Have been thinking about this for a couple years. I have old phones kicking around. Battery shot, hardware dated, but the camera(s) and mic and antennas still work. Would be cool if there were a way to set them up (powered) to stream audio/video or even take stills at intervals (or motion-activated) and then sync the content to the rest of the devices on my network.
I don’t know how complex the programming for something like this would be. But I suspect it’s trivial for those who do know.
Sensor wear, mechanical parts (if any), heat, etc. Essentially wear and tear. Just like nothing lasts forever, using it in a way that it’s not intended/tested/quality assured, may reduce its lifespan.
Basically: “is the device intended to be on and recording 24/7?”
This does not happen AFAIK. Most phones have no shutters so tge sensors receive light all the time, and the little required power does not overheat it.
This is a valid point but the actuators in a phone camera’s focusing mechanism are more like a speaker than a motor. They can last for ages, and many apps allow disabling autofocus when idle.
This one is valid. Even basic image processing is a load on the CPU, and recording/streaming definitely is. Depends on how the camera is mounted to allow airflow.
Sure. The stakes are not very high if the phone would otherwise lay in a drawer.