Uber Chill Mini Fridge Review: The Work From Home Hydration Solution

Who Is The Uber Chill Mini Fridge For?

• The Uber Chill mini fridge is a great way to keep cold drinks within reach wherever you are
• The fridge is lightweight, and comes with a car plug for use on the go
• The Uber Chill mini fridge can also be used to warm up items like leftovers

If you have spent any time around Twitch lately, you'll know one of the latest trends is actually a healthy one: staying hydrated by drinking water. With many of us working from home, Uber Appliances has offered the Uber Chill mini fridge as a way to keep cold drinks within arm's reach. This lightweight fridge not only is a great way to keep water cold, it can even be used to heat up food as well.

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Keeps Things Cold

It seems obvious that the main purpose of a fridge is to keep things cold, but the Uber Chill mini fridge does so easily. The fridge is just large enough to hold six 12-ounce cans thanks to the included removable shelf. If you want to get something a little larger in there, the fridge can hold four bottles of water with the shelf removed.

Given that the Uber Chill is so light and kind of looks like a toy, I wasn't expecting too much. However, the fridge keeps beverages at the perfect temperature of being cold, but not too cold. There is no worry of accidentally freezing a drink in the fridge, nor is there concern that the drink will be warm.

I did notice there was a little bit of condensation that had built up after putting several cans of sparkling water into the Uber Chill. This condensation did not appear when I only had one can in the fridge. It's probably not a major long-term issue, but it is something to keep in mind.

Keeps Things Hot, Sort Of

In an interesting turn of events, the Uber Chill can also be used as a way to heat things up. There is a simple switch on the back of the fridge to go between cool and heat, with corresponding green and red LEDs. It's recommended that the Uber Chill be turned off for five minutes when going from one mode to the other.

This was designed to be an easy way to keep leftovers cool by your desk while working, then have a warm meal waiting for you when you are ready to eat. While it's a great idea in theory, in practice the Uber Chill doesn't do that great of a job at heating things up. I had some leftover pad thai in my main refrigerator that I put into the Uber Chill fridge (on heat mode) for roughly 45 minutes, and it came out at around room temperature. The Uber Chill certainly is no replacement for a microwave, which finished heating up the leftovers to a piping hot temperature in seconds.

While the Uber Chill is not going to replace any microwaves or toaster ovens any time soon, it is capable of keeping already warm things at a decent temperature. It's easy enough to stick a mug of coffee or tea into the Uber Chill in warm mode if you need to go to a meeting or something, then return to your still-warm drink.

Door Problems

From a physical standpoint, the Uber Chill mini fridge has some highs and lows. The fridge is incredibly lightweight, to the point where I was surprised the first time I picked it up. That's great for travelling, and also makes it easy to move the fridge around the home. Setting the fridge up takes seconds, as all that is needed to do is to plug the Uber Chill in and then flip the switch for either cool or heat.

What's nice is that the Uber Chill fridge itself doesn't seem to heat up, even when in heat mode. The exterior of the fridge does get a little warm when in heat mode, but it certainly isn't going to cause any burns or other issues.

The Uber Chill is also pretty quiet. There is a faint fan sound when in both cool and heat modes, and heat mode has a clicking sound that I assume is the heating unit turning on to keep the fridge up to temperature. These noises aren't that distracting, even with the fridge sitting directly next to my keyboard on my desk. If this were to be put elsewhere, the sounds likely would blend right into the background in terms of even a quiet apartment.

Low points include the fridge door. While it does close, it never felt like the door was very firmly closed. In fact, the door can sometimes be opened without touching the handle. The Uber Chill door also didn't close every time I tried to close it. Frequently, I had to close the door multiple times to get it to stick, or had to close the door and hold it in place to make sure it stayed closed. I have also found that slightly pushing down on the door once it is closed helps the door to click into a more secure closed position. It doesn't give me hope for long-term use, but it at least works for now.

Final Thoughts

The Uber Chill mini fridge is a great way to keep beverage cans cold. The fridge is lightweight, easy to use, quiet and does exactly what you want it to do. On top of that, the fridge can be used in the exact opposite way one would expect a fridge to work, and can be used to warm things up as well.

While the warming aspect of the Uber Chill doesn't really live up to the cool mode, the mini fridge is still a decent option for keeping things cold wherever you are. The fridge is small enough to sit on a desk or fit in a car, and comes with the proper cables to allow for car use if desired. At only $50, the Uber Chill can help keep people hydrated without breaking anyone's budget.