The camera on devices like the Pixel 7 Pro (pictured) will be vastly superior to the majority of dedicated webcams. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 update released for Pixel devices on Wednesday enables an upcoming Android feature to use your phone as a webcam. The new webcam capability doesn’t rely on third-party apps or software and instead requires physically connecting the phone to a laptop or desktop computer via a USB cable (seen via XDA-Developers).
The feature is located in the “Charging this device via USB” option that appears in the notification tray after the phone is connected. Swapping to the new “Webcam” option within the “Use USB for” section will then provide on-screen instructions to configure the webcam video feed, with options to zoom in / out and switch between the device’s front and rear cameras.
The new webcam feature is currently s…