Windows 11 can use your Android phone as a webcam

Windows 11 will offer the ability to use an Android smartphone as a webcam. Currently reserved for Windows Insider beta testers, this wireless feature allows you to enjoy much better picture quality during video calls.

Android 14 already lets you turn your smartphone into a webcam in Windows 11, but now Microsoft's operating system will take care of it itself. As the Redmond company prepares to roll out Moment 5 to the general public, insiders are entitled to new experimental features: a fix for the taskbar bug in Windows 11, but also the possibility of using the phone as a camera for video calls.

No need for a webcam in Windows 11, your phone will do the trick

Windows Insider users show they can connect their phone to their PC to replace their webcam. First and foremost, this allows you to benefit from much better image quality. Because although laptop webcam cameras have improved a lot in recent years, their performance lags even behind that of Android smartphones.

Activating a smartphone as a webcam on Windows 11 comes with some very practical features. Therefore it is possible:

• Changing the sensor, switching from the selfie camera to the front camera for example.
• Pause the video stream.
• Apply visual effects to the stream.
• Activate the Human Development Report.

It is also possible to know the phone's battery level, so that it does not run out of power during a video conference. Best of all, no cables are needed, this wireless functionality passes over Wi-Fi.

Until now, to take advantage of a decent webcam, you had to either use third-party software to turn your smartphone into a computer camera, or purchase a third-party camera. Sometimes expensive and annoying to install and uninstall, these webcams may soon become a relic of the past with this Windows 11 feature.

The first signs of this feature are now starting to emerge. A few months ago, beta versions of Windows 11 showed the first signs of series. The public version of Windows should be arriving soon, now that insiders have access to it.

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If you are a Windows Insider, you can actually benefit from it. A simple prerequisite, you will need a phone running Android 9.0. Unfortunately, iPhone owners won't be able to try it out, even though they'll likely have Macs.

You will then need to update the app Link to Windows to version 1.24012. Then go to PC Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Mobile Devices, then allow your computer to access your phone. Next, Windows 11 will ask you to install an update for Cross Device Experience Host. And now, voila.