear. Click on the “Webcam” notification to see the preview and configuration controls, here you can switch between the front and rear cameras and adjust the zoom settings.
Using a webcam in Windows 11:
Although it is possible to use smartphones as a webcam on a Windows computer, you will often find it a bit cumbersome and confusing, not very stable, and hardly useful.
Now, Windows 11 has been updated to make it easier and more effective to use Android smartphones as a webcam wirelessly via Bluetooth, the Windows Smartphone Link app is used for this purpose, and you will not need an external app or a cable connection between your phone and your PC.
Connecting Android with the Smart Phone Link app included in Windows 11 is easier and offers more features, such as viewing messages, making phone calls, and linking your PC to your Android smartphone.
Note that this feature is not yet available for iPhones, so iPhone users still need external apps to use their phones as a camera on their PC.
You need to update your system to "Windows 11 - Moment 5 - Update 5" to be able to use your Android smartphone as a webcam. The "Smart Link" application on Windows must be version (1.24012) or later, which you can see in the application settings. You will also need to download the application to your smartphone.
With this update, Windows 11 can work better with Android and transfer the camera image to the PC via Bluetooth.
New features include the ability to switch between the front and rear cameras in the app, pause the broadcast and use smartphone effects, you can also make calls through the app, in addition to viewing notifications and even reading text messages from your smartphone, and the current battery charge status is displayed within the app.
It requires at least Android 9 to use the app, and this should not be a problem with current smartphones.
To make a successful connection between the phone and the PC, (Allow this PC to access your mobile devices) by going to "Bluetooth and devices" and then selecting "Mobile devices".
From (Manage devices), click Add a device, Windows 11 creates a "QR" code through which you can connect the Android phone so that you can use the camera in the future.
The smartphone can then be used as a camera in the same way as any other camera for the PC, and you can make more settings in the smartphone camera control window with the correct settings, often The image quality is higher than traditional webcams, especially when using modern smartphones that come with better quality cameras.