Sony REON POCKET 5 Review – It Works But Not The Way You Expected It To

Unboxing the Sony REON POCKET 5

Starting off the Sony REON POCKET 5 review with the unboxing, it comes in a simple, white packaging with the picture, name, and description of the product listed on the front. Inside the box, we found the following items:

• Neckband 4 (RNPB-N4)
• L-shaped USB Type-C cable (USB-A to USB-C)
• 2 x air vent covers (one short and one long)
• Documentations
• REON POCKET TAG (RNPT-1)
• Lithium coin cell battery (CR2032)
• The Sony REON POCKET 5 itself

Specifications

Type	Smart Wearable Thermo Device
Model	REON POCKET 5 (RNPK-5T SET with RNP-5)
Box Contents	REON POCKET 5 Main Unit (RNP-5)REON POCKET Tag (RNPT-1)Neckband 4 (RNPB-N4)L-Shaped USB-C CableAir Vent Covers
Modes	SMART COOL, AUTO, MY MODE, MANUAL
Operating Temperature Range	5℃-40℃
Sensors	5 (Motion, Humidity and Temperature)
Control	Auto ON/OFF Based on Movement, Bluetooth Smart Tag, Smartphone App for iOS 13 or later / Android™ 8 or laterNOTE: iOS app requires a Japanese App Store ID(Step by Step Download Instructions Included)
Connectivity	Bluetooth® 5.0 Low Energy
Power Input Method	USB Type-C
Battery Type	Li-Ion (Rechargeable)
Size & Weight	Approx. 55mm × 23mm × 117mm / 116g (without neckband)

The Good

There are a number of good reasons to consider getting the Sony REON POCKET 5. For starters, it’s easy and comfortable to wear. It basically goes behind your neck, closer to the shoulder area, with the metal contact area touching your skin. The neckband holds on to you without clamping force and it’s still quite secure, while the lightweight build makes it comfortable to use. It can also be hidden away from sight so people won’t notice unless they intentionally look behind your neck…which would be a strange thing to do.

The Sony REON POCKET 5 also can get quite cold, but it’s not what you might expect. Basically, the metal contact area is what gets cold while the fans suck in warm air from the area around your back and expel it outside. In hot weather, it can help to cool you down provided you’re not doing any activity that requires a lot of physical exertion like working out.

It also comes in a full package that doesn’t require any additional purchases. Everything from the neckband, REON POCKET TAG to get a better reading of environmental conditions, and even vent covers of differing sizes to accommodate different use cases / clothing. If you do use the tag however, you just need to get a CR2032 coin battery every now and then but that thing can last for months so you don’t have to worry much about it.

Lastly, there is even a dedicated REON POCKET app on Android and iOS for it, allowing for more controls and get readings via the REON POCKET TAG. It’s easy to set up and use, with it just involving manual adjustments or automatic via smart mode. Just remember that it only works on one device at a time so if you have two smartphones and decide to control it with the other, you will have to reset the Sony REON POCKET 5 and redo the setup all over again.

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The Bad

Of course, the Sony REON POCKET 5 has its share of drawbacks. For starters, the battery life isn’t satisfactory. It lasts anywhere between 3 and a half to 5 hours in smart mode, with Sony officially stating that it can go from 4 to 17 hours depending on the level used. I believe this has to do with the weather conditions in Malaysia making it run at max level more often than not, leading to the poor battery life. 

Furthermore, the charging speed is rather slow with it taking over 2 and a half hours to fully charge it. It’s said that 100 minutes would get you about 90% of charge, with the last 10% being rather slow but even so, 100 minutes is still quite long. I expected it to take about 30 to 45 minutes at most but this is a little bit too long by today’s standards for gadgets.

While the Sony REON POCKET 5 can work, it might not exactly be suitable for Malaysian weather where it’s both hot and humid. The part that is actually cool only covers a small surface area of your body and while the expelling of heat can work, a small fan blowing a decent amount of wind would work better. Granted, I would still prefer this over those neck fans but above all else, even paper fans would work better in our weather.

Lastly, and this is going to be the biggest challenge for the Sony REON POCKET 5, is the price. It retails for RM799, which is absurdly expensive for what the product is. If it’s like RM300, maybe RM350, it could be a worthwhile consideration but with that price tag, people are more likely to stick with those portable fans or paper fans instead given that it’s noticeably more affordable.

Sony REON POCKET 5 Verdict

The Sony REON POCKET 5 is labeled by many as a portable air conditioner but that label alone is what’s going to cause problems for the product given the consumer’s understanding of the term “air conditioner”. Can it help people keep cool? To an extent, yes, but it’s important to set the right expectations, especially on how the product helps to cool people down. Take the time to understand what Peltier cooling / thermoelectric cooling is, then you can see if this product will work for you.

At the end of our Sony REON POCKET 5 review, I award this smart wearable thermo device with our Bronze Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Sony Malaysia for sending us this portable cooler for the purpose of this review.