What you want to know
- The Galaxy S26 permits you to use your telephone as a webcam on PCs by way of a easy USB-C.
- Android added native webcam help earlier, however Samsung is barely now bringing it to its flagship telephones.
- You need to use rear or entrance cameras, with a top quality mode that streams higher video however could warmth the telephone.
In case you’ve ever jumped on a Zoom name and felt the digital camera high quality was not nice, you’ve got in all probability considered utilizing your Android telephone as a webcam. The Galaxy S26 lastly helps this, letting you utilize it as a webcam for video calls on PCs and laptops.
Google launched help for utilizing Android telephones as webcams with Android 14 QPR1 again in 2023. This got here shortly after the COVID interval, when many individuals had been utilizing iPhones as webcams for video calls on Macs. Google added comparable performance over USB for Android.
With Android 15, the corporate additional improved video high quality, however not many Android producers really adopted the characteristic. With the Galaxy S26 collection, Samsung is lastly bringing it.
Article continues under
You might like
As noticed by Android Authority, now you can use the Galaxy S26 collection as a webcam for video calls on PCs and laptops by merely plugging it in by way of a USB-C cable. As soon as related, you will note a brand new webcam possibility within the USB settings.
(Picture credit score: Sanuj Bhatia / Android Central)
As soon as chosen, you’ll use each the rear cameras (main and ultra-wide) in addition to the front-facing digital camera for video calls. It is also price noting that the characteristic helps Excessive High quality Mode, which streams larger bitrate video to your PC, although this may increasingly trigger the telephone to warmth up barely throughout use.
In case you’re considering this characteristic is not new, you are really right. It has been accessible, even wirelessly, inside Samsung’s ecosystem for fairly a while. Nonetheless, that is the primary time Samsung is bringing broader USB help.
For now, the characteristic is restricted to the Galaxy S26 collection, which means even Galaxy S25 gadgets on the One UI 8.5 beta cannot entry it. It might be hardware-related, however since Google launched this again with Android 14, that appears unlikely. Samsung should still deliver it to older gadgets with a future One UI 8.5 replace, however for now, it is unique to the S26 lineup.
Android Central’s Take
It does make you surprise why this took so lengthy. That is one thing Google and Samsung might have pushed a lot earlier, particularly through the pandemic.
Nonetheless, it is good to see it lastly arrive. One additional benefit is that you may additionally cost your telephone whereas utilizing this characteristic in case your laptop computer is plugged in, which means you need to use it for lengthy conferences with out worrying about battery life.
