ubia has introduced the Magnetic Phone Cooler Neo in China, which marketers have affectionately dubbed the "Ice Cream Cooler." Launching on September 10 at an introductory price of 99 yuan (around $15), it will eventually retail for 159 yuan—roughly $25. For this price, it promises instant relief for overheating smartphones, but the laws of thermodynamics are hard to outsmart.
Sub-zero sensor readings, scorching internals
Inside this 25W accessory sits a setup borrowed from the RedMagic Cooler 8 Pro: a heatsink, a heat-dissipation plate, and a 36 × 36 mm Peltier thermoelectric module. This solid-state component works as an active heat pump: while one side chills rapidly, the other dumps excess heat into a heatsink cleared by a 6,000 RPM fan.
According to Nubia, the cooling plate can reach temperatures as low as -18 °C, with a maximum temperature differential of up to 60 °C.
While the specs sound impressive, real-world physics tell a different story. The ice-cold pad presses directly against the rear glass or plastic of your phone—materials that act as effective thermal insulators. While the cooler's onboard sensor cheerfully reports sub-zero conditions, the silicon underneath continues to bake under sustained gaming loads, throttling clock speeds and dimming display brightness mid-match.
Cables and extra bulk
Furthermore, mobile gaming portability disappears with this 90-gram, 25mm-thick puck attached. Your sleek smartphone transforms into a bulky sandwich tethered to a wall adapter or a heavy power bank. The extreme temperature drop also creates condensation, posing a real risk to exposed ports and internal circuitry. On the upside, physical buttons control four operational presets (with noise levels starting at 33 dB), streamers get a standard 1/4-inch tripod thread, and the retail box includes clamp mounts for non-MagSafe devices.
Instead of strapping a cumbersome mini-fridge to your phone and courting moisture damage, you are better off dropping your in-game graphics settings down a notch. Still, selling dramatic frost effects on plastic for $15 is far easier than re-engineering thermal management from within.