Wearable Air Conditioner Could Stave Off Your Death In This Heat Wave

You'll have to take Sony's word that it actually works.

Personal Cooldown

Sony has developed a wearable personal air conditioner that you can stick inside a specially-designed pocket sewn into an accompanying shirt.

The device was meant to cool down attendants of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but the event had to be postponed due to the coronavirus. But summer itself isn't cancelled — with much of North America slammed by a July heat wave — so luckily Sony decided to make the futuristic device available for purchase anyway.

 

Protect Ya Neck

The device, called "Reon Pocket," is roughly the size of an external battery pack and can, according to Sony, cool you down by a whopping 23 degrees Fahrenheit. It can even warm you up in winter by 14 degrees.

The device uses the "Peltier effect" to either absorb or produce heat by passing a current through a thermocouple circuit and a small fan.

A 2.5 hour charge gets you anywhere between two to four hours of cooling or heating, the company says.

Sony is also selling T-shirts alongside the device, for $20 each, that feature a special pocket between the shoulder blades to slide the device into.

Big in Japan

An accompanying app, available on both iOS and Android devices, allows you to control the gadget.

The device went on sale exclusively in Japan on July 1, where it costs about $170. Sony has yet to announce any plans to sell the device in the US.

Early reviews are mixed. The device has an average of 2.8 stars out of five on Amazon Japan.

"I was surprised to cool down in no time after turning it on," reads a five star review, as interpreted by Google Translate.

Most reviewers, though, were far less kind.

"Only one very narrow point of the spine is cooled loosely, so what?" one disappointed reviewer noted. "In fact, there was no significant difference in the amount of perspiration between use and non-use."

READ MORE: Sony’s Wearable Air Conditioner Is Finally Available to Help Make the Summer Less Sweltering [Gizmodo]

More on the device: Sony Unveils Wearable Air Conditioner That Sits in a Shirt Pocket