Samsung Galaxy Upcycling initiative for old phones arrives in UK, US
- Samsung’s Upcycling at Home project is now available in the UK and US.
- The project, which comes in via a SmartThings Lab function, is turning old Samsung phones into IoT devices.
- These old phones can then be used as baby monitors, smart home control hubs, and more.
Some of us have a growing collection of old smartphones tucked away in a drawer somewhere. However, if they are Samsung devices, you may be able to upcycle them to IoT devices through Samsung’s Upcycling at Home program (h / t) SamMobile).
The program was originally announced in January and is Samsung’s goal to extend product life cycle and reduce unnecessary waste. It’s now rolling out in the form of a SmartThings app update in South Korea, the UK and the US. You can activate the function in the SmartThings Labs section. Users have the option of using an older smartphone as a sound detector or smart home hub.
Using old Samsung phones as baby monitors
The function can actively search for noises such as baby screams or barking dogs using the phone’s microphone. It can also turn on smart devices in response to lighting conditions. This function is powered by the device’s ambient light sensor. Since the function works via the SmartThings platform, the phone can also control Samsung products in the household.
According to a recent survey, most are Android Authority Readers keep older phones as a backup, while a small fraction “reuses” the device. This initiative should provide another useful use case for older phones for users.
You can install the update if you have a Galaxy S, Note or Z device with Android 9 and newer or 2018 or later. Right – you can make the Galaxy Z Fold 2 or Galaxy Note 20 Ultra the most expensive baby monitors in the world if you really want to. If you don’t have old Samsung phones, you can try Google’s Live Transcribe app, which also has monitoring capabilities.
