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Sony to Launch New Wearable Cooling Device

The Sony logo is seen at company headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters
The Sony logo is seen at company headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters
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Sony to Launch New Wearable Cooling Device

The Sony logo is seen at company headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters
The Sony logo is seen at company headquarters in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

The recurrent climate changes around the world have urged inventors to create easy and sustainable solutions to help face both hot and cold temperatures.

In early 2020, Sony plans to launch a wearable cooling device that, according to the company, is a lightweight gadget that slides into the upper back pocket of a specially designed t-shirt, which allows its wearer to use it during summer and winter.

A report published by the Tech Xplore website said the device connects to the wearer's smartphone to adjust the temperature via a Bluetooth connection through an app available for Android and iOS. Users can increase the temperature during cold weathers, or reduce it during extreme heat.

As many regions in the world suffer from unprecedented hot temperatures, mainly Europe and the Gulf, Sony officials said: "The credit card-like pocket device will be able to cool a user's body temperature by 13 degrees Celsius or raise it by about eight degrees."

The new device adopts the Peltier effect, a dynamic thermal method discovered by the French scientist Jean Peltier. This effect, which is widely used in cooling systems, creates an electric current that flows between two metals and transfer the heat from a metal to another, to obtain a hot side and a cold one. The Peltier effect is adopted by many cooling units used in electronic devices.

The report cited Stephen Johnson, a columnist specializing in technology news, who reviewed the device's details and some of its features, saying the wearable device is equipped with a 24-hour battery that require two hours of charging. It also includes a USB-C port that is compatible with many devices of different sizes.

"The device weighs 85 grams, so the wearer won't feel any additional load in his shirt, and people won't notice it."

Speaking about the connection between the device and the specially designed shirt that includes an upper rear pocket, and the fact that it is hard to suit people of different sizes, the report explains that "the company plans to produce shirts of different sizes (small, medium, large).

The shirt will be sold for about $130.

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Beijing Issues Weather Warning for Hottest Days of Year

A woman wearing sun protective clothing rides a bicycle along a street in Beijing on June 23, 2025. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
A woman wearing sun protective clothing rides a bicycle along a street in Beijing on June 23, 2025. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
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Beijing Issues Weather Warning for Hottest Days of Year

A woman wearing sun protective clothing rides a bicycle along a street in Beijing on June 23, 2025. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
A woman wearing sun protective clothing rides a bicycle along a street in Beijing on June 23, 2025. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)

Beijing residents sought shade and cooled off in canals on Monday as authorities issued the second-highest heat warning for the Chinese capital on one of its hottest days of the year so far.

China has endured a string of extreme summers in recent years, with heatwaves baking northern regions even as parts of the south have seen catastrophic rain and flooding.

Authorities in the city of 22 million people urged the public to take precautions, with temperatures expected to peak at around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.

"It's been really hot lately, especially in the past few days," intern Li Weijun told AFP on Monday afternoon.

The 22-year-old said he had stopped wearing formal clothes to work and delayed his daily exercise until after 10:00 pm to stay safe.

"I think it's related to climate change, and maybe also to the damage done to nature," he said.

An orange heat warning -- the second-highest in a three-tier system -- was issued on Monday as officials encouraged people to limit outdoor activity and drink more fluids to avoid heatstroke.

Construction workers should "shorten the amount of time consecutively spent at labor", while elderly, sick or weakened individuals ought to "avoid excessive exertion", according to the guidelines.

Zhang Chen, 28, said she carried an umbrella outdoors to prevent sunburn.

"I used to ride a bike, but once it gets this hot, I basically stop doing that," the IT worker told AFP.

Despite the beating sun, legions of delivery drivers zipped through downtown areas at noon to bring sustenance to Beijing's office workers.

A few lazed on the backs of their scooters in a shady spot, while elsewhere, people cooled off with ice creams or by taking a dip in the city's canals.

- Climate giant -

Beijing is still a few degrees short of breaking its record for the hottest-ever June day, set at 41.1C in 2023.

Human greenhouse gas emissions are driving climate change that causes longer, more frequent and more intense heatwaves.

China is the world's largest producer of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, though it has pledged to bring its emissions to a peak by the end of this decade and to net zero by 2060.

The country has also emerged as a global leader in renewable energy in recent years as it seeks to pivot its massive economy away from highly polluting coal consumption.

In a shady spot near an office building, 42-year-old Lucy Lu spent her lunch break with friends, kicking a shuttlecock through the air -- a traditional Chinese game known as "jianzi".

"I was born and raised in Beijing, and summer here has always been like this," she said.

"But I do think when the temperature goes over 40C, there should be some time off or work-from-home options to reduce the risk of heatstroke."