Let’s face it: Your PC’s webcam probably sucks, especially when compared to what your smartphone is capable of. That’s why features that let you use your smartphone as your PC’s webcam are growing in popularity. Google’s December 2023 Android release, for example, introduced the ability to turn your Pixel phone into a webcam for your PC, and whileGoogle’s implementation is simple, it isn’t wireless and only supports basic camera controls. AtCES 2024, Samsungannounceda partnership with Microsoft that will allow for Galaxy phones to be used as wireless webcams for Windows PCs, complete with advanced camera controls like background blur and auto framing. Samsung didn’t share much information about this new feature during the event, but we finally managed to dig up some key details, such as what devices it’ll be available on and when it’ll launch.
During its CES 2024 keynote, Samsung said that its “next smartphones” would be able to act as a webcam for your Windows PC. Samsung was being intentionally vague about which smartphones they meant, but that’s likely because the company hadn’t announced theGalaxy S24series yet. It did, however, mention that this feature would work with Galaxy smartphones running One UI 1.0 or above linked to a Galaxy Book4 laptop through Microsoft’sPhone Linkservice. The lack of a mention of other laptops in the Galaxy Book series led many to believe the feature wouldonlywork with the new Galaxy Book4, but there’s now evidence that that won’t be the case.
Reddit userFragmentedChickentipped us off about a mention of this new Phone Link webcam feature on theKorean product pagefor the Galaxy Book4 Pro. In a footnote, it’s mentioned that this feature will be available on “Samsung Galaxy smartphones withOne UI 6.0and higher” and not One UI 1.0 or later (which makes more sense). It’s also mentioned that this feature requires a “Samsung Galaxy Book series [device] with One UI 6.0 or higher and Windows 11 24H1 OS.” Microsoft has yet to release Windows 11 24H1, but Samsung anticipates that “this service is scheduled to be available at the end of March 24,” so it’s possible that the new Windows OS version will drop around that time.
Samsung hasn’t shared a demo of the new Phone Link webcam feature yet (all the marketing materials we’ve seen thus far have had “simulated” screens), but it’s clear that it’ll work wirelessly. You’ll also be able to switch between the front and rear cameras, pause the video at any time, or apply various camera effects. Samsung confirmed that background blur and auto framing will be supported, but anearlier leaksuggests that face retouch, night, soft focus, HDR, and stabilization effects will also be supported.
Hopefully Samsung and Microsoft bring us the proper Continuity Camera alternative we’ve been waiting for.
