Sony’s portable air conditioner is great

I have lived in Japan for almost twelve years, and am still not used to the horrible summers. Between high temperatures and stifling humidity, going outside in July and August feels like it’s cooking slowly in a sous vide pot. As an endless rainy season ends, I won’t need much encouragement to stay home.

I don’t think my opinion of Japanese summers is particularly unusual, which is probably why Sony decided to go ahead with the Reon Pocket through its First Flight incubation-incubation-cut-bar internal platform. First Flight has previously led to products such as the FES E Ink watch, the Huis Universal Smart Home Remote Control and the Wena Wrist Modular Smart Watch. Now we have the Reon Pocket, which can only be described as a portable air conditioner, and I’ve been testing it.

The Reon Pocket is a fairly slim, palm-sized white plastic device that charges via USB-C and connects to your iOS or Android phone with Bluetooth. It definitely looks like a Sony gadget. There is a silicone pad on the back that can press against your skin, and Reon Pocket uses the Peltier effect to cool down or heat up by absorbing and releasing heat. You can use it handheld, but the most widely promoted use cases involve buying Sony’s special V-neck undershirts with a pocket on the inner back to keep the device resting between the shoulder blades.

The app is quite simple and gives you direct control over the Reon Pocket’s temperature settings. There are three levels of cooling or heating, plus an additional boost mode that is limited to two minutes and a control for “fan” speed. You can also set automatic modes that are activated every time you turn on the device with its own power button instead of using the app. It lasts for around 2-3 hours on a charge, depending on the intensity of your setup.

The device only weighs around 80 grams, so beyond the cooling and warming effects, it really doesn’t show when you wear it on the shirt, and it doesn’t stick out under another layer of clothing. However, it is a bit awkward to insert it once the shirt is on; It should fit snugly in your pocket, which is difficult to do with your hands behind your back. Maybe it gets easier with practice.

So how does it work? Sony marketing suggests that you can lower your body surface temperature by 13 ° C, for example from 36 ° C (42.8 ° F) to 23 ° C (73.4 ° F). I can believe that’s the case at the point of contact, but the effect is clearly much less pronounced across the body, as Sony’s own images show.

Sony

Today I carried the Reon Pocket while walking to a supermarket a mile away for lunch. The temperature was only 30 ° C (86 ° F), so we are not yet at the pace of a Tokyo summer, but the humidity was pushing 80 percent; this is still the kind of hike that would normally make me a sweat puddle soon. Overall, I found the Reon Pocket to make things a little better, even in its lower cooling setting. I was definitely still sweating by the time I got home, but the cool feeling makes a difference while you’re really out in the heat.

Basically, the Reon Pocket does what you would expect any small, cold object to do when you hold it against your skin. You will still feel that you are in a warm and sweaty environment, but you will take what you can get.

For me personally, I’m not sure the hassle of dealing with a weekly rotation of device-exclusive Sony T-shirts is worth it. But I’m in a position where I’ve been working from home for almost a decade, and my 2020 summer wardrobe consists almost exclusively of Toronto Raptors jerseys. If I worked in a job that involved commuting and business clothes, as is the case for tens of millions of people across Japan, I think Reon Pocket could make more sense. As it stands, you would probably use it as a pocket device that can act as a localized cooler or heater in a pinch.

The Reon Pocket is now exclusively available in Japan. It costs 13,000 yen ($ 122) for the device itself, and the shirts (available in white or beige) cost 1,800 yen ($ 17) each. The app works in English, if you want to import.