Samsung opens Galaxy Upcycling beta to turn old Galaxy phones into IoT devices

Samsung has announced the expansion of its Galaxy Upcycling program, currently in beta phase, to the public. The program will allow users to turn their old Galaxy devices into smart home devices such as light detectors, childcare monitors, etc, using an artificial intelligence (AI) solution.

To recall, the South Korean company announced earlier this year that its new Upcycling program will allow customers to turn their older Galaxy phones into IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Samsung has now been implemented the beta service for Galaxy Upcycling at Home in the US, the UK, and Korea.

According to the company, the Galaxy Upcycling at Home focuses on its “Responsible Consumption and Production” goal. It aims to reduce waste and promote more sustainable production practices and consumer behaviors.

“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,” Samsung said in a press release.

For instance, Galaxy devices can distinguish sounds more accurately, thanks to an improved AI. So, if the device detects a baby crying or a dog barking in everyday surroundings, it will send an alert to the user’s smartphone. Users can listen to the recorded sound and choose to save certain sound recordings as well.

Similarly, the Galaxy devices turned into light sensors to automatically turn on the lights if the room becomes darker than the present standard of light or switch on the TV through SmartThings.

Samsung says that its Galaxy Upcycling at Home upgrade is equipped with battery optimization solutions to minimize battery usage. This is done keeping in mind that devices will need to be actively operating for long periods of time of they are to continuously detect sound and light.

The devices will also be able to interact with other IoT devices in the SmartThings ecosystem by connecting to SmartThings.