Nintendo Switch 2 Supports Your Phone As a Camera, With Just Two Cables

Nintendo Switch 2 supports your smartphone as a camera, fans have discovered — and you just need two cheap cables to get up and running.

We already knew that Switch 2 supported other, third-party USB cameras — and you may already have one lying around the house that you can simply plug in, if it has a USB-C connection. But what about your phone — a device we all carry around with a camera attached?

Well, as detailed by YouTube channel Will It Work?, Nintendo's new console is indeed compatible with modern phones, if you plug one in with an HDMI to USB-C capture cable.

By plugging a USB-C to HDMI cable into your smartphone, and then a HDMI capture cable into that, your phone is essntially turned into a device that your Switch 2 identifies as any other USB camera.

Will It Work? shows this all in action, and recommends a free app named TrueVistage that puts the phone's camera in full screen without any buttons, to remove on-screen clutter.

Once plugged in, the Switch 2 does indeed simply show the phone's video on the console (and there's a handy camera testing feature buried in the Switch 2's menus, in order to check everything works).

Nintendo is selling its own Switch 2 Camera for $54.99 — but it's a rather bulky device you're unlikely to use elsewhere. So as well as a fun experiment, this could also be a handy PSA that could save money, and aid in your convenience when planning GameChat sessions. After all, you're more likely to have your phone with you when playing away from home, rather than bother carrying a separate camera.

How much will this solution cost? Well, links to Amazon product pages provided by the Will It Work? video show these cables cost a combined $30.98, though you may be able to get them cheaper. But already, you're saving $24 on the Switch 2's official camera (and $29 if you wanted the Switch 2 Camera's Piranha Plant version). Plus, depending on how much we're all really going to be using GameChat, you're also saving buying yet another gadget that may or may not get much use.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social