You can rely on the selfie cameras on most smartphones, right? What’s more, several of them have excellent primary camera setups. If that’s the case, then surely it would be awesome if phone makers made it possible to use your device’s camera for things like Twitch broadcasting and video conferences.

Android 14 will allow your device to work as a USB camera

It seems possible that Google is actually doing this. It would be wonderful, especially when you think about how pricey some of the better quality cameras are and how far behind the ones that come pre-installed on laptops are compared to the ones in our smartphones.

ince the global COVID-19 pandemic, however, the vast majority of the labour force has instead conducted their careers from the comfort of their own homes. Some students also took online courses to study at home. Therefore, they had to make use of webcams, the popularity of which has experienced significant a meteoric rise.

What new features does Android have in store? Well-known Android expert Mishaal Rahman Tweeted out a clue that webcams could soon be plug-and-play on Android phones. Using the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) repository, Mishaal found this service. AOSP is essentially the stock or “vanilla” Android, to which anyone can contribute under Google’s control.

The “DeviceAsWebcam” service will likely be included right into Android, and its name should give you a good idea of what it does.

Connecting your Android 14 device will enable you to use it as a webcam. Moreover, it appears that there are no constraints on how you can use your Android device as a camera, as you can select from a variety of options including ‘USB Video Class’ or ‘UVC’ as a default. Users will be able to access the function from any device. In comparison to Apple’s Continuity Camera, which is exclusive to iOS and macOS.

After all, when it comes to streaming videos at higher resolutions like 4K, your phone’s processing power will play a significant role. That such a function may even be implemented on modern smartphones is likely due to the massive technological progress that has occurred in recent years.

However, the feature is probably going to need its own app in order to function properly. Instead, you might use a background service, like the one that loads when your phone recognizes a PC through USB.

Google has not yet stated whether this is an upgrade for Android 13 or Android 14, but it is expected. It will help users make the most of their expensive flagships in new directions, so we hope it ends up on most phones.

In addition, Health Connect, a partnership between Google and Samsung, may soon be a part of Android 14. Additionally, with Android 14, Google intends to implement predictive back gestures.  Also, with the upcoming version of Android, Google has confirmed it will enable direct satellite connectivity for mobile devices.