Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 review: Keep it safe, keep it charged

The Oculus Quest 2 is one of the finest — if not the finest — ways to experience VR. Part of what makes it so great is the fact that you don't need to wire it up to a PC or console to play. This gives you true wireless freedom, but that freedom doesn't come without restrictions. Battery life is a huge concern for gamers who like to play for more than 2 hours at a time, but the Anker Charging Dock for Quest 2 is designed to solve that problem by giving you an easy way to keep your Quest 2 and its controllers charged at all time.

Anker's solution is elegant in a way that most charging solutions are not. Packed inside is a special set of batteries and covers for each controller, each of which has Pogo pins on the outside for a dock-and-charge solution. The headset seemingly doesn't have such an easy solution, but the geniuses at Anker figured it out, regardless. A tiny metallic adapter fits right into the USB-C port on the side of the Quest 2 and clicks right into the magnetic connector on the Anker Charging Dock, making it a drop-and-lift solution for charging.

Our Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 review will show you why, if you're sick of dealing with dead batteries because you forgot to plug your Quest 2 in, this is the solution for you.

Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2: Price and availability

Anker announced and released the Anker Chaging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 at the tail end of 2020, but the unit was a bit hard to come by for the first two months of 2021. Now, you can readily find the Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 for $99.99 at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, as well as straight from the Anker or Oculus websites.

As an officially-licensed product recommended by Facebook for the Oculus Quest 2, Anker's dock is linked right from the official accessories page for the Quest 2. Anker is also currently in the position of supplying the only charging dock available for the Oculus Quest 2.

The Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 is currently only available in white. Thankfully, that white matches the exact hue that the Oculus Quest 2 uses, making it a perfect match.

The real deal

Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2: Like it was meant to be

One of the most puzzling parts of the Oculus Quest 2's design is the fact that AA batteries power the controllers. In 2021, it's far less common to find products using AA batteries over built-in rechargeable battery packs, but this is something Oculus has been doing for years. While one could argue that AA batteries are best for quick swap-outs when you forget to charge, this doesn't really apply to the Quest 2. Why is that? Because the Quest 2's controllers will last most people 3-4 months on a single charge, which negates any positives this strategy would create.

That makes the Quest 2 — particularly the controllers — the perfect example of a product that would benefit from a single rechargeable built-in battery pack. The Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2 comes with what appears to be a funny-looking AA battery to stick in each controller, but these batteries differ from a standard rechargeable in one big physical way; they sport metal plates on the sides that connect to the battery door's metal charging Pogo pins.

Other than the small Pogo pins themselves, you'd never know there was anything different about the Quest 2 controllers when you've got Anker's rechargeable solution installed. There's no difference in weight when compared to using normal AA batteries or the standard cover, no added bulk of any kind, and everything is 100% compatible with accessories of all kinds for the Quest 2. That's great if you've got grips or a gunstock that you like to use since you can just pop the controllers out and drop them on the dock to charge.

Anker's rechargeable battery definitely has a reduced capacity compared to a normal AA battery, as I found my controllers dropping under 80% after just a few days' use. While that might be a concern if you had to swap them out regularly, the packs are just designed to be dropped in the charger after every use, giving you a fully topped-up experience every time.

While it's not typically good to leave rechargeable batteries on a charger at full capacity for a long time — overcharging can significantly reduce the lifetime of the battery and cause other safety-related issues — overload, overcharge, and overcurrent protection is built into the Anker Charging Dock. While that's important enough for the controller batteries, it's even more important for the main headset battery since you can't remove it.

The headset charges via a magnetic connector which connects itself automatically when dropping the Quest 2 into the dock, afforded by an ingenious little metal connector that fits inside the USB Type-C port on the Quest 2. This little metal disc is barely larger than the USB Type-C port itself and adds no bulk to the headset — something you definitely don't want when playing something like Beat Saber or another highly-active game where you might clip the side of the headset.

Aesthetically, the dock itself is ideal. It's perfectly sized to charge the headset and both controllers at the same without being too bulky. It even fits in the entertainment unit under my TV, which was important to me since I prefer to keep all of my consoles and other electronics inside and hidden away when not in use. It's also nice and heavy and has a solid rubber pad on the underside, keeping it held in place when pulling the headset away from the magnetic connector. Each spot has an LED underneath it that indicates charging status; amber for charging, green for finished.

Some accessories won't apply

Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2: Basically nothing to improve

Any faults I found with Anker's Quest 2 dock have little to do with the product itself and really look more like a wishlist than anything. Some accessories, like the best VR Cover accessories for Oculus Quest 2, tend to cover the outside of the Quest 2 headset or the controllers. That makes it difficult — or impossible — to quickly drop the controllers onto the dock for charging.

Instead, if you've got a grip cover or something similar on your controllers, you'll need to remove it in order to charge the controllers. If you've got these types of accessories, the good thing is that the Anker battery still lasts several weeks on a single charge, meaning you won't have to go through this minor inconvenience to charge your controllers very often. I'm not sure how Anker could get around this situation since it has nothing to do with the Quest 2 itself. Still, it would be awesome if the next iteration could charge the controllers wirelessly.

I'd also love to see the charging speed of the headset ramp up but, this too is hampered by limitations outside of Anker's control. While the Quest 2 supports fast charging, it still takes two and a half hours to get the Quest 2's battery from 0% to 100%. That's a long time to wait if you were just looking for a quick 30-minute gaming session or workout before heading out the door. Again, not much Anker can do here, but it would be cool to see extra-fast charging in a future product.

Not much competition

Anker makes the only real charging dock solution on the market, but there are other similar ideas that you can cobble together yourself. The best rechargeable batteries for Quest 2 will make it easy to charge up batteries and swap them out at will. Still, they are, ultimately, less convenient than a built-in pack that sits on a dock.

If you're looking for a way to improve the battery life of your Oculus Quest 2 and have longer gaming sessions (or movie marathons with friends), the best Quest 2 battery packs will hook up to your headset and keep it charged while you're playing. Oculus even sells an Elite Strap with a battery built-in that'll double your battery life while changing out that headset for one that's more comfortable.

Anker Charging Dock for Oculus Quest 2: You absolutely should buy it

You should buy this if ...

You're tired of dead batteries

You won't forget to charge your Quest 2 anymore since it'll be charged any time it's stored on the dock. While the controller batteries last a very long time, charging them every so often is even more hassle-free than before.

You don't want to deal with swapping out rechargeable AAs

While rechargeable AA batteries are much better for the environment than disposable ones, it still doesn't resolve the inconvenience of making sure replacement batteries are charged when you need to swap them out. Just as with the headset, you won't have to worry about this since the controllers will charge as you store them on the dock.

You need a better way to store your Quest 2

I love having a specific place to put my Quest 2 and controllers. It not only looks great thanks to Anker's aesthetically-pleasing design and keeps it physically safe from damage by being nicely placed in the dock, but Anker's intelligent circuitry protects your Quest 2 from electronic charging-related damage, as well.

You should not buy this if ...

You enjoy sadness

If you enjoy the feeling of picking up your Oculus Quest 2 to play, only to find out that the battery is dead, then you definitely shouldn't buy the Anker Charging Dock.

If you own a Quest 2, there's really no reason not to get this dock. It's the perfect storage solution that not only keeps the Quest 2 and its controllers physically safe and stored away, but it also keeps them charged while looking good. Anker's solution doesn't break compatibility with any accessories, and the headset charging plug won't get in the way while attached.

5 out of 5

It's not often that a product is so ideal, but Anker's solution is perfectly elegant, incredibly well-designed, and functions exactly as I would expect. It's priced in a way that makes sense, especially since this will replace the need to ever buy batteries for your Quest 2, and the quality construction feels like it'll probably outlast even the Quest 2 itself.