Emerging Technology
Samsung Electronics Expands its Galaxy Upcycling Program to Enable Consumers to Repurpose Galaxy Smartphones into Smart Home Devices
4/21/2021
The initiative promotes upcycling old electronics as a creative solution to combat electronic waste and provides convenience for consumers in everyday life
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced the expansion of its Galaxy Upcycling program with Galaxy Upcycling at Home, an initiative that gives new life to older Galaxy smartphones by converting them into a variety of IoT (Internet of Things) devices through a simple software update. Samsung has implemented the beta service for Galaxy Upcycling at Home in the US, the UK and Korea¹ today. With Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users can easily turn their old Galaxy devices² into smart home devices like a childcare monitor, a pet care solution and other tools that meet individual lifestyle needs.
Make Any Home a Smart Home
The Galaxy Upcycling at Home program provides enhanced sound and light-control features, by repurposing built-in sensors. Users can transform their old devices through SmartThings Labs, a feature within the SmartThings app.
- Using an improved artificial intelligence (AI) solution, Galaxy devices can more accurately distinguish sounds in everyday surroundings, and users can choose to save certain sound recordings. For example, if the device detects sounds such as a baby crying, dog barking, cat meowing, or a knock, it will send an alert directly to the user’s smartphone and the user can listen to the recorded sound.
- Devices can also be used as a light sensor to measure the brightness level of the room. Users can easily set the device to automatically turn on the lights or the TV through SmartThings if the room becomes darker than the preset standard of light.
For a device to continuously detect sound and light, it needs to be actively operating for long periods of time. For this reason, Samsung equipped the Galaxy Upcycling at Home upgrade with battery optimization solutions to minimize battery usage. Devices will also be able to connect effortlessly to SmartThings, allowing them to interact with countless other IoT devices in the SmartThings ecosystem.
“Smart home devices are a fast-growing trend for consumer electronics, and 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, VP & Head of the SmartThings team, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “The program transforms Galaxy devices into SmartThings devices and demonstrates the power of our intelligent IoT platform to broaden the possibilities of what users can do with their old phones. Through Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users will have access to the complete SmartThings ecosystem, enabling them to explore broader updates and features without having to purchase a new device.”