Earlier this year I wrote a little op-ed on the PhoneSoap XL ($120), which is microwave-like gadget that, instead of heating things up, uses blue light to kill bacteria. It’s designed to work with all smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV remotes, smartwatches – really anything that can fit inside it. You open it up, put your device inside, turn it on and 15 or so minutes later it’s all clean. Boom. It’s a neat device, especially for germophobes, because the reality is your gadgets are gross, and you need to clean them. Even if you don’t think about, you’re touching them all the time with unwashed hands. After you use the bathroom. While you’re riding the subway. After touching public doorknobs. The list goes on.
One of the issues with the PhoneSoap XL is its size. It’s big, but it also needs to be to fit all your bigger devices like your tablets and laptops. The company also makes a smaller device that’s specifically designed for smartphones, the PhoneSop 3 ($60). And now, it has released the PhoneSoap Go ($100), which can both sanitize and charge your smartphone. No need to be tethered to a wall outlet – this thing is portable.
According to the company, the PhoneSoap Go is “the first and only portable cell phone charger that cleans and sanitizes your phone while it charges.” It has a built-in, rechargeable 7000mAh battery that can sanitize your phone up to 45 times or charge it up four times (depending on which smartphone you have). The Phonesoap will work with all the latest iPhones, Samsung Galaxy smartphones and Google Pixel 3 smartphones. The catch is that you need your smartphone’s charging cable. The PhoneSoap Go doesn’t wirelessly charge your smartphone, so in order to sanitize and charge your device at the same time, you need to plug your smartphone’s charging cable into the device and then into your smartphone. It’d be nicer if you didn’t have to bring your cable with you, but then again this isn’t that much different than other portable power banks, as most don’t have built-in charging cables or support wireless charging.
The PhoneSoap Go is available in one color, indigo, on the company’s website.