As the range of charged devices is updated every year, smartphone makers are facing growing criticism about their contribution to e-waste. Samsung – which currently has more than 20 phones for sale in its store after previous efforts to reduce its autonomy by 30% – hopes to revive old phones, turning them into smart home gadgets. Although the upcycling process is not new, we applauded the company’s sustainability initiative for promising easy access to new features inside 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 for people in the US, the UK and its native Korea. Like other smart home experiments, Samsung is testing Upcycling software through the SmartThings Labs feature in its SmartThings app. Once activated, users will be able to use their old Galaxy phones as baby monitors or light detectors with the help of reused sensors, improved AI and battery optimization.
In the case of the sound monitor, the device will alert you to the recordings it has taken (such as a baby crying or barking dog) to listen to back. While the light sensor can measure the brightness level of a room and can automatically turn on the lights or the TV if the room becomes darker than your default standard. Because smart home devices tend to run for long periods of time, the Samsung upgrade will also reduce battery usage, so your old tired phone continues to light up.
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