If you have an old Samsung device that is collecting dust on your shelf, you finally have a reason to turn it on again. At the company’s CES 2021 event on Monday, Samsung announced a Galaxy Upcycling at Home program that will transform older smartphones into IoT solutions.
The Galaxy Upcycling at Home program will offer consumers the option of adapting their old phones to things like baby monitors or Samsung Knox safety devices. You can put an old Samsung phone in a nursery and it can hear a baby crying, for example, and send you notifications. Samsung also suggested that the system could potentially be used as a pet care tool.
“The new program reimagines the life cycle of an older Galaxy phone and offers consumers options on how they might be able to redirect their device to create a variety of convenient IoT tools,” said Samsung.
Samsung said it plans to release a software update for older devices, although it is unclear which devices will be on the list. It is also unclear which versions of the Android Samsung Galaxy Upcycling at Home program are compatible. Unfortunately, Samsung did not share an ETA for when Galaxy Upcycling at Home is released.
With e-waste becoming a big problem thanks to the increasing popularity of smartphones, the Samsung program is a really smart way to extend the life of older devices.
Samsung originally announced its Galaxy Upcycling program in 2017 in an effort to promote sustainability by reusing older devices for new uses. In the video above, Samsung explains that some of its older phones were previously reinvented in portable devices for eye exams. It is an innovative way to reduce the impact of waste and promote recycling and reuse.
As soon as the Samsung Galaxy Upcycling at Home program is launched, we will let you know.