Update, June 7 (1:00 pm ET): The UV steriliser is now being made available globally.
What you need to know
- Samsung is now selling a UV sterilizer for your phone and other gadgets.
- The enclosure also doubles as a 10W wireless charger.
- It's currently selling for about $50 (or more) in different locations.
As COVID-19 cases continue surging across the world, personal hygiene has taken center stage as one of the most important means of preventing infection. And while washing your hands every so often is certainly important, let's not forget that your phone may be ten times as dirty as your toilet seat — and could even have fecal matter on it! Yuck!
Thanks to Samsung, though, you won't have to worry about those pesky little viruses contaminating your phone. The company this week launched (opens in new tab) a new UV sterilizer for your phone — and any other electronics, for that matter — which it claims kills up to 99% of germs and bacteria, thanks to its use of UV-C radiation. Laboratory tests (opens in new tab) by Philips using the same type of radiation on the coronavirus would seem to back up that claim.
The product is a simple, gray enclosure that, Samsung claims, should thoroughly disinfect both sides of your phone in just about 10 minutes. As an added bonus, the sterilizer also doubles as a wireless charger, although its atrociously slow 10W charging rate may have you missing your good old wired charger soon after.
The product seems to be an extension of the phone sanitizing service Samsung was already offering its customers in select locations across the world. The UV Sanitizer in question, however, is currently only being sold in Thailand for 1,590 baht (~$50). Hopefully, the product will make its way to other countries soon, but until then, there are plenty of alternatives in the market that do the same thing.
Update, June 15 (11:15 pm ET) — Samsung has now announced the product globally
Samsung today announced global availability (opens in new tab) for its UV sanitizer, with listings popping up in its stores in Germany (opens in new tab), Romania (opens in new tab), Hong Kong (opens in new tab), and Singapore.
