Google may soon allow users to Android phones as USB webcam

Tech giant Google is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to use their Android phone as a USB webcam.

Esper's Mishaal Rahman posted on the decentralised social media platform Mastodon, "using an Android phone as a webcam became really popular during the pandemic, but you've typically had to install a third-party app to do so. He further mentioned that "Android is adding a new 'DeviceAsWebcam' service" that will turn an android device into a webcam.

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"Specifically, this refers to Android devices with kernel support for the standard UVC (USB video class) gadget mode," he added. According to Rahman, the Android device's kernel might need to be compiled with 'CONFIG_USB_CONFIGFS_F_UVCy' for the new functionality to work.

Meanwhile, last month, it was reported that the tech giant was working on a new 'Bluetooth Distance Measurement' application programming interface (API), which will help users to measure the distance between their smartphones and connected devices.

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