Samsung wants to help you upcycle its old phones

Samsung is serious about reimagining the utility and uses of its own hardware. During this year's CES, Samsung announced an update to its famous Galaxy Upcycling program, with even more customizable options for users. The sustainability initiative involves taking your older Galaxy phone and giving you an option on how to convert and repurpose it into something useful out of a range of Internet of Things devices.

In the past, the company has been able to create portable eye exam devices with repurposed Galaxy phones. In other examples, Samsung was able to lengthen the lifespan of a Galaxy phone by repurposing it into a baby monitor that carries a sound sensor. The sensor activates upon hearing your baby cry, allowing you to be with your little one on a moment's notice.

If you're a pet owner, an older Galaxy phone can also be repurposed into a care solution device with the option to activate lights at home when your pet is alone. The Galaxy Upcycling program also gives phone owners the option to use their old Galaxy phones in the Samsung security system.

What Samsung says — "If we want to flourish, nature must flourish too," the company announced on Monday. "And the technology industry has a significant role to play. There is waste around the world from technology and its packaging." In the past, Samsung offered the buyers of its Lifestyle televisions, like the Serif, Frame, Sero, eco-friendly packaging that could be converted into a magazine rack, an adorable cat house, or just a plain surface to put your remote control on.

The Galaxy Upcycling program gives people the option to turn their devices into monitoring cameras, sensors for their infants and pets, fitness monitors, clocks, media systems, and even get them to integrate into existing SmartThing devices.

Upcycling's undeniable power — Whether it's fashion or electronic devices, some manufacturers are trying to be more conscientious about their products. Samsung is no exception. This kind of sustainability offer is bound to please the more environmentally concerned consumer. Upcycling goes one step ahead of recycling and takes your electronics and attempts to create efficient and viable products out of them. It's a process of creative and energy-efficient regeneration and adds new value to old hardware.

Instead of throwing old Galaxy phones into the trash, Samsung gives its consumer an option to reuse the device in a different form. It's eco-friendly — and keeps consumers loyal to the brand.