Samsung Now Lets You Reuse Older Smartphones As Smart Home Devices
Image via Framesira / Shutterstock.com
Samsung joins the fight against electronic waste with its Galaxy Upcycling at Home program, which allows users to give their older devices a new life.
According to Mashable India, Galaxy Upcycling at Home brings the idea of reusing e-waste directly into the consumers’ homes. Specifically, it will allow Samsung users to repurpose their old Galaxy smartphones into internet of things (IoT) devices.
Currently, there are only two major features available: users can repurpose their old phones as a sound sensor using artificial intelligence (AI), which alerts them on their main device when it hears a baby crying, a dog barking, or a knock on the door. It can also be used as a light sensor, so a user’s phone can turn on the lights automatically when the sun sets. All of these devices will be connected to Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem.
“We believe that Galaxy devices currently not in use can play an important role in turning every home into a smart home,” said Jaeyeon Jung, vice-president and Head of the SmartThings team at Samsung.
Unlike a smartphone that drains its battery rather quickly, these sensors need to stay active for a significant length of time to work as devices around the home. Hence, Samsung is also making battery optimizations in order to minimize battery usage for phones that are part of the Galaxy Upcycling at Home program.
As of now, only users in the US, UK, and South Korea can participate in the program.
Just before you reach for your Samsung device from decades ago, the program is only supported on the Galaxy S, Note, and Z series phones from 2019 onward with Android 9 or higher. Don’t fret, as Samsung says it will be expanding the program to allow more devices to be eligible.
Want to try it out? Download Samsung’s SmartThings app, and set up your IoT device in the ‘Labs’ section.
Image via Samsung
Image via Samsung
[via Mashable India and Samsung Newsroom, images via various sources]
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