Forget fans, I've been testing Sony's new wearable thermo device — and it's the gadget of the future

The Reon Pocket Pro Plus is the most futuristic product I’ve tested yet (still waiting for that flying car). It’s essentially a personal air conditioning system that uses sensors, or your manual inputs, to regulate your body temperature. When worn, it sits at the top of your back and uses a stainless steel plate that warms and cools.

It has effective heating and cooling capabilities that are personally adjustable to you via an easy-to-use smartphone app, or with the on-board buttons — but these are a little hard to reach if you’re wearing the device on your back.

The decent battery life also means that it’s good for a full working day. So, to find out more about the device and see if it’s something you want to implement in your daily routine, keep reading my full Reon Pocket Pro Plus review.

Latest Videos From

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Specs

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Price & availability

The Reon Pocket Pro Plus is available to purchase in the U.K. for £199 from Amazon or directly from Sony’s online store. Unfortunately, it’s not available for purchase in the U.S. at the time of writing, but it is expected to become available in summer 2026 and will only be available for purchase directly from the Sony store. You can sign up for the mailing list to be notified of availability. And summer can’t come quickly enough, because this is an ideal cooling solution that can carry you right through and keep you warm in the winter.

Previous models of the Reon include the Reon Pocket 5, which is available for £149, and the Reon Pocket Pro for £199, but the Pocket Pro Plus comes with performance and comfort upgrades.

If you’re looking for something that’s going to keep you cool in the summer, you could also consider the Shark ChillPill for $149, which is a 3-in-1 cooling system that fits in your bag to go with you everywhere. Or alternatively, the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool ($99) is cute to hold with focused airflow and is actually pretty quiet.

And if you need to keep warm in the winter months, you’d need to look towards something like a space heater, or rechargeable hand warmers, like the Ocoopa UT4s ($26). But ultimately, there isn’t anything like the Reon Pocket Pro Plus on the market. It’s in a league of its own when it comes to personal temperature regulation, providing both heating and cooling in a single package.

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Design & comfort

The Reon Pocket Pro Plus looks a little like a Chinchou Pokémon. It has two antenna-like arms that come out of a long body and wrap around your neck, so the device sits securely on your back, running down your spine.

It measures 6.9 x 4.9 x 2.4 inches, so it doesn’t come too far down my back (I’m 5’4” for reference), and it’s slightly curved, so it follows the curvature from my neck to my back perfectly. After a while, I hardly noticed I was wearing it since it’s so lightweight at just 9.1 ounces. I was conscious about the arms that wrap around your neck at first, but much like the weight on my back, I got used to them quickly. It’s also worth noting that since the Reon sits on your back, you can’t wear it at night if you sleep on your back.

The back of the device, where it touches your skin, is made of stainless steel. I’d recommend letting it heat up for a second before using, as this can be freezing cold given the material, and a bit of a shock to the system.

This device is worn under your clothes, so inevitably, it gives a slight hump under whatever top you’re wearing. But honestly, it’s not that noticeable. There is an air vent that comes out of the top of your shirt slightly so the device has airflow, and if you’re wearing a tee with a higher collar, you can swap it out for a longer one, thanks to the included interchangeable vents.

The Reon also comes with a tag to sense the surrounding environment for Smart Mode. This tag has an included carabiner so you can attach it to your belt or bag. I kept mine attached to my bag. It wirelessly connects to the device and helps it regulate the temperature based on the environment, so you don’t need to change the settings manually.

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Controls & app

The controls on the body of the Reon Pocket Pro Plus are easy to use. On the left side, there’s a stop/start button, and the mode button sits just below it to switch between cooling and heating. On the right-hand side is a plus/minus button for increasing and decreasing temperature, and a button for activating Smart Mode. I found these controls very responsive during use, but a little tricky to reach when the device was on my neck.

So, if you want to make changes when you’re already wearing the device, rather than taking it off your neck to make adjustments, you simply use the mobile app to turn your phone into a remote control. I downloaded the Reon Pocket app from the iOS App Store, and it automatically connected to the device when I opened it.

Here, you can select warm or cool functions and then make adjustments to this temperature. I find this super useful as someone who works in an office with air conditioning that is always being adjusted by whoever walks past (I see you making those sneaky adjustments to the air). It means that I’ve been able to regulate my personal temperature easily.

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Performance

I’ve never used anything like the Reon Pocket Pro Plus before, but now, I’m not sure if I can use a regular handheld fan ever again. Most cooling fans make noise, although there are some silent ones on the market. And, as “handheld” suggests, need to be held in your hands, but the Reon ensures your hands are free at all times. The device operates between 41ºF and 104ºF (5ºC and 40ºC).

Cool

When using the Cool setting on the Reon manually, you can choose from five temperatures. This gave me a lot of control and I could make adjustments from the app, so if it got too cold, I could turn the temperature up accordingly.

In the Cool section of the app, you can also use Smart Cool. This gives a target temperature based on the selected mode. The modes include Low Cool, Slightly Low Cool, Medium (which is the recommended mode), Slightly High Cool, and High Cool. The app notes that the battery life lasts the longest in Low Cool mode and delivers the quickest in High Cool.

The response to changes in the settings was immediate, and there was no sound from the vent of the device. It kept me cool even when the heating was on in my house, and helped to regulate my entire body temperature despite just being at the top of my back. Obviously, everyone’s body is different when regulating temperature, but I could feel the temperature adjustments I was making instantly. This was a lot faster than using a handheld portable fan.

Warm

I was skeptical about the Warm mode but it worked perfectly. As someone who generally runs cold, I’m always eager for the heat to be turned up. But I can appreciate that not everybody has my nervous system’s affinity for the heat, so by using the Reon, I had my own personal central heating system.

Just like the Cool settings, you can use Smart Warm for heat. The smart mode setting works pretty much like a thermostat. You tell it the setting you want, and it works using the sensing tag that I talked about earlier to keep the temperature within range. This worked well, and I didn’t find myself reaching for my phone to change the heat or cooling settings in the app.

Again, like the cool system, the heat was instant. I was impressed by how quickly I felt the warmth throughout my body — it literally took a matter of seconds.

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Battery life

The Reon Pocket Pro Plus’ battery life depends heavily on the settings being used. The device is rated for 10 hours, but I found that the battery drained more quickly if I was using the heat settings compared to the cooling mode. And if you’re using either mode’s highest settings, it will drain faster.

10 hours of battery life should last you for the majority of your day. The average working day with the commute included is about 10.5 hours, so this amount of battery is enough to carry you through the hot subway and the chilly office air conditioning.

This is a decent amount of battery life for a personal cooling device, as the Shark ChillPill has nine and a half hours of battery at its highest setting, and the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool delivers up to six hours on the lowest setting.

Charging of the Reon takes 130 minutes to reach 90%, and getting to 100% takes a further 70 minutes — so just over three hours in total.

Reon Pocket Pro Plus review: Verdict

There’s nothing quite like the Reon Pocket Pro Plus on the market at the time of writing. It’s not a fan, and it’s not a heater. It’s more like a personalizable temperature regulatory device, and it’s given me effective heating and cooling results depending on my environment at the click of a button.

I like how fast the device responds to any changes I make within the user-friendly smartphone app. The Smart Cool and Smart Warm modes also make the device easy to use, as I didn’t need to go back and forth to constantly adjust the temperature while wearing it. The battery life is enough to get you through a full working day too, which I appreciate.

My only complaint would be that the buttons on the device itself are hard to use when you’re wearing it on your back. But since your phone can double as a remote, this is pretty much a non-issue.

I’m pretty sure we’re going to see everyone in big cities wearing these nifty devices before long — it’s way cooler than a flying car.