PC gamers know about heat. When you’re in the middle of an intense in-game battle, the last thing you want is for your computer to act up because your CPU or GPU has gotten too hot. That’s why gamers and other extreme users rely on products like CPU coolers and liquid cooling systems. You probably weren’t that concerned about your smartphone thermals while playing Candy Crush on your iPhone. Still, Razer released a new product on Tuesday, the Phone Cooler Chroma, to ensure that your smartphone doesn’t overheat the next time you use it for gaming.
Of course, mobile gaming has grown beyond that of Candy Crush and Evil birds. Razer (and a few other vendors) have been trying to take mobile gaming seriously for a while now. The company’s efforts are mainly focused on controllers, such as the Razer Kishi, that attach to your smartphone. There’s also Razer’s finger sleeve for mobile gaming.
The Phone Cooler Chroma released on Tuesday has a different purpose. Compatible with both iPhone and Android phones (it supports “most smartphones,” Razer’s product page claims), the product aims to keep your phone cool as it pushes those frames.
Interestingly, the fan takes advantage of Apple’s MagSafe, which allows you to attach the cooler magnetically. That’s helpful, but it also means the cooler won’t sit directly over the phone’s SoC.
If you don’t have a MagSafe compatible phone, you can opt for the universal clamp version.
We don’t know how adjustable the cooler is, but Razer says it will work with phones that are 2.64-3.46 inches (67-88mm) wide.
Stay cool?
A cooling plate sits on the back and is topped by an electronic tile that uses Peltier cooling, also known as thermoelectric cooling, to transfer heat. The next layer is a heat sink under a seven-bladed fan that spins at up to 6,400 rpm, adjustable via Bluetooth. Razer says the cooler can stay at 30 dB.
On top of the fan is a cover with vents and of course RGB lighting. Does the lighting help keep your phone cool? Absolutely not. But it would hardly be a Razer product without it. The gaming brand has even put RGB on its N95 mask, so Chroma lighting is no surprise here.
The cover contains 12 RGB LEDs, each of which can be set to its own color and effect.
You need a USB-C cable to power the Phone Cooler Chroma. The cooler comes with a 1.5m USB-C to USB-C cable, but this seems to be inconvenient when gaming on the go, as a mobile gamer tends to do.
Razer has made no claims about how much cooler the product will keep your phone’s components. Unlike a CPU cooler, this cooler doesn’t come into direct contact with the processor and doesn’t have any vents to work with, like some laptop fan coolers do. Thus, the heat transfer from the actual SoC may be limited. Hardcore mobile gamers can discover it for themselves for $60.
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