This open-source app turned my Android phone into a free time-lapse camera

There’s no shortage of cool things you can do with an Android phone. You can turn it into a security camera, a gaming handheld, an Android Auto display, and so much more.

One of the most fun things I’ve done recently is using mine to record time-lapse videos. They’re fun to shoot, even more fun to watch back, and perfect to share with friends. The best part? I found the perfect app to shoot time-lapses.

That forgotten device still has plenty to offer

You can shoot an excellent time-lapse on your main Android phone without issue, but perhaps the best tool for the job is your old phone.

This is mainly because time-lapses can take a long time to shoot (potentially weeks if you’re shooting something like a growing plant), and you definitely don’t want your phone to be indisposed during the duration.

Perhaps the best part about using an old phone is that you might already have one in your drawer, eliminating the need to purchase a dedicated camera.

Since I don’t have an old phone lying around at the moment, I used my OnePlus 15 to record some time-lapses. While having a high-quality camera improves the video quality, you don’t actually need an incredible camera to shoot a typical time-lapse video. The focus is on the object you’re recording, not the tool you’re using.

The only exception is low-light scenarios, like shooting a starry night sky or a nighttime drive (which would technically make it a hyperlapse).

The TimeLapseCam is a free and open-source camera app built for a single purpose

No subscriptions, no ads, and no unnecessary complexity

Although there’s a good chance that your phone’s stock camera app has a dedicated time-lapse video mode, there’s also a good chance that it lacks several time-lapse-specific features you might want. Plus, most phones will simply assume you’ve stopped recording once you turn the display off.

That’s where TimeLapseCam comes in, a free and open-source app that you can download on F-Droid. Like many other free and open-source apps, TimeLapseCam doesn’t include ads, and it doesn’t lock features behind a paywall. It gets the job done without holding a premium subscription over your head, which is more than can be said for most dedicated time-lapse camera apps on the Play Store.

The best part about TimeLapseCam is that it’s incredibly lightweight, so you can trust it to run smoothly and reliably on almost any old phone. It doesn’t even show a live camera preview while recording, instead offering a separate button you can use to adjust your angle before exiting the preview and hitting record.

But it doesn’t matter how neat and bloat-free the app is—what really matters is how well it works. Luckily for you, I’ve set up my phone on a cheap tripod and recorded a few cool videos.

Brand: Amazon Basics
Weight: 1.2lbs

This AmazonBasics tripod is an affordable model that comes with a built-in phone holder, making setup quick and easy. It’s perfect for stabilizing your phone when shooting long time-lapse videos from a fixed position.

The subject of my first video is my cat Mocha, who was lazily lounging in his favorite spot on the radiator and watching the world go by through the window.

After I was done recording Mocha, I got hungry and wanted to cook up some omelets for my wife and myself. I then remembered all the cool time-lapse videos I’d seen of other people cooking, inspiring me to try shooting one myself.

Lastly, I did a few quick typing sessions on TypeRacer to warm up for the workday.

These are just a few quick examples of the cool stuff you can record with TimeLapseCam.

TimeLapseCam supports screen-off recording, MP4/JPEG exports, and more

TimeLapseCam is a fairly basic app, and I mean that in the best way possible. One of the headline features is that the app can be used with the screen off, which helps preserve battery life by a significant margin. As mentioned earlier, the app doesn’t have a live preview, which allows it to run uninterrupted in the background.

Apart from that, the app has all the basic customization options you might need in a time-lapse app. You have to set things like aspect ratio, zoom, front or rear camera, and exposure compensation within the app’s dashboard.

The good thing is that once you set these up to your preferences, you’ll probably only need to touch the exposure compensation and maybe the zoom slider if you’re not satisfied with how your subject looks in the frame when you open the preview.

You can also change the frame rate, which mainly affects how smooth the motion appears and how fast the video plays back when it’s finished. 24 fps is an excellent starting point for cinematic time-lapses, but if you want an even more fluid result, you can push it all the way up to 60 fps.

Another essential setting for any time-lapse is the camera capture interval, which you can set anywhere from 10 ms to a full 10 minutes. This option controls the amount of time the camera waits between taking each individual photo.

A short interval of a second or less is best for short time-lapses, especially when they involve fast-moving objects like people and cars. You can also use a short interval if you want an ultra-smooth result.

For slower-moving scenes like clouds or sunsets, you’ll probably want to set a slightly longer interval of a few seconds so the video doesn’t end up overly long. On the other end of the spectrum are multi-minute intervals, which are intended for capturing extremely slow changes over several hours or even days. These include things like growing plants and fungi, construction work, day-to-night transitions, and so on.

Another standout feature this app gives you is the option to record videos as a series of JPEG images. This might actually be the most reliable way to record your time-lapses, as it significantly reduces the workload your old phone has to handle while potentially delivering better image quality from the camera. It’s also easier on the battery.

The two major downsides of this method are that the photos take up much more space than an MP4 video, and you’ll have to stitch them together to create your time-lapse.

Apart from these settings that you should absolutely mess around with to record the best time-lapses possible, there are a few other smaller tweaks that are fairly self-explanatory.

It’s time to put that old phone to work by creating some cool time-lapse videos

The old phone that you completely forgot about could easily turn into your favorite gadget once you realize you can use it as a dedicated time-lapse camera.

Even if you already have a nice camera, it’s still worth bringing this phone along for your shooting sessions. You can leave it in a spot to record a time-lapse, go on with your adventure, and come back to pick it up later. It’s a super low-effort way to create some amazing time-lapses with hardware you already have!

I finally set up my old phone as a dedicated dashcam, and it works better than a $200 Garmin

Upgrade your driving safety with this unexpected choice: using your old phone as a dashcam, outperforming expensive options.

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Stephan Dorsey

Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.

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Recent Reviews

I’m a lawn expert, and here’s my favorite trick for finding your perfect robot mower

Robot mowers on a yard — Maria Diaz/ZDNET

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The perfect robot mower for you is not nearly as fancy and feature-heavy as you may think. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s not the lawn mower, it’s all about the yard. A robot mower may be a market leader with top-of-the-line specs and still not be a good fit for your yard.

Here’s the great news: There’s a perfect robot mower for almost any yard. As someone who’s tested numerous types of robot lawn mowers, I’ve learned that many of the specs that brands market as groundbreaking are simply not vital for most shoppers. A mostly flat, fenced-in 0.10-acre yard doesn’t need the power that a hilly, sectioned, unfenced one-acre yard does.

Also: I tested the Ferrari of robot mowers for a month – here’s my verdict

If you’re looking to choose the best mower for your home, be sure to check out ZDNET’s robot mower buying guide.

Here’s what you don’t need to stress over when buying a robot mower

For yards with…	Best robot mower type	Examples
No fences	A wired boundary is best, but a great GPS/RTK robot mower can stick to the map you make with it.	Yardcare E400, Mammotion Luba 3
Fences	A LiDAR robot mower that can be dropped to mow with little setup and learn its map as it navigates.	Eufy E15, Ecovacs Goat A3000
A lot of trees	A LiDAR or wired boundary mower, since trees can interfere with satellite signals.	Husqvarna iQ series (optional wire, EPOS)
Unbordered garden beds	A GPS/RTK robot mower that you can set up to avoid flower beds when mapping.	Mammotion Luba 3, Husqvarna iQ Series
Bordered garden beds	A LiDAR, GPS, or wired boundary robot mower works for these yards. If you choose a wired boundary, you may have to bury wire around the flower beds, unless the borders are tall enough for the mower to avoid.	Mammotion Yuka, Navimow Series H
pets	A LiDAR robot mower that can adjust its navigation in real-time in reaction to its surroundings.	Mova LiDAX Ultra 2000, Segway Navimow i2
Hills and uneven terrain	An AWD robot mower capable of handling steep slopes, regardless of the navigation type.	Mammotion Luba 3, , Husqvarna iQ

1. Don’t focus on: ‘AI-powered’ or other marketing buzzwords

Segway Navimow X3 Series robot mower — Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Artificial intelligence (AI) has surpassed the popularity of acid-wash jeans in the 80s and Baby G watches in the early 2000s. And tech companies — including robot lawn mower manufacturers — are capitalizing on its appeal.

Most of these “AI-powered” or “intelligent mowing” terms are vague, geared to grab shoppers’ attention with buzzwords. That doesn’t mean that the robots don’t use AI to navigate, however.

The key is to find out how the robot uses AI to its benefit, and whether that will meet your AI expectations.

Also: This robot mower took care of my lawn for months – and it’s currently $300 off

AI algorithms typically process data captured by the robot’s hardware to help it make quick decisions and adjustments. For example, a robot lawn mower may have a set of sensors and cameras to capture its surroundings. The robot’s processor then uses AI to convert that information into actionable data, so it knows whether to swerve to avoid an obstacle or slow down around a retaining wall.

Instead, look for: The navigation tech under (and on) the hood

Instead of AI and other buzzwords, you should focus on matching the robot lawn mower’s hardware and navigation system to your yard. This includes whether the robot uses RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) for positioning, and whether it features LiDAR, cameras, and sensors.

Then look at real user reviews to assess how accurately the robot mower maps and how well it performs around various types of obstacles.

There’s no blanket rule for robot mowers, but most do well with the following guidelines.

2. Don’t focus on: Premium extras

Yardcare E400 robot lawn mower — Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Skip the premium extras that don’t match your yard. You really don’t need the most advanced robot mower; you need the one that will best handle your lawn.

Most US homeowners have mostly flat lawns, simple rectangular layouts, minimal obstacles, and small yards. Yet some of the most popular mowers advertise features that don’t match this, and you don’t want to spend an extra few hundred dollars on advanced features that won’t deliver a noticeable difference in your yard.

Instead, look for: Only as much as you need

Do you have a mostly flat lawn with no fences and need a robot that can navigate to several sections separated by paths? Then you can skip AWD models and commit to superior mapping and navigation features, like multi-zone intelligence.

Also: I let a modular yard care robot mow my lawn – here’s my verdict after a month

Similarly, if you have a yard with dense trees covering most of it, it’s safe to skip the RTK models and go for LiDAR or boundary wire options instead.

3. Don’t focus on: Flashy app features

Mammotion Luba 2 robot mower path — The path lines created by the Mammotion Luba 2, as captured by our Bink Outdoor camera, is one flashy app feature I can’t quit.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Any dependable robot lawn mower requires an equally reliable mobile app to let you use it effectively. However, manufacturers market many flashy app features that end up being unnecessary for many users.

Don’t make app features the deciding factor unless it’s something you genuinely care about. Many users don’t rely on voice control to run their mowers and don’t mind using a separate app for their robot rather than integrating it into an existing home automation system.

Also: I let a smart planter maintain itself for 2 months – here’s the result

A robot lawn mower with mediocre navigation and cutting performance can still have a flashy app — all while leaving behind missed patches or taking longer to finish mowing.

Instead, look for: The features you’ll actually use

Most robot mower users keep them running on a schedule to get the lawn-cutting chore off their minds. The majority of the most popular models offer basic features beyond scheduling, such as remote start and stop, basic mapping, automatic rain delay, and theft protection.

It’s easy to find robot lawn mowers with these features, but if you’re looking for anything beyond that, just be sure that the feature is worth it, especially if you’re paying extra for that model.

Also: I’ve tested robot mowers for years – here’s my expert advice for every yard type

An example of a flashy app feature that is completely unnecessary, but I love having? The Mammotion’s pattern cutting. I can select the cutting pattern I want on the Mammotion app, whether I want lines or checkered, but I can also have the robot cut in custom patterns, like letters and numbers. I don’t care for mowed letters in my yard, but I like that it always has that freshly mowed checkered patterned with no effort from me.

4. Don’t focus on: Cutting system extras

The cutting width and system specs are important, as they can determine whether a robot can cover a given area in a day. However, most robot mowers use similar multiple-blade mulching systems.

Unlike traditional lawn mowers with large blades for aggressive cutting in a single pass, robot mowers typically feature a set of small blades that constantly spin. Because of this, robot mowers trim smaller amounts of grass with each pass than a traditional mower, but they also cut more frequently and leave behind smaller grass clippings that decompose naturally.

Also: I powered my 3,000-sq-ft home with an EcoFlow battery in a blackout – here’s how it kept my AC on

Because the robot mowers have a smaller, compounding cutting system, the real-world differences between the cutting systems from one brand to another are often smaller than you’d expect. Other issues, like poor navigation, will be glaringly obvious before small differences in blade design.

Instead, look for: Cutting width and yard size

The average US yard would benefit more from navigation quality, consistency, and connectivity than blade design. Instead, you should focus on matching the mower to your yard size.

The robot’s capacity is measured in how many acres it can cover in a day. Among other features, this is calculated based on your robot’s battery size and cutting width. Essentially, most users want a robot that can mow an entire yard in a day, so you can set it and forget it and always come home to a mowed yard. You get this by getting the appropriate robot for your yard size.

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