Most of us spend at least a portion of our working week on video calls, and the reality of video calls is that improving your video call quality invariably requires buying better hardware.
I have a dedicated webcam sitting on my desk, but I hate it not only because it cost me $100, but also because it’s yet another gadget occupying space on my desk, and it’s more cabling to take care of.
Recently, I’ve been dabbling in an underrated Android feature that almost nobody talks about. Yes, I’m talking about Android’s webcam feature.
Instead of relying on a budget webcam with a tiny sensor, I decided to use the camera system that’s already in my pocket, with a sensor that’s dramatically better than what you’ll find on any webcam.
As expected, the result was noticeably sharper video quality, better color reproduction, and a cleaner image without having to spend a single dollar.
I should have probably thought of this before buying the webcam.
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Your phone has better hardware than any webcam
The difference is most obvious in poor lighting
As necessary as webcams are, the problem with them is pretty simple: camera hardware. Even the most high-end web cameras don’t really push the needle forward when it comes to giving you great image quality.
Meanwhile, even a relatively inexpensive Android phone typically has multiple camera sensors, very good image processing, and lenses that are significantly more advanced than what you will find on any webcam at that price point.
That makes sense, since smartphone manufacturers spend enormous resources improving image quality. Cameras on smartphones are one of the most important features people care about.
Now, before I walk you through the exact setup process, it’s worth noting that even old webcams tend to be all right despite their lackluster picture quality.
It’s something we’ve become used to, and as long as the lighting is acceptable, you won’t notice the poor picture quality because of the inherent compression of video calling.
The moment lighting conditions become less than ideal, that’s when the limitations start showing up.
Not only do details disappear, but the image tends to look noisy, and digital artifacts become obvious. Using your Android phone as a webcam fixes pretty much all of these problems.
The dramatically better camera sensor and imaging pipeline ensure that skin tones look more natural, and there are a lot of fine details and textures.
While all of that might not be essential for a work video call, what matters more is that the video quality appears stable even in less-than-perfect lighting.
That’s very noticeable if you tend to do video calls during the evening hours or late at night when you don’t have a lot of natural light to work with.
Using Android phones as a webcam is surprisingly easy
More flexibility than a traditional webcam
Getting started with the webcam mode built into Android is astonishingly simple. It doesn’t even need an app.
All you do is connect your phone to your computer over USB and select the webcam option from the USB settings menu.
Within seconds, your smartphone will appear as a standard camera source inside whatever video call app that you’re using.
Be it Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, you’ll be able to select your phone as a camera option. You don’t need to install any third-party drivers or complicated software. It just works.
In addition to the improved picture quality, there are a few other advantages.
One of the biggest is the added flexibility. While a traditional webcam is fixed to your monitor or at the top of your laptop, that’s not the case here.
A traditional webcam gives you very little room to experiment with framing or camera placement. Your options are generally limited to whatever angle the monitor allows.
That’s not the case for the smartphone. You can place the phone on a small tripod and move it further away or adjust the angle and position it wherever to produce the most flattering image.
That extra flexibility also means that you can point the camera at a document or an object during a work call.
Since many Android phones will also let you switch between different lenses while using webcam mode, you may be able to use the different perspectives on offer to illustrate your point better. Not something that a traditional webcam can do.
In addition to the flexibility of placement, there’s also the obvious flexibility of use case.
If you’re out and about or if you’re traveling for work, you no longer need to carry a high-end webcam for professional-looking video calls. Your phone is right there with you in your pocket.
You just have to connect it to your computer with a USB cable, and you’ll be able to get excellent picture quality in seconds.
The best webcam is already in your pocket
Ever since I started using this setup, I’ve barely touched my old webcam.
I regret spending the $100 that I did on it. My phone’s webcam mode runs circles around a dedicated webcam, is more flexible, both in terms of placement and because it’s more portable.
For a feature that’s hidden inside Android’s USB settings, it’s one of the easiest everyday enhancements you can make to your work life. I’m surprised more people don’t know about it.
