In could-it-get-hotter-than-this Philippines, this Sony device could be a godsend to many. No, scratch that. We know so.

A crowdfunded project, the Sony Reon Pocket is a wearable air conditioner (and heater, actually) that’s meant to help you survive the heat. It’s smaller and lighter than your average smartphone and is placed in the upper back pocket of a specially designed shirt.

Sony Reon Pocket product video

You can control the temperature through an app. So let’s say you need to walk to the venue of your afternoon meeting, all you need to do is take out your phone, open the app, and change the temperature of the Reon Pocket before you step out of your office. Or you can let the gadget automatically do that for you. Easy-peasy.

This is all made possible by a thermodynamic principle used in refrigeration called Peltier effect. Like how a car cooler works, for one.

One charge of the Sony Reon Pocket does not last the whole day, though. You can juice it up for two hours, and the device will last 90 minutes. Still, it’s a step in the right direction. And it’s something we want to support even if the target audience is businessmen and Sony wants to release it only in Japan — initially, at least — starting from March 2020.

The price of the Reon Pocket ranges from ¥12,760 (around P6,008 or $117) to ¥19,030 (P8,960 or $175), depending on the package. The basic includes one unit and a shirt.

The price of the Sony Reon Pocket ranges from ¥12,760 (P6,008 or $117) to ¥19,030 (P8,960 or $175), depending on the package.

You can support the Reon Pocket and the Sony startup accelerator behind the project, Yoichi Ito, here. Be sure to use a translation tool because the site’s in Japanese.

Sony has answered our prayers and created a "wearable air-conditioner". pic.twitter.com/zCe4VHd66o

— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) July 24, 2019

Not official, but the video is in English

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