Samsung’s Galaxy phones will soon work as a PC webcam for Microsoft Teams

Microsoft and Samsung’s Android partnership will continue in 2024, with new Copilot integration and the ability to use a Galaxy smartphone camera as a webcam on a PC. Samsung revealed both new features during its CES keynote this week, with Copilot set to arrive in March and the webcam feature for Microsoft Teams later this year.

“Starting with our latest flagship smartphones later this year, people will be able to use the fantastic clarity and resolution of their Galaxy smartphone cameras to enhance a meeting on services like Microsoft Teams,” explains Jonathan Gabrio, head of the connected experience center at Samsung. The webcam support will include both the front- and rear-facing cameras, and the ability to apply background blur and auto-framing to your camera feed.

Samsung is also working with Microsoft to integrate Copilot into its Android and Windows-based devices. “From March this year, Galaxy Book 4 and Galaxy smartphone owners will be able to experience the incredible new capabilities supported by Microsoft Copilot,” says Gabrio. “Simply connect your Galaxy Book 4 and Galaxy smartphone with Link to Windows to find, read, or summarize text messages.”

The Copilot integration will also support automatic message draft creation “based on your prior usage” and the ability to send messages directly from a PC. “We’re planning even more ways to bring Copilot features to Galaxy devices, so stay tuned,” says Gabrio.

Samsung is also part of many PC makers that are adding Microsoft’s new Copilot key to its laptop keyboards. The Galaxy Book 4 series will have the built-in Copilot key on US models. Dell, Lenovo, and others have announced new laptops that also ship with the Copilot key.