--- title: "Android 14 may permit the use of Certain Phones. Webcams" description: "Android 14, Google's next mainstream Android release, may support utilising Android phones as webcams on computers. This would be a significant change" author: "Anonymous User" published: 2023-02-05 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/news/2775/android-14-may-permit-the-use-of-certain-phones-webcams category: "news" tags: ["android", "news"] reading_time: 2 minutes --- # Android 14 may permit the use of Certain Phones. Webcams \ . \ Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Google's mobile [operating system](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/229069/operating-system-development), supports external USB cameras. This indicates that [customers](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13008/how-does-a-customer-portal-enhance-the-experience-of-customers) have had the option of making [video calls](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/94532/how-do-you-know-if-a-person-is-chatting-while-on-video-calls-on-whatsapp) for a while now by plugging a webcam into their phone or tablet. \ ![Android 14 may permit the use of Certain Phones. Webcams](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OL2ZT3WAKnKxuYMe-RftGjLxMrw-4JaR_f2lDqwKkNFEb05t47LiP4d69J5D8ml1ogjLkZMPFcUXRqtUYz1p5-kikF0IPfIcPf78BlP0aoyrrt5XMYvg4wU_MnaqJa9m0b6ZGomdaq6z_zaoOk-N_n4) \ Users may connect their device to a computer and use it as a webcam thanks to third-party programmes, but Google is going one step further by making this feature an integral part of Android. \ [**Android**](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/301473/best-planner-apps-to-use-in-your-day-to-day-functions) specialist Mishaal Rahman made a recent [discovery](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/34385/understanding-the-discovery-phase-in-software-development-part-1) regarding code modifications made to the AOSP Gerrit. These changes show that Google is attempting to make the smartphone [function as](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/212/can-be-declare-a-static-function-as-virtual) a webcam for PCs, Macs, or Chromebooks. \ The newly introduced 'DeviceAsWebcam' function would enable the phone or tablet to identify itself as a USB video device class, or UVC, which is the standard used by most USB webcams, making it compatible with most desktops and laptops. \ Similarly, Apple's Continuity Camera, which enables iPhones to function as webcams for Macs, does this. \ [**ALSO READ: How Do You Keep Users via Good Mobile Applications?**](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/296720/how-do-you-keep-users-via-good-mobile-applications) \ In one of his tweets, Rahman adds, 'Make note you'll still need an app/service to transmit video data from the camera to the /dev/video* node for the host device to read from.' \ Because this software must be a system app, OEMs must provide their own if Google does not produce a [universal](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/23126/how-to-hide-status-bar-for-universal-apps-in-windows-phone-8-1) Android-ready app. Users may quickly use their iOS or Android mobile as a webcam on a Windows or Mac computer with the Camo app. \ Rahman continues, 'UVC gadget capability on Android smartphones will be toggled via the system property 'ro.usb.uvc.enabled'. Only system apps can read it, and only the Settings app and the [USB device](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/50233/what-to-do-with-the-issues-that-may-pop-up-at-the-time-of-usb-device-installation) HAL can do so. \ It's conceivable that the system will let consumers immediately shift between PTP and MTP storage modes, USB tethering, MIDI, and eventually, this new webcam arrangement using the alert that appears when you attach [your phone](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/108492/what-to-do-if-your-phone-is-frozen) to a computer because this has a name that is similar to the property used for USB mass storage mode. \ --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/news/2775/android-14-may-permit-the-use-of-certain-phones-webcams Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.