With their loaded device range renewed every year, smartphone makers are facing increasing criticism over their contributions to electronic waste. Samsung – which currently has more than 20 handsets for sale in its store after previous attempts to reduce its range by 30 percent – hopes to breathe new life into old phones by turning them into smart home gadgets. While the upcycling process is not new, we applauded the company’s sustainability initiative to promise easy access to new features in existing devices. Now the Galaxy Upcycling at Home program is making its way to the public.
Starting today, Samsung is opening the beta version of the program to people in the US, UK and home country of Korea. Like its other smarthome experiments, Samsung is testing the Upcycling software through the SmartThings Labs feature in its SmartThings app. Once enabled, users can use their old Galaxy phones as baby monitors or light detectors using repurposed sensors, improved AI and battery optimization.
In the case of the sound monitor, the device will alert you to recordings it is picked up (such as a crying baby or a barking dog) that you can listen to. While the light sensor can measure the brightness level of a room and automatically turn on the lights or TV if the room gets darker than your preset standard. Since smart home devices often run for a long time, the Samsung upgrade will also minimize battery usage, keeping your tired old handset on.
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