What Is the Reon Pocket Pro Plus?
Sony has never been shy about going out on a limb, and the Reon Pocket Pro Plus is probably the best evidence of that. Sony’s Reon wearable cooling device has been in development since 2017, and after a crowdfunding launch in 2019, it arrived for sale in Asia and more recently in the West. That wacky vision has evolved into the Pro Plus, a personal air conditioner that you wear under your shirt. Instead of just blowing air at your body, it cools a metal plate that is pressed against your neck and runs a little down your spine. Cooling the body here seems logical, since lots of blood flows through the major arteries on and around your neck before it gets circulated to the rest of your body.
Design & Comfort
The Reon Pocket Pro is bigger than the original, taller and thicker to fit in more cooling hardware and a larger battery. The general design is a device that sits neatly on your back, with a rubberised neckband to keep it in place and an air vent out the top to dissipate hot air. The box has two air vents, a short one for t-shirts and a taller one for collared shirts for more formal occasions. On the comfort side, Sony has made some substantial changes to the ergonomics. The climate control clip-on is equipped with a redesigned neckband that Sony claims offers a 40% improvement in stability, meaning it’s less likely to shift as you move, and lose contact with your skin. The exhaust vent has also been improved — Sony has redesigned the Reon Pocket Pro Plus to sit more comfortably on the neck and shoulders, and changed the exhaust vent’s design so you can adjust the angle and prevent warm air from being blasted back at your body.
The Cooling Technology
And it’s here that the Reon Pocket Pro Plus starts to get really interesting from an engineering perspective. The Reon uses the Peltier effect to work: it sits at the base of your neck, and an electrically cooled metal plate delivers cooler temperatures right where your circulatory system needs it, like a tiny ice pack with a USB-C connector. The Pro Plus expands on that, pushes it further. The new Pro Plus offers better performance with 20 percent more cooling or a two-degree Celsius (3.6-degree Fahrenheit) boost. It also features a more advanced cooling algorithm that better tracks the temperature variations in the device and the surrounding area. Sony also shared heat-map images that showed a stronger, more prolonged cooling effect over the neck area than its predecessor.
The Pocket Tag 2 and Companion App
The Reon Pocket Pro Plus has its own sensor which is the Pocket Tag 2 and it’s 18% smaller than the previous generation. You can hang it on a carabiner or strap and take temperature readings. This little companion plays a bigger role than it looks. It also has an automatic shutdown feature to prevent it from overheating, and the smartphone companion app allows for on-the-fly adjustment if you’re starting to feel the heat. And you don’t have to be glued to your phone — there is a companion app for manual controls and customization but you don’t need a phone to use it fully.
Battery Life is
Battery life is one area where the Pro Plus holds its own, and doesn’t see dramatic improvements. It’s more powerful than ever but will still run for up to 10 hours on its second-highest cooling setting. That’s a pretty good number for all-day use, with the added thermal output to consider. Battery life on the top setting isn’t improved too much, which is a bit of a disappointment for those who plan to push the device to its limits in extreme heat – but for everyday use at moderate settings, a full working day on a single charge is a practical result.
Heating mode: a companion throughout the year
The Reon Pocket Pro Plus is more than a summer gadget. The Sony Reon Pocket Pro is a thermal device worn on the body to provide both cooling and warming with two thermal modules, doubling the total contact area of the Reon Pocket 5. It can also keep you warmer in the winter, heating up to toasty, yet skin-safe levels. That two-pronged functionality makes the investment a little easier to justify — instead of being a device you shelve for nine months of the year, it has a year-round case for use.
Price and Availability
The Reon Pocket Pro Plus is launching in the UK and Europe for £199 and €220 (around $270) respectively. Unfortunately, the Reon Pocket Pro Plus has still not been confirmed for release in the US, and may never be. It’ll be available through Sony’s own store and online retailers like Amazon. It’s firmly in premium territory for the price – at £200 it’s a lot more expensive than your average personal fan and likely to remain a niche option rather than a mainstream one.
Decision
The Sony Reon Pocket Pro Plus is one of the more audacious gadgets on the market — a wearable personal climate system that really works. The 20% cooling improvement, smarter algorithm, better stability and the handy Pocket Tag 2 all are meaningful steps forward for an already capable device. There is really nothing else like it and it makes you feel like a cyborg, it’s the idea of personal climate control combined with the Star Wars-like appearance of the device. The core concept is pretty fantastic. It’s not cheap, and it’s still pretty absent from the US market, but for those in Europe looking to get through more and more brutal summers – and who want a device that turns heads – Sony’s Reon Pocket Pro Plus is its most compelling wearable experiment yet.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do you wear it over or under your shirt?
Beneath your shirt. The device lies flush against your skin at the base of your neck, the vent poking above your collar to vent warm air.
Does it heat as well as cool?
Yes. It’s a year-round wearable — not a summer-only gadget — thanks to its cooling and heating modes.
Do you need a phone to use it?
Nope. The companion app is optional – handy for tweaking settings and monitoring temperature, but the device works independently, with built in controls.
How cold does it get, really?
The Pro Plus can bring the cooling plate down to about 20°C (68°F), two degrees cooler than the previous model, which is a 20% improvement in cooling performance.
Is it available in US?
No official. It’s confirmed for the UK (£199) and Europe (€220) at launch, with Sony not yet giving a US release date.
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