Solar panel umbrella and a portable fridge with 4-day battery unveiled

Among the many new innovative gadgets launched at the 2025 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025) are solar-powered gadgets that could appeal greatly to people in sunny South Africa.

Chinese electronics manufacturer Anker — perhaps most well-known for its energy products — announced two new products at the event and showcased the concept for a third highly unusual item.

The first confirmed product is a large umbrella with integrated perovskite solar cells called the Solix Solar Beach Umbrella.

Anker said the umbrella’s perovskite cells boasted up to 30% better performance than commonly-used crystalline silicon solar cells in bright light and twice the efficiency in low light.

In theory, perovskite cells are capable of solar conversion efficiencies of 43%, compared with the typical 24% maximum efficiency of the latest silicon-based solar cells.

The Solix Solar Beach Umbrella can generate up to 80W of power through a USB-C connection, enough to charge multiple smartphones or run a small fan.

The umbrella also has an XT-60 connector for powering other devices with up to 100W output, including Anker’s second-generation EverFrost portable refrigerator, also unveiled at CES 2025.

This product may well prove popular in South Africa, which has a healthy cohort of campers that may often find themselves at sites without a power source.

The latest Anker cooler features 288Wh batteries that can power the device for up to four days without an additional power source.

The Solix EverFrost 2 comes in three sizes — 23 litres, 40 litres, and 58 litres — and can maintain temperatures from -20°C to 20°C.

The biggest unit has two separate compartments for cooling and freezing.

Aside from solar power, the batteries can be recharged using AC or USB-C and can also be used as a power bank through a 60W USB-C and 12W USB-A port.

Anker also showcased a solar-powered cloak that it called the “world’s first wearable solar panel.”

Solar-powered watchmakers like Garmin and Anker rival Ecoflow — which has made a solar panel-fitted hat — might disagree on that point.

The futuristic-looking clothing item also uses perovskite solar cells and can provide up to 30W output through USB-C input.

However, it is still only a concept item, and there are no plans to bring it into production.

The prices of both the umbrella and the new portable refrigerator have yet to be confirmed.

The EverFrost 2 will go on sale in the US in March, but a release date for other markets remains to be confirmed.

The Solix Solar Beach Umbrella is slated to launch first in the US around mid-2025, with no information yet on availability in other countries.

The company does offer many of its Solix power stations in South Africa, where backup power products are generally in high demand due to unexpected power outages.

The first-generation EverFrost was listed with several local retailers — including First Shop.

At the time of publication, it was priced at R12,699 but was out of stock.

It offers up to two days of running time on its single 299Wh battery pack while set to a temperature of 4°C.