These tiny USB-C thermal cameras bring professional heat vision to your phones

Infrared-based thermal imaging comes in extremely handy for finding any faults or abnormalities in machines as well as electrical or electronic systems. Numerous brands sell rugged phones with dedicated IR cameras that enable night vision, but don’t offer the desired accuracy. To achieve greater accuracy, you might need to purchase dedicated equipment, such as handheld thermal guns with IR imaging. That’s one more gadget to carry with you, and it may not always be economical. Some brands aim to address ergonomics with compact, lightweight IR cameras that attach via your phone’s USB port, and RISION is one of them.

RISION has announced two new infrared thermal camera modules in its Magic series that attach to your Android device, iPhone, iPad, or even a Windows laptop via USB-C. The new RISION Magic and Magic Pro weigh less than 25 grams and require minimal power, which they draw from your phone’s or laptop’s USB-C port, eliminating the need for a built-in battery.

RISION equips the Magic and Magic Pro with what it calls “QuadIR super resolution,” which upscales the infrared camera sensor’s output, doubling the resolution of the infrared images. On the Magic, the images are upscaled from 160×120 to 320×240 pixels, while the Magic Pro takes images from 256×192 to 512×384 pixels.

Meanwhile, another feature called “AI BiSpectrix fusion” lets the companion app pull images from your phone’s actual camera, making it easy to visualize temperature variations without dealing with the psychedelic and rainbow-y silhouettes of a thermal image. This is something many rival USB-based IR cameras from brands like Thermal Master lack, despite their higher price.

Apart from their differences in resolution, both models are largely alike in functionality and can be used to sense temperatures ranging between -20ºC and 600ºC (-4ºF to 1,112ºF). Both cameras also offer enhanced metering capabilities and can detect temperatures at five discrete points (across the canvas or within a specified area) at once. Both devices are also crafted with aerospace-grade metal alloy, making them suitable for challenging environments.

RISION’s companion app also offers better data management, with the option to report multiple measurements in a PDF format, so you don’t have to do it all manually. You can augment captured data with GPS coordinates or custom watermarks on the media. Along with that, you also get cloud sync support, so data is not restricted to a single device.

Pre-order now for a $20 discount and extended warranty

RISION has priced the Magic at $139, but you must pay $299 for the higher-resolution Magic Pro. The Magic is currently available for pre-order on RISION’s website and will ship on August 24. As part of the pre-order perks, you can get a $20 discount along with an additional year of warranty. The Magic Pro, on the other hand, goes on sale in September, and we’ll share more details once the brand makes them public.