An old Galaxy phone is used as a sensor for the sound of a baby crying. Photo: Samsung Through the SmartThings app, users can convert the function of Samsung Galaxy phones from 2018 and earlier into sound sensors to notify when they hear a knock on the door or the sound of a baby crying. Light sensors, which are used to adjust screen brightness, can be used to automatically control indoor lighting. Samsung also said that the battery of the old phone will be optimized to increase the uptime when the device has a new “life”. Innovative reuse is a method of reducing technology waste that is still relatively new compared to traditional ways such as giving away, returning the company or reselling. With this project, technology brands from Korea are expected to contribute to encouraging users to take advantage of old smartphones in everyday life, and help promote more of its technology ecosystem. Even so, according to technology site Ars Technica, despite its good environmentalism, the Upcycle program only allows the reuse of light and sound sensors. In fact, spontaneously, users have been devising many initiatives to reuse old phones, such as converting them into security cameras, data storage hard drives or music players.

Galaxy Upcycling at Home’s initiative Samsung was announced at the World Consumer Electronics Show 2021 (CES 2021) earlier this year and is now being tested in beta in several markets such as the US, UK and South Korea. This feature can alert you to the sounds of crying babies or turn on the lights when the light levels drop In this beta, Samsung will allow users to turn old phones into smart home devices that work through Samsung’s SmartThings app, which has two new modes: sound sensor and light sensor. Owners of certain smartphones can download the update to turn the device into a smart home sensor with some functions such as being able to detect the sound of a crying baby or turn on the light when it’s dark. The program is limited to certain smartphones released in 2018 or later. While it’s only recently applied to a few smartphones, it’s a good, accessible service that can help users make use of their old devices. Samsung says the sound sensor mode will help to accurately distinguish sounds in everyday surroundings, and users can choose to save certain recordings. For example, if the device detects sounds such as a baby crying, dog barking, cat sounding, or knocking on the door, it will send an alert directly to the user’s smartphone and the user can hear the sound. Be recorded. Whereas the light sensing mode simply turns your phone into a light sensor, allowing it to detect the level of sunlight or room light to automatically turn on the lights. Samsung says this update includes battery optimization needed to keep the phone powered up and acting as a sensor for long periods of time, though the company didn’t indicate uptime. between charges. Samsung says the “Galaxy Upcycling at Home” feature is available on all S, Note and Z series released in 2018 (S9, Note9 and above) running Android 9 or higher and will be available in the future. More smartphones are supported. Samsung’s upgrade program marks a very humble starting point, and the company can do more if it wants to limit e-waste and make old devices useful. So far, the program has only used microphones and light sensors on older devices. Hopefully in the future, Samsung will take advantage of the cameras of old smartphones to turn old smartphones into IP cameras. Phan Van Hoa (According to Arstechnica, Theverge)