How to Use Your iPhone or iPad as a Webcam on Mac and Microsoft Laptops

Luis Smith, Tech Times 03 March 2021, 11:03 am

With the Covid-19 pandemic going rampant in the world right now, every business meeting and social gathering is mostly done online with software applications such as Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, and Microsoft Teams have spiked up in usage during this time.

However, many people have a hard time with the webcam on their laptops as they claim that it is not nearly as good as the camera on their iPhones and other Android devices. The video might be blurry, and colors are sometimes washed out. It does not keep you well-lit. Many people have a mobile device now, and it has an excellent quality to take videos. With that said, here is a complete rundown on how to make your iPhone into a webcam on your laptops.

An iPhone Webcam for Macs

There is an application named Camo that lets you use your iPhone as your Mac's webcam with an easy setup interface. The app even integrates with popular video chat services everyone is familiar with using, such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, to your web browser.

Camo is free to use, though you can pay for a premium subscription that starts at $4.99 a month and gets rid of a small Camo watermark that appears during videos, works on two computers, and removes the logo, CNBC reports.

To use Camo, just simply download the application on both your iPhone and Mac. Once done, it will ask permission to access your camera and microphone. Next, you will be reminded to download and run Camo Studio on your computer, and you will see a link to be Airdrop to your Mac. When done, connect a cable to your iPhone from the Mac and get started.

Also Read: Hackers Can Use iOS Apps With Camera Access To Spy On iPhone Owners

When the connection is made, you can see a preview of your shot and all the tools to be able to enhance it (located at the top-left corner of the screen). From there, you can select the video chat software of choice and select the Camo camera as video input. You could also use the iPhone's audio input or switch to something else to your preference. Here is a full video breakdown of using the Camo app.

iPhone Camera for Microsoft Laptops.

On the other hand, people who do not own a Mac laptop can always have the alternative to connect an iPhone to any computer of their choice. Everyone going into the Apple phone or tablet route will also require third-party apps to make this possible.

If you badly want an external webcam for having a good quality video for streaming or video calls, you can download iVCam on your iPhone, iPad, and PC to get started. Note that the free version of iVCam would not pick up on your iPhone's microphone. You will have to use a dedicated microphone or Bluetooth earbuds connected to your iPhone in its place.

OnMSFT reports that the $20 version of iVCam on Windows 10 will unlock these features and remove the ads that you will see on your iPhone's screen while using the app.