Make Your Old Phones Useful Again With Samsung SmartThings

Samsung wants you to put your older tech to good use. Many of us still choose to keep our older phones and tablets even if we no longer have any use for them. Since they are not worth selling, these devices spend most of their time shelved in an obscure location at home. Well, that might not have to be the case.

Through the Galaxy Upcycling at Home program, the company is pushing AI tech to help make your disused Samsung smartphones useful again. They can be turned into a variety of IoT (Internet of Things) devices through a software update. This can transform them into childcare monitors, a pet care solution and other tools.

“We created Galaxy Upcycling at Home to enable more people to repurpose their old devices into useful tools, allowing both Samsung and our users to be mindful of the impact we have on the environment,” said Sung-Koo Kim, VP of the Sustainability Management Office, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics.

Said phones will also receive improved sound and light-control features by repurposing the built-in sensors. This can be achieved through the SmartThings Lab, a feature of Samsung’s SmartThings app. It makes use of AI technology to allow the devices to accurately distinguish sounds in everyday surroundings.

If the device detects sounds such as a baby crying, dog barking, cat meowing, or a knock, it can send an alert to users’ current smartphone and they can listen to the recorded sound. They can also be used as a light sensor to measure the brightness level of a room. Users can easily set the device to automatically turn on the lights or the TV if the room becomes dark.

Since these older devices will be working around the clock as part of your home’s IoT, Samsung’s Galaxy Upcycling at Home upgrade is equipped with battery optimization solutions to minimize battery usage. This also allows these phones to connect to other IoT devices that are part of the SmartThing ecosystem.

If you are interested to put your obsolete tech to better use, visit Samsung’s SmartThings page to learn more about this technology and how it may benefit you.