Sony has made a new cooler, you can wear it around your neck!

It is said that when there is a problem, there is a solution. Global temperatures are rising. In summer, walking out in the daytime is like experiencing a furnace. Apparently Sony has a solution. It is called the Reon Pocket Pro Plus. Unlike other Sony gadgets, this one is different. It is a wearable air cooler that you can hang around your neck. In turn, it works to cool your body so even if the ambient temperature is high, you can feel a bit cooler.

The Reon Pocket Pro Plus is the upgraded successor to last year's Pro model, aiming to offer improved cooling performance and a redesigned form factor. The product was first introduced in 2019 although Sony is yet to sell any of these gadgets in India. Chances are that the Reon Pocket Pro Plus too will not be arriving in India, even if our hot cities we can potentially find it useful.

How the Reon Pocket Pro Plus works

Sony’s new wearable air conditioner uses something called the Peltier effect to cool the body. The wearable features a metal cooling plate that sits against the back of the user’s neck and becomes cold using electricity, helping to lower body temperature directly. In simple terms, the device works more like a small electronic ice pack powered through USB-C.

Now the question may arise, why the neck? The neck area helps regulate body temperature because blood vessels are close to the skin there, so cooling the neck can make the whole body feel cooler. That’s why you may have noticed athletes often use cooling towels around the neck.

Sony says the new Reon Pocket Pro Plus delivers a 20 per cent improvement in cooling performance compared to the previous model, along with an additional two-degree Celsius drop in skin temperature.

The company has also redesigned the wearable with upgraded flexible arms that wrap around the neck and shoulders more securely. According to the company, the new design improves stability by 40 per cent.

Also, the Reon Pocket Pro Plus includes a redesigned exhaust vent that can be adjusted to direct warm air away from the body, even when wearing high-collared clothing. A built-in fan helps circulate air around the cooling area, while an automatic shutdown mechanism is included to prevent overheating.

Alongside the new wearable cooler, Sony has introduced a second-generation Reon Pocket Tag sensor. The accessory is 18 per cent smaller than its predecessor and monitors ambient temperature and humidity to help the device automatically adjust cooling levels. Users can also control the wearable through a companion smartphone app, though the device can operate independently as well.

On the battery front, Sony claims the wearable cooler can run for up to 10 hours on its second-highest cooling setting.

The Reon Pocket Pro Plus price and availability

For now, the Reon Pocket Pro Plus is available exclusively in the UK and European markets, priced at Pounds 199 and Euros 229, respectively. A global rollout is yet to be announced.