Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- One UI 7 lets you use your Galaxy phone as a webcam for your Galaxy Book PC, thanks to the updated Camera Share feature.
- It also adds a new Storage Sharing feature that lets you access your Galaxy phone’s files from a Galaxy Book.
- Both of these things are already possible through the Link to Windows app, so you technically don’t need to wait for One UI 7 to roll out.
Samsung offers several software features that make its Galaxy devices work better together. If you have a Galaxy phone and a Galaxy Book PC, for example, you can use the company’s Multi Control feature to use the same Bluetooth keyboard and mouse across devices. With the upcoming One UI 7 update for Galaxy phones, Samsung is poised to introduce even more features that make your phone a more powerful companion for your Galaxy Book.
Camera Share in One UI 7
For starters, the One UI 7 update looks to expand the Camera Sharing feature that Samsung first introduced in One UI 6.1 for the Galaxy S24 series. As spotted by Reddit user FragmentedChicken, the “Camera Sharing” feature under Settings > Connected devices has been renamed “Camera Share,” and its description has been updated to say that it now works with Galaxy Book PCs in addition to Galaxy tablets.
In order for the feature to work, both your Galaxy phone and your Galaxy Book PC need to have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Camera Share turned on. To enable Camera Share on your Galaxy Book PC, you need to open the Samsung Settings app, go to Connected devices, and click Camera Share. However, this page is not available on my Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 running One UI 6.0 Book, so it seems Samsung has yet to roll out the requisite app update on Windows to support this feature.
Interestingly, while the Samsung Tips app says this feature is new to One UI 7, a Samsung support page says you can already use your Galaxy phone as a webcam for your Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 or Galaxy Book 4 so long as it’s running One UI 6.1. However, even after following the steps listed on the page to use Camera Sharing (as it’s known in One UI 6.1), the feature didn’t work for me, even though I have a Galaxy Z Fold 6 running One UI 6.1.1 and a Galaxy Book5 Pro 360.
The steps to enable Camera Sharing, as listed on that support page, are a bit convoluted compared to how Microsoft’s Phone Link app achieves the same thing, though, so I’m hoping that One UI 7 simplifies the process significantly. The animation shown in the Samsung Tips app suggests that Camera Share will work pretty seamlessly between Galaxy phones and Galaxy Book PCs, though, as it suggests you’ll just need to enable the setting on both devices to make your Galaxy phone appear as a webcam.
Storage Share in One UI 7
Samsung is also working on a cross-device feature called Storage Share for One UI 7. According to the promo in the Samsung Tips app, it “lets you browse the pictures, music, and files on your phone or tablet directly from your PC without a USB connection. ”
You’ll need to enable the feature by going to Settings > Connected devices on both your Galaxy mobile device and your Galaxy Book PC. The setting isn’t available right now in the initial One UI 7 beta for the Galaxy S24 series, though, and it’s also missing on my Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360. Given that it’s mentioned as a new feature of One UI 7 in the Samsung Tips app, though, it’ll probably be landing pretty soon, probably with the launch of the Galaxy S25 series.
Microsoft’s Phone Link app already lets you access your Android phone’s files from your PC, though, so there’s technically no need to wait for One UI 7 to roll out to use Storage Share (or Camera Share). However, if you don’t plan to use Phone Link, these features will allow you to achieve the same results as long as you have Samsung devices.
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