This charging dock is loaded with so many bells and whistles that it feels like it's trying to run before it can walk.
The Oculus Quest 2 is an almost perfect VR headset. In fact, its biggest flaw is its short battery life. Ask any Quest 2 owner about how much time their headset spends charging and you're sure to get an earful. Naturally, a few accessory manufacturers like NexiGo have started to make products to help alleviate the problem. Unfortunately, its would-be elegant solution just barely goes above and beyond just plugging the headset into the wall.
NexiGo's Upgraded Charging Dock checks some of the boxes it promises to, but trips over itself to do so. As a relatively new Quest 2 owner who only has the basic necessities, I hoped the charging stand would fit in well with my Oculus Quest 2 accessories and charge up my headset. Unfortunately, it not only failed to deliver on everything it promised, but it actively worked against some of the more basic first-party accessories.
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock
Bottom line: NexiGo's latest VR charging dock might look nice, but it works actively against aspects of the Quest 2 and, frankly, is more trouble than its worth.
The Good
- Comes with USB Type-C cables
- The rechargeable controller covers are low profile
- Stylish way to display your headset
The Bad
- The controller charging lights don't work
- Magnetic USB-C port doesn't come out of the Quest 2 easily
- Doesn't work with the head strap with battery
- Pricey
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock: Price and availability
NexiGo's latest Quest 2 charging dock released back in September at $80 MSRP. You can find it on Amazon as well as NexiGo's website, only in its white color variant. Since the charging dock is pretty new, it's probably going to stick at that $80 price point for a while, unless it gets discounted for Black Friday.
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock: What you'll like
The Upgraded Charging Dock comes with just about every accessory you'd need to help charge your Quest 2 and controllers, making it a great one-size-fits-all solution. The full package comes with two rechargeable AA batteries, a battery cover for each controller, the charging stand, an AC to USB Type C cable and a USB to USB Type C cable. Notably, the USB Type C adapter at the end of the cable is magnetically attached.
The catch, however is that they're only rechargeable using the stand's controller chargers to the left and right of the headset dock. When the chargers work, they take between 2-4 hours to fully charge the rechargeable batteries. You'll notice that it takes about an hour longer to charge with the dock than just plugging your Quest 2 into the wall with the AC adapter it came with. However, it also ships with a lengthy USB Type C to AC adapter, so even if you don't want to plug in the stand, you can at least use it to display your Quest 2 and charge it the old-fashioned way.
The dock's charging cable comes with a small magnetic stud attached to the end that stays plugged into your headset, so you don't have to about actually plugging in the headset to charge it. Instead, just line up the cord's magnetic part with the stud in the Quest 2's charging port and let it rest.
The best thing about the Upgraded Charging Dock, however, is its form factor. It's just over a foot long and only about two inches wide, so it fits on your desk, coffee table, or TV console without taking up much space. Clocking in at just under a foot tall with the headset on it, it might be too tall to fit on some smaller shelves but it displays the headset prominently.
Not only does it match the Quest 2's minimalist design, but its charging lights and elevated platform display the headset really well. In fact, thanks to its bright charging status light and otherwise tame design, it's the best-looking charging dock on the market. It's not too big either, making it a great choice for anyone with an ever-growing library of gaming hardware but finite space.
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock: What you won't like
If the best thing I can say about the NexiGo charging dock is that it does the bare minimum, then there might be a problem — certainly not for its asking price of $80 and not when there are half a dozen other charging docks out there for the same price (or less!) that eat its lunch. Not only do some of its components not work, but the parts that do work aren't worth the cost or the trouble.
NexiGo advertises the charging dock as an alternative to plugging your Quest 2 into the wall that takes only an hour longer to charge. It also has those rechargeable batteries that take about 2.5 hours to charge,and charging lights to let you know when your devices are done charging. Only some of its charging capabilities work just fine and the charging lights for the controllers didn't work at all or flickered on and off regularly.
The dock comes with two cords: one to plug it into the wall and the other to plug the dock into the headset. The plug that goes into the wall is a standard AC to USB Type C adapter, but the USB to USB Type C cord is unnecessarily complicated. We previously mentinoed that the part that plugs into the headset is a small stud. You can easily unplug the headset, but the stud stays in. Tried as I might, I couldn't get the stud out with my bare hands. I was admittedly afraid bringing a knife to my Quest 2, but if I ever wanted to play Star Wars Squadrons in VR or Half-Life Alyx again via Steam VR, I had no other choice. I pried it out, but I can't imagine doing that over and over again each time I wanted to play Steam VR or just leave my house with my Quest 2.
This moment felt emblematic of my experience with the accessory as a whole. Every component here does its job in the same way an uncomfortable office chair or dull kitchen knife do their job. The lights that are supposed to indicate that a controller's charging didn't light up, the batteries in each controller charges at a different speed (one at the promised 2.5 hours and the other at about four hours), you can't charge it with the head strap with battery because it doesn't fit, and of course, the magnetic stud alone made this device unnecessarily complicated for anyone who wants to play Steam VR.
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock: Competition
A brief search on Amazon brings up a number of alternatives to NexiGo's offering, many for a fraction of the cost. But if you're willing to shell out the $80 to get the charging stand, rechargeable batteries, cords, and stylish form-factor, Anker's offering is unbeatable. It's our go-to charging dock at Android Central.
Anker's Charging Dock for Quest 2 is, in many ways, the better version of NexiGo's. It has a lower profile, nearly all the same bells and whistles, and far fewer problems. While it doesn't put the Quest 2 on display in quite the same way, it does provide a solid alternative to the NexiGo charging dock. If you're in the market for something cheaper, a number of options are available, including the same dock but with fewer extras.
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if ...
- You're willing to spend $80 on a charging dock
- You're tired of replacing and throwing away batteries
- You want a stylish way to store, charge, and display your Quest 2
You shouldn't buy this if...
- You're looking for something cheaper
- You're happy with plugging your headset into the wall
- You want a clearer indication about your Quest 2's charge
NexiGo's charging dock does the bare minimum. If you're in the market for a charging stand or dock for your quest 2, there are a number of better, cheaper options, or some at the same price that work completely. It's a bad sign when something designed for convenience and ease-of-use becomes a chore to use and own.
I don't know what exactly the NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock is improving on, but I'd recommend holding off on this one for the time being and waiting for an upgraded Upgraded Charging Dock. If you're in the market for a charging dock or stand for the Quest 2 now, however, we recommend Anker's offering. It's not that NexiGo's dock doesn't work, but a number of the extra frills that are supposed to set it apart don't all work, making its $80 price point seem like overkill.
NexiGo Upgraded Charging Dock
Bottom line: NexiGo's Upgraded Charging Dock didn't improve my experience as a Quest 2 owner. When my battery started to run low after a few hours of Resident Evil 4 VR, I was happy to set it down on the charging dock. Picking it up was the problem.
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