Samsung's UV sterilizer both disinfects and wirelessly charges your phone, now available globally

Update, June 7 (1:00 pm ET): The UV steriliser is now being made available globally.

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 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 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.

Best Phone Cleaning Kits in 2020

Earth Day

Samsung’s Galaxy Upcycling at Home is here to help you repurpose old phones

Samsung announced its Galaxy Upcycling at Home program back at CES 2021 as a way to turn your old Galaxy smartphone into an IoT smart home device. The program is finally launching in select countries.

don't blink

Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife review: Playing Clue in the afterlife

Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife is a horror game that doesn't rely on jump scares or other cheap methods of scaring players. Instead, it creates a horrifying world of mystery and intrigue that'll keep you sweating as you explore every nook and cranny of Barclay Mansion.

Don't throw it away just yet

8 easy ways to reuse your old Android phone or tablet

Instead of selling or leaving your old gadgets in a drawer, here are some fun ways you can reuse your old phone or tablet. From setting up a security camera to using your phone as a universal remote, there's no shortage of use cases for your ageing devices.

Definitely get a case

Keep your Galaxy A52 or A52 5G looking snazzy with the best cases

Now that the Galaxy A52 and A52 5G is here, it's time to think about what kind of cases you want. There are a lot of great choices with some familiar-looking options, along with some newcomers. Regardless of which one you pick, these are the best Galaxy A52 and A52 5G cases you can find.