The Microsoft’s Link to Windows app serves as a phone emulator, enabling users to connect their Android and iOS devices to their PCs, thereby allowing users to make and answer calls, reply to messages, and view photos on their computer without touching the phone.
And soon, Android users could be able to use their smartphone as a webcam for their PCs.
Android Authority (AA) conducted an APK teardown of the Link to Windows app’s code, revealing features in progress that could potentially be introduced in the future.
Notably, one such feature allows users to use their phones as external webcams, specifically for use in video calling and streaming applications on their PCs.
This feature mirrors Apple’s Continuity Camera, which transforms an iPhone into a Mac webcam. Ideally, apps would seamlessly recognise the phone as a viable camera option for video calls or livestreaming.
Within the code, AA uncovered lines that suggest potential video call effects, including blur, retouching, HDR, no filter, night mode, stabilization, and auto-framing.
Additionally, certain lines indicate the presence of error alerts designed to notify users when their mobile device is too hot to operate.
AA speculates that this feature might be limited to devices where Link to Windows is integrated as a system app, such as newer Samsung Galaxy phones and the OnePlus 11 running Android 14.
