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You told us: Samsung really dropped the ball with its Upcycling program

Nearly nine in ten readers agree Samsung should've done more with the program.
By
May 31, 2021
Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone in sunrise gold in a person's hand.

Companies rarely focus on programs and products that won’t guarantee them revenue. It seems that this fact of business is what “ruined” Samsung’s Upcycling program, at least according to DIY repair website iFixit.

While the program started with promise and had grand future designs, Samsung ultimately canned an expanded program due to the lack of a clear revenue plan.

With iFixit clearly perturbed by Samsung’s change of heart, we wanted to gauge your thoughts about the fiasco. Did Samsung drop the ball with its Upcycling program? Here’s how you polled.

Do you think Samsung dropped the ball with its Galaxy Upcycling program?

Results

According to a poll on our website, nearly 90% of readers believe Samsung floundered its Upcycling program. Around 10.4% of readers find no fault with the Korean company’s handling of the program.

If implemented correctly, the Upcycling program would’ve allowed unlocked bootloaders, opening up the opportunity for custom ROMs more suited to specific use cases. Essentially, it would’ve been a more serious effort than Samsung’s current app-based solution. Understandably, some readers find Samsung’s efforts lacking.

Nevertheless, Samsung not throwing its weight behind the program doesn’t stop users from repurposing phones. AA readers either keep old phones as backups, sell them, or hand them off to relatives. However, about one in every two readers offload their device rather than keeping it.

Here’s what you told us

  • Kobus Swart: This is why I consider buying Apple after being with Samsung since 2012.
  • meh…: These are businesses that only care about profit so it’s no surprise that Apple and Samsung don’t give a crap about after sale support unless it’s paid for and therefore a contractual obligation, through the extended warranty and care programs.

That’s it for this poll. Thanks for your votes and comments. If you have any additional thoughts about Samsung’s Upcycling program or the poll results, be sure to drop them down below.