Berlin (dpa/tmn) – In autumn Apple will release its new operating system iOS 16 for iPhones and iPads and macOS Ventura for Mac computers. There will be a new feature in the systems that bears the somewhat cumbersome name Camera Handover. In English it is called Continuity Camera.
Why this name? Above all, camera handover allows you to use an iPhone as a webcam for Mac computers. Apple has also announced a small bracket that can be used to attach the iPhone to the top of the display.
Let’s continue on the Mac
The transfer comes into play when you look at one of the many possible applications: Facetime video chats started on the iPhone, for example, should be able to be continued without interruption on a Mac computer.
The iPhone as a webcam should not only guarantee good quality for video conferences, but also brings interesting extras with the various cameras. With the help of the ultra wide-angle lens want Apple show a bird’s-eye view of the face of a chatter and the desk at about the same time.
Face and desk at the same time
This so-called desk view is useful if you want to show a sketch while talking, for example, and is suitable for recording DIY videos. Other extras that the iPhone should be able to use as a webcam: a follow and a portrait mode as well as an effect called studio light that illuminates the face and darkens the background.
And what about Android smartphones? The mobile operating system does not yet have a webcam mode, and there are no known plans in this direction, which of course is also due to the fact that Android does not have a sister operating system for computers.
Android solutions are also available
Of course, that doesn’t stop developers from designing solutions. “Dev47Apps” with Droidcam delivers a successful one that turns the camera of Android smartphones or tablets into webcams for Windows and Linux operating systems.
The three necessary technical requirements: The Android mobile device that is to be used as a webcam must transmit in the same WLAN as the notebook or desktop PC. In addition, the Droidcam app installed on the mobile device.
Install Droidcam on both devices
And third, a must Droidcam program be installed on the computer that provides the necessary drivers and establishes the connection including image and sound, so that nothing stands in the way of using the Android device’s webcam with Zoom, Skype, Webex, Teams & Co.
The program for the calculator is available for download on the developer’s website. There is also an extensive list questions and answers to solve possible problems, but only in English.
Droidcam App for Android in Google Play Store
Droidcam software for Windows and Linux on the developer site