How iPhone users with Windows PCs can get ‘Continuity Camera’ features now
iPhones account for around 50% of the smartphones used across the US enterprise markets, and while Mac share is growing, there are still millions using iPhones who rely on Windows hardware for work. So, when Apple announced Continuity Camera at WWDC last week, plenty of iPhone users with Windows PCs might have felt left behind.
But Camo says it is coming to their rescue.
What is Continuity Camera?
Announced in the glare of WWDC 2022, Continuity Camera lets iPhone users running the as-yet unreleased iOS 16 turn their smartphone into a webcam that automatically syncs with a Mac running the yet unreleased macOS Ventura. When it ships, it’s going to give users much higher quality video for Zoom calls.
For Windows-using iPhone owners, a third-party app called Camo, developed by Reincubate, is available for Windows and Mac (and compatible with Android). After WWDC, the developer took the initiative to get ahead of its fast follower with a bunch of new features announced this week.
What is Camo?
As reported back in February, Camo lets you use your iPhone as a webcam. Camo already supports a broad range of devices, including older iPhones that will never run Continuity Camera because they will not be supported by iOS 16.
It also runs on any 2010 or later Mac running macOS High Sierra, as well as on Windows systems — though the latest enhancements to the application aren’t available on Windows, yet. And it is used for video conferencing by CNBC tech columnist Joanna Stern.
What’s new in Camo?
Reincubate has announced a range of new features that take its solution several steps further than Apple’s own. Most of these are a good fit for enterprise pros, including things such as a drag-and-drop overlay editor, a gallery of 17 editable templates, a preview tool, and hotkeys for fast-switching between overlays.
It’s possible to create your own templates, which means you can show your company logo during a call, for example, or share a template to do so across your company, whether you use a Mac or a PC. You control some of the most advanced features using the Camo Studio application, where you can adjust, control, and compose your image, as well as choose overlays.
You also gain access to the zoom features on the iPhone, which means you can crop, pan, and rotate the image to get the best possible image.
What Reincubate says
Aidan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Reincubate, explained what the company is doing in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be bringing deeper, delightful overlay features to Camo,” he said. “Overlays help users stand out and create professional looks on video calls, recordings and streams, and Camo’s pre-built templates inspire and save time. Users can select a ready-made overlay and add their details to start promoting their channels, business, and streams today. It just works.”
Who is this for?
If you use an iPhone, even an older model, you probably already have a much better camera available to you than the webcam you use on your Mac or Windows PC. Yet, if you are a remote or hybrid worker, you likely want to look your best for your next video collaboration meeting. Camo makes this possible this, and goes several steps further than Apple has with Continuity Camera.
In other words, it’s a great tool to exploit the camera you always have with you on your iPhone for better video meetings, no matter how old the Mac or PC your company forces you to use — as long as IT lets you install Camo, that is.
Camo also supports dozens of video collaboration services, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, GoToMeeting, Cisco Webex, QuickTime, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, and more.
The nitty-gritty details
The new overlay features are available today in Camo Studio 1.7 for macOS, in both free and paid versions, and can be downloaded from camoapp.com or the App Store. The same features are on the way to Windows in the coming months.
The Pro version (with the best features) will cost $4.99/month, $39.99/year or $79.99 for a lifetime license.
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Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.
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