Samsung deserves kudos for its eco-friendly Solar Cell remote
These light-powered gadgets are a step in the right direction.
Credit:
Samsung
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Samsung kicked off its CES 2021 press conference with two surprising initiatives. Rather than letting its huge, colorful TVs or sleek smartphones lead the way, Samsung addressed a couple of more humanitarian issues: accessibility and eco-sustainability.
Samsung's efforts towards a greener tomorrow include a new remote control that Samsung has dubbed the "Solar Cell Remote Control." According to Samsung, the new remote—included with Samsung's entire 2021 lineup, apparently—aims to prevent huge amounts of waste related to the traditional utilization of AAA batteries.
Samsung projected that over the next seven years, pivoting from traditionally battery-powered remotes to solar-powered remotes would prevent the wasteful inclusion of 99 million AAA batteries.
The projected design may involve laying the remote on its face to expose a light-absorbing panel to indoor light or sunlight.
While we don't have a lot of details yet on exactly how the Solar Cell remotes will work, press images released during CES suggest that a light-absorbing surface on the back/bottom of the remote will use either indoor light or outdoor light (sunlight) to charge the remote. If you need your clicker charged up quicker, however, the remotes can also be charged over USB.
We also know a few details about the materials used. Samsung stated that, of the remote's 31 grams of plastic, almost 25% are recycled polyethylene terephtalate. That means that for every four Solar Cell remotes, you're getting an entire remote free (in terms of ecological recycling, anyway).
Stay tuned for our upcoming reviews of Samsung's 2021 TV lineup, which will include data collection and hands-on time with the new Solar Cell remotes.