Companies seldom focus on programs and products that do not guarantee them sales. It appears that this fact of the business “ruined” Samsung’s upcycling program, at least according to the DIY repair website iFixit.
While the program started out promising and had great future designs, Samsung was ultimately able to discontinue an expanded program due to the lack of a clear sales plan.
With iFixit clearly troubled by Samsung’s change of heart, we wanted to measure your thoughts on the fiasco. Has Samsung dropped the ball with its upcycling program? So you asked.
Do you think Samsung dropped the ball with its Galaxy upcycling program?
Results
According to a survey on our website, almost 90% of readers believe that Samsung has shaken its upcycling program. Around 10.4% of readers do not complain about the way the Korean company handles the program.
If implemented correctly, the upcycling program would have allowed unlocked bootloaders, which would have opened up the possibility of custom ROMs that are more suitable for specific use cases. In essence, it would have been a more serious effort than Samsung’s current app-based solution. Understandably, some readers find that Samsung’s efforts are lacking.
Even so, Samsung isn’t preventing users from re-using phones if they don’t throw their weight behind the program. AA readers either keep old phones as a backup, sell them, or give them away to relatives. However, around every second reader discharges their device instead of keeping it.
Here’s what you told us:
- Kobus Swart: That’s why I’m thinking about buying Apple after being with Samsung since 2012.
- meh …: These are companies that only care about profit. So it’s not surprising that Apple and Samsung don’t mess up after the sale unless it’s paid for through the extended warranty and maintenance programs and is therefore contractually bound.
That’s it for this poll. Thank you for your votes and comments. If you have any other thoughts on Samsung’s upcycling program or survey results, please drop them below.