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Kill the germs residing on your smartphone with this UV-powered gadget

By Georgi Zarkov

Updated: Feb 04, 2019, 6:34 AM

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Kill the germs residing on your smartphone with this UV-powered gadget

We handle our phones all day long: after touching money, door handles, railings in public places and everything in between, making our handhelds one of the dirtiest devices we own. And while we regularly give them a wipe to remove those pesky fingerprints, a cloth does little more than to spread around the germs that are hitchhiking on our phones.

And while most of us don’t think too much about germs, some of our fellow humans are quite preoccupied with having everything they come in contact with as clean as possible. If you remember Monk, the popular TV-show detective, then you’re familiar with the type. Of course, the device we’ll take a look at today is not just for them, but that’s certainly the demographic that will be most excited about it. What are we talking about, exactly? An UV-light phone sanitizer. This type of gadget isn't very popular due to its niche functionality, but we decided to check out one of the options on the market and share our thoughts. Enter PhoneSoap 3!

Purging bacteria without harmful chemicals

The PhoneSoap’s function couldn’t be any simpler. And no, despite the name, the way it works isn’t by giving your phone a bath. Instead, it can be most accurately described as a tanning bed for your smartphone. However, instead of giving your phone a bronze tan, it sanitizes it. Inside the clean-looking shell, there are two UV-C lights and a place for your phone to rest. When you close the lid, the UV lights turn on and start killing the germs and bacteria that have accumulated on the surfaces of your phone. After 10 minutes, the lights turn off and your phone is nice and clean.

Cleaning in progress

Don’t expect to see any change, however, unless you have some Petri dishes laying around and want to culture samples from the phone. The mechanisms behind UV light sanitizing are well-known and used in many environments, so you can rest assured that the gadget did its job. According to the manufacturer, the device removes 99.99% of all bacteria, which is pretty much as good as it gets.

Are you ready to broadcast your obsession with germs?

The PhoneSoap 3 is big enough to fit pretty much every modern smartphone, but that also makes it quite a noticeable addition to your desk. If you’re using it at work, expect some questions from your coworkers about it. Overall, we like its design, the glowing lightning on top makes it a bit cooler than its purpose would suggest. The light also notifies you when the 10 minutes have passed, so you can take your phone out. We suggest washing your hands in the meantime to not immediately reintroduce germs on it.

The build quality is very solid with the hinge having no trouble carrying the weight of the lid. There are a couple of USB ports on it, including a USB Type-C, which you can use to charge your phone while it’s inside, but the power output is not comparable to that of your phone’s adaptor, especially if it supports fast-charging. Despite the fact that it looks like an over-sized power bank, the PhoneSoap doesn't have an on-board battery and only works when it's plugged in to a power outlet.

Obviously, you won’t be able to see any notifications while your phone is getting the UV treatment, but you’ll definitely hear it vibrating inside if there’s an incoming call, and sound can easily escape the box as well. And while the device is meant for smartphones, you can use it to sanitize whatever fits inside it. The lights turn off as soon as you open the lid more than half an inch, which is, of course, a safety feature, but also limits their use for other bulkier objects.

The PhoneSoap 3 is not exactly cheap, but if you’re the kind of person that has a bottle of Purell with you at all times, then maybe it will bring you the peace of mind that’s worth more than its cost. Alternatively, it could also be a nice gift for your germaphobe friends, since it does look kind of fancy and single-purpose gadgets like that can be considered a luxury.