Use your Samsung Galaxy smartwatch to control your phone’s camera and take better photos.
Samsung makes the best Android smartwatches. Its Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 series powered by Wear OS 3 contain several useful features. But did you know that you can use your Galaxy Watch for more than just checking notifications and tracking your steps?
You can also use it as a remote for your phone’s camera, allowing it to act as a Bluetooth remote. That’s how.
How to control the camera of your Samsung phone using the Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 5
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 series come pre-installed with the company’s Camera Controller app. This allows you to control the phone’s camera shutter remotely. The same app is also available for Tizen-based Galaxy watches, though you have to manually download the app. Camera Controller App from the Galaxy Store.
Make sure your Galaxy phone is paired and connected to the Galaxy Watch before following the steps below. Also, make sure to enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
- Open the app drawer on your Galaxy Watch.
- Find and open the Camera Controller app. It will have an icon similar to a camera app as seen on Samsung Galaxy devices. If you are opening the app for the first time, proceed to grant it the necessary permissions.
- The Camera app should open on your Galaxy phone automatically. Wait a few seconds and your Galaxy Watch will show a preview of the camera stream.
- Tap on the Shutter button to take a photo. A small preview of the photo will be displayed on the left side of the shutter button on your Galaxy Watch.
- You can tap on the preview to view it on your Galaxy Watch.
You can set a timer by touching the button timer icon on the screen of your Galaxy Watch. Similarly, touch the Video next to the shutter button to switch to video mode. Unlike photos, you can’t preview recorded videos on your Galaxy Watch.
It is also not possible to switch between different camera modes using the Camera Controller app on the Galaxy Watch. While the app supports Portrait and Night modes, it does not support Director’s View and other advanced camera modes.
If you’re using a Wear OS 3 smartwatch for the first time, check out the essential apps to install on your Wear OS smartwatch.
How to control the camera of your Google Pixel phone using the Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 5
The Samsung Camera Controller app is not available on non-Galaxy smartphones. Fortunately, if you use a Pixel or any other smartphone that uses the Google Camera app, you can use the companion Wear OS camera app to control your phone’s camera. The only downside is that the app is only available for Wear OS and not for older Tizen-based Galaxy Watches.
- download the Google Camera Wear OS app on your Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 5. The same app will also work on other Wear OS 3-based smartwatches.
- Open the app drawer on your smartwatch by swiping up from the home screen.
- Tap on the Google camera icon in the app drawer. The Camera app will automatically open on your Pixel phone.
- Proceed to take a photo by touching the button Shutter on the screen of your Galaxy Watch.
- A preview of the photo will be displayed. Swipe in from the left edge of the screen to return to the camera feed.
To switch between the front and rear cameras or set a timer, tap the button Menu button at the top of the camera feed. From there, select the appropriate option. Also, you can use the zoom slider on the right side of the viewer to zoom in and out of photos. Unfortunately, the Wear OS Google Camera app doesn’t provide any way to switch between camera and video modes.
For non-Pixel and non-Galaxy devices, you can try apps like camera one Y Camera remote control for Wear OS. However, none of these apps are compatible with your phone’s standard camera app, so the image quality won’t be the same. These apps will also constantly run in the background on your Android phone, thus consuming valuable resources.
If you’re using an iPhone, see what you can do on a Galaxy Watch with your iPhone.
Use the Galaxy Watch as a remote control for your phone’s camera
As long as you have a compatible phone, you can use your Galaxy Watch as a remote shutter for your phone’s camera. There are certain limitations, especially the inability to switch to video mode, but the solution should work in most cases. This feature will come in handy when traveling alone or clicking group photos when no one else is around to take them.