Summary
- Samsung’s latest One UI version introduced with the Galaxy S24 lineup includes a built-in tool that turns your Galaxy phone into a wireless webcam, similar to Apple’s Continuity Camera and Google’s alternative on Android 14.
- Unlike Google’s implementation, Samsung’s webcam feature allows wireless setup to connect with a compatible Galaxy tablet, improving video call quality on the tablet.
- The camera sharing feature in One UI 6.1 requires both the phone and tablet to have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, and it is currently exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series but should reach older phones with a One UI 6.1 update.
It felt like a magical feature when Apple first showcased Continuity Camera which lets you use your iPhone’s main camera as a wireless, high-quality webcam for your MacBook. Android 14 got a similar feature last year for all recent Pixel handsets, and it now looks like Samsung is also joining the fray. As it turns out, the latest One UI version introduced with the Galaxy S24 lineup has a built-in tool that lets you turn your Galaxy phone into a wireless webcam.
Apple had set a high benchmark with Continuity Camera’s seamless implementation and good camera quality even on a wireless setup. So, we had high hopes for Google’s alternative as well. While Google’s version gets the job done, it appears far more limited. For instance, it requires a wired connection, which makes the setup difficult on a desktop, video resolution is capped at 720p, and you can only use the front camera, negating the very purpose of using your phone to have better webcam quality.
While we haven’t yet tested how Samsung’s implementation works in the real world, it already looks like a better product from the get-go. Spotted by Mishaal Rahman, Samsung’s webcam feature can work wirelessly to turn your Galaxy phone into a webcam for a compatible tablet. There is a good chance that your recent Samsung tablet has a good front camera already, but it’s nice to have an option to further improve your video calls using this new feature.
Rahman notes that the feature is different from another webcam tool that Samsung announced at CES 2024 that lets you use your Samsung phone as a webcam for your Galaxy Book 4 using Link to Windows. It could be confusing for end users to have different tools for different devices, but since Windows PCs are out of Samsung’s ecosystem, Apple-like feature parity would be a major challenge.
Camera sharing has been added to One UI 6.1 and presumably requires both your phone and tablet to run this latest version for the feature to work. Both devices will need to have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on to facilitate the handshake. And since it’s part of the One UI 6.1 update, more Samsung flagships should get the feature as the company is already working on bringing the update to older Galaxy phones. But right now, One UI 6.1 is exclusive to the Galaxy S24 and so is Camera sharing.
Besides this, One UI 6.1 also introduced a bunch of other features on the Galaxy S24 series, like a fresh look for the lock screen, including direct visibility for lockscreen widgets, a battery protection tool, and a whole bunch of AI features, such as Circle to Search, in partnership with Google.
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