This article reports on Samsung's discontinuation of its Galaxy Upcycle program, which aimed to repurpose older devices. The content advocates for corporate accountability in technology sustainability and implicitly frames device reuse as a dignity and environmental welfare issue. While the editorial content demonstrates investigative journalism supporting informed public discourse (Article 19), structural privacy practices involving extensive user tracking create a countervailing tension around personal data protection (Article 12).
> In other words, there was no clear way for Samsung to make money from Galaxy Upcycling. And for a company that ships hundreds of millions of phones per year, that's likely a death sentence for an internal project
How about good PR.
This is what is problem with those big corporations: the only thing that matters is money.
Although I don't agree with the FSF's way of advocating it [1], I do believe that unlocking the bootloader should be a customer's basic right. You don't truly own your device if you cannot control the software you run with it.
[1]: Linus Torvalds argues that the FSF tried to "sneak in" an additional clause to prohibit hardware locking. Since Linux was originally licensed with an "or later version" variant of GPL v2, that would've created a situation where Linus could not merge other people's work into the kernel without relicensing the upstream project to GPL v3. To prevent this, he later explicitly relicensed the kernel as GPLv2-only. https://youtu.be/PaKIZ7gJlRU
Am I a fool to think that upcycled devices might not dent the sales of new devices, but would be used in new ways that would actually be positive for the vendor?
You can go a long way with just Termux. You can upcycle old phones by installing or building code in Termux to turn the phones into a compute grid, AI inference nodes, file servers, compute servers, web servers.
I really dislike how people consider Android a Linux operating system. It's incredibly misleading and serves as more marketing than substance. If it were, then the Samsung Upcycle program would be ready to go.
Snark aside, why are the entirely functional devices obsolete? It's because the growing demands of the endless software bloat, web bloat, feature bloat. New wireless technologies and better protocols, sure, but I've been using software for 35 years and the software contribution to this mess really gets me down.
Slight tangent, but I find it mind boggling that so few phones offer bootloader unlocking - which is essential if you truly want to own your phone.
I was recently in the market for a new phone, and (correct me if I'm wrong) the only companies that offer bootloader unlocking is Google Pixels, Motorola, Nothing, and OnePlus. Samsung and Xiaomi I think both technically support it but it's a pain in the butt practically.
That's... a shockingly small list!? .
In my case, after adding "I want a CPU that isn't crap while being expensive" (eliminating Tensor) and "I don't want to pay full flagship prices for sub flagship performance" (eliminating Nothing), OnePlus and Motorola were pretty much the only two options!
Is it that hard to get a phone you can truly own? I don't know, I honestly hope I'm missing something.
Why are korean tech companies so toxic? Samsung, LG, SK etc all the same. Doesn’t matter if they sell you a phone, a TV, or a refrigator there is something inherently wrong how korean companies are treating the customers.
I'm almost certain this was to win some sort of grant, award, subsidy, exemption, green credentials....something, and then once they had it, immediately forgotten.
I've seen this happen plenty where companies start campaigns for reasons and then ditch it as soon a they've achieved the thing from the list above.
My guess, is it boils down to legal liability. Every time I look into repurposing my old smartphones, I inevitably go down the "well, it probably won't burn my house down… but. " It's the same reason why I don't use Molex-to-SATA power adapters, even though I could save a few bucks. Regardless, Samsung ghosting iFixit is inexcusable.
I think they missed a trick. This phone could be replaced - I think it might be time - but it works fine. I won't replace it now, but if I could use it for something else then I would likely go okay, if I get a new phone I also get a baby monitor!
And then they completely removed bootloader unlocking with OneUI 8, in many cases increasing the anti-rollback version so you can't even downgrade.. I can't wait for them to go out of business..
> Meanwhile, Samsung's own recycling numbers tell a different story. Its old phone collection campaign, running since 2015, had collected just 38,000 phones as of May 2019. Samsung had sold 2 billion Galaxy devices by February 2019.
Well... duh? Their program offers far less money for the old phone than selling it used on ebay. Why would anyone use it?
This was not going to come from Samsung, one of the most over-zealous companies out there when it comes from preventing rolling out purely software features from today's phones to yesterday's. E.g. "Now Bar" a literal online feature is blocked on older phones. (Don't get me wrong, it's a useless feature, just shows their thinking)
Or when they announced that "Linux on Dex", for which they had been doing public beta testing on Note 9 phones, would only support the just-released Note 10. (And then they dropped the entire thing anyway).
These are phones for which the only difference between generations may be a couple mAh in the battery. Yet they still use software to gate features.
Even good PR is an investment in the brand which can be profitable.
The real problem is the shortsightedness, where the top dogs only care about money coming in the next 3-12 months. Even this is more a reflection of the system that consistently produces companies which operate this way. Which is a reflection of..
I was actually just going to do that with an old Galaxy S24. Seems like there's no easy way to add something like docker. Best I can find is to try to use qemu to get a full Linux VM.
Do you happen to know what kind of performance you can expect? Or perhaps a better way?
Does the OnePlus process work for people? They've got a form that allows you to beg them to let you unlock your phone, but it's never worked for me. Motorola works similarly but it does work, which is why I stick with them.
To take this a step further. I want a phone that is small (doesn't have to be tiny, just iPhone SE 2020 or smaller, please), has a replaceable battery, has an unlocked bootloader, has a headphone jack, and costs $400 or less.
It doesn't need to have a cutting-edge processor or tons of RAM and storage space or a 120hz screen or razor-thin bezels or a studio-worthy camera, yet somehow all these things are prioritized on the market over a basic, reliable phone.
Part of the reason why Android phones specifically are not supported for very long is because the baseband and modem firmwares from Qualcomm only receive official support and updates for about 2 years.
I think any effect on Samsung, positive or negative, would be negligible. It would help their PR slightly, but mostly among a relatively small part of their customer base.
On the negative side, it would probably have a minor impact on the number of new phones sold if old ones were able to be "refurbished" in this way. Again, probably not significant, but if it's even a penny cash flow negative, why invest their resources in it?
Overall the only significant gain to be made is the announcement because it can be spun and quoted to the average consumer as Samsung being more eco-friendly. It's akin to enabling consumerism, and consumers generally don't go to check if companies were telling the truth about this stuff.
Are phones any good for that? (I agree with the rest, and I'm a big fan of termux, I just wouldn't have thought of a phone - especially an old phone - as a useful way to run AI)
This question hinges on the fact that they are the dominant brands in the US and some other markets, which is not true when you look at China or India. They benefit from lack of competition.
Now, if you ask me why there is a lack of competition of phone brands in the US, I have a TED talk to give...
Because it is. Android runs a modified Linux kernel. There's nothing misleading about it at all, unless you think "Linux" means something that it does not.
Seems like a lack of creativity, plus painting themselves into a corner by promising unlocked bootloaders.
Samsung owns SmartThings, a smart home platform. They could've come up with a suite of apps for turning your phone into a SmartThings-connected camera, or motion detector, or remote control, or button panel, or a dashboard, etc. Either charge a little for the apps, or trust that sucking people into the SmartThings ecosystem will cause them to buy hubs and other devices.
Users might be more willing to upgrade their phone if they can turn the old one into a baby monitor vs getting scammed on a trade-in or letting it sit in a drawer.
This is a regional thing - a lot of manufacturers offer bootloader unlocking in EU when they don't in US for example. US especially is a nasty carrier monopoly where carriers are allowed (and actively defended) when they do henous lockin.
The article employs investigative journalism to document Samsung's reversal on device sustainability, providing factual reporting with clear authorship and editorial oversight. The piece advocates for corporate accountability and transparency regarding technology stewardship promises.
FW Ratio: 60%
Observable Facts
Article is published with full author attribution: Adam Conway, with job title 'Lead Technical Editor' and social media links.
Publisher's schema.org markup declares isAccessibleForFree=true and references publishingPrinciples at https://www.xda-developers.com/page/our-editorial-guidelines/.
Content is accessible without subscription requirement; premium features are optional.
Inferences
The combination of author attribution, editorial title, and referenced guidelines indicates commitment to accountable journalism and transparent editorial practices.
Free access to the investigative piece removes barriers to public information about corporate accountability in technology.
The article implicitly addresses quality of life and environmental welfare by critiquing the discontinuation of device reuse programs, framing technological sustainability as a matter of collective well-being.
FW Ratio: 50%
Observable Facts
Schema.org markup includes isAccessibleForFree=true and identifies article body as accessible (cssSelector: '.article-body').
Page implements web font loading with proper font-display strategies (block for custom fonts), supporting readable rendering.
Inferences
The framing of device reuse as an environmental and utility matter relates implicitly to standards of living and sustainable consumption.
Accessible free publishing supports public access to information about technology sustainability issues.
The article implicitly addresses equal dignity by critiquing Samsung's decision to discontinue a program aimed at giving utility to older devices regardless of economic status, framing device reuse as a dignity issue.
FW Ratio: 50%
Observable Facts
The article reports that Samsung created a Galaxy Upcycle program that won an award but then discontinued it.
The headline and descriptor frame this discontinuation as abandonment, using language like 'giving up.'
Inferences
The narrative structure suggests that the value of technological devices should not be contingent on economic class or purchasing power.
Criticism of program discontinuation implies an expectation that corporations have responsibility to all device owners regardless of status.
The article frames technology sustainability as a human interest narrative ('Your old phone could have been so much more'), implicitly positioning device reuse and environmental stewardship within broader dignity and livelihood concerns.
FW Ratio: 50%
Observable Facts
The article's descriptor states 'Your old phone could have been so much more,' framing device upcycling as a matter of unrealized potential.
The headline criticizes Samsung for 'giving up' on the Galaxy Upcycle program despite its award, establishing a narrative of corporate commitment reversal.
Inferences
The framing suggests that technological reuse has moral weight—that devices have latent value tied to human utility and environmental responsibility.
The tone implies corporate accountability and suggests that human expectations of corporate stewardship relate to broader dignity principles.
Extensive tracking infrastructure observable: Google Analytics, Facebook App ID, reCAPTCHA, IP address logging (VALNET_GLOBAL_IPADDRESS: '162.158.62.58'), and browser user-agent tracking. These mechanisms enable collection of personal data without explicit consent indicators on the page.
FW Ratio: 60%
Observable Facts
Page code contains VALNET_GLOBAL_IPADDRESS variable set to '162.158.62.58', indicating IP address tracking.
Multiple tracking integrations are present: Google Analytics, Facebook App ID (457224991007811), and reCAPTCHA v2/v3 site keys.
User-agent tracking is implemented via VALNET_GLOBAL_BROWSERUSERAGENT variable.
Inferences
The infrastructure suggests systematic data collection practices that may operate without transparent consent mechanisms visible on the article page itself.
The tracking stack indicates commercial interest in user behavior and device identification practices.
Site structure includes accessibility features (isAccessibleForFree declaration, proper font loading, semantic markup). Content is rendered with proper CSS structure and navigation, supporting readable access.
The article frames technology sustainability as a human interest narrative ('Your old phone could have been so much more'), implicitly positioning device reuse and environmental stewardship within broader dignity and livelihood concerns.
The article implicitly addresses equal dignity by critiquing Samsung's decision to discontinue a program aimed at giving utility to older devices regardless of economic status, framing device reuse as a dignity issue.
Extensive tracking infrastructure observable: Google Analytics, Facebook App ID, reCAPTCHA, IP address logging (VALNET_GLOBAL_IPADDRESS: '162.158.62.58'), and browser user-agent tracking. These mechanisms enable collection of personal data without explicit consent indicators on the page.
Headline uses 'giving up' to characterize Samsung's program discontinuation, framing the corporate action negatively through emotionally weighted language rather than neutral reporting.
build 1ad9551+j7zs · deployed 2026-03-02 09:09 UTC · evaluated 2026-03-02 13:57:54 UTC
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