With headsets like the Quest 2, Pico 4, and Quest Pro only offering 2-3 hours of usage on a battery charge, it’s highly likely that you’ll want to find a solution to extend your game time. There are a lot of options available, but I’ve recently been testing the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank. This is one of the most unique solutions that I have tried, and this article will cover my experience of using it, sharing the pros and cons, to help you decide if it is a good option for you.
Overall Impression – The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank is a great option for extending the battery life of your VR headset. It extends the battery life of my Quest 2 and Pico 4 by about 3.5-4 hours and is very comfortable to use. It offers great value and excellent performance and has become the power bank solution that I use most often.
Specifications
- Capacity: 8000mAh (29.6Wh). For comparison, Quest 2 has a 3640mAh battery and Pico 4 has a 5300mAH battery.
- Charging: Can be fully recharged in 4-4.5 hours
- Performance: Maintains the battery life of Quest 2 and Pico 4 at more than 85%, and extends the playtime by 3.5 to 4 hours.
- Universal Charging: Compatible with all Quest devices and other all-in-one VR headsets such as the Pico 4. It can also be used to charge other electronic devices such as phones and tablets.
- Connectivity: Single USB-C port. The included USB-C cable is angled at both ends to keep the cable clear of arm and head movements during play.
- Weight: 313g
- Output: DC 5.0V / 3A
- Input: DC 5.0V / 3A
- Safety Features: The battery pack has overcurrent/overvoltage protection, overcharging/overloading protection, and short-circuit protection, ensuring a safe charging experience.
What’s In The Box
The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank comes with the power bank, a USB-C cable to connect the power bank to your VR headset, and an instruction manual. One end of the USB-C cable has a 90-degree connector, which is generally the preferred format for attaching to the Quest 2 and Pico 4 to keep the cable secure and out of the way when using your headset.
The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank is available from the AMVR store and also from Amazon.
Design And Features
The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank consists of two rounded, rectangular battery packs connected by a flexible cable that allows you to hang it around your neck. One of the battery packs has a USB-C input to allow you to connect it to any compatible device, and also recharge the battery pack.
There is one button on the battery pack that allows you to see the level of charge via four LED lights. There is a magnetic toggle at the bottom of each battery pack that allows you to secure it in place when you are wearing it.
The battery packs are covered with a mix of smooth matt and gloss plastic and the connecting cable has a silicone coating and is flexible, but has a degree of stiffness, meaning you can bend it into whatever shape you want. The whole product feels sturdy and well-built.
When I initially heard about the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank, I was keen to try it as it has a unique form factor that aims to extend the battery life of VR headsets without adding weight to your head. My biggest concern was that the cable that connects it to your headset might get in the way, but thankfully, this is not the case at all.
The cable is the perfect length to reach the charging port of your headset while having enough slack for you to turn your head, without the cable getting in the way. From the first time I used the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank, I almost instantly forgot I was wearing it.
The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank is very comfortable to wear and is perfectly balanced to ensure it stays in place. The connecting cable can be molded to fit your neck, as it is flexible, but partially maintains its shape when manipulated. There are small wires with powerful magnets at each end of the power bank that can be connected to keep it securely in place around your neck.
The USB-C input is located at the top of one of the power banks, angled outwards at 45 degrees. This makes it easy to attach the included USB-C cable, and the angle directs the cable away from your body.
All you need to do is connect the other end of the USB-C cable to your VR headset and it will maintain your headset at close to 100% charge while you play. Once the Neck Hanging Power Bank has drained fully, your headset’s battery will start to drain.
The button on the power bank gives an easy-to-understand indication of the charge remaining via four LED lights and also indicates progress when you are charging the power bank.
Performance Of The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank
I’ve used the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank with the Pico 4 and the Quest 2 and have had a chance to test it extensively. I’ve put in some marathon sessions in VR to test it to its limit. The good news is that it was remarkably comfortable to use and kept my VR headset close to 100% charged until the power bank was out of charge.
AMVR state that it takes approximately 4.5 hours to charge the battery pack from 0-100% and it will provide approximately 3.5-4 hours of additional usage for Quest 2. I have found these figures to be very close to what I achieved in real-world use. The battery duration does depend on the power draw of your headset, and graphically intense games will drain the battery faster than less power-hungry activities.
Plugging the power bank directly into the Quest 2, I have managed to achieve over 6 hours of total battery life, and when using it alongside the Elite Strap with battery, I was able to boost the battery life of my Quest 2 to almost 8 hours!
The Pico 4 is much more power-hungry than the Quest 2, so although it has a higher capacity built-in battery, I was getting closer to 5 hours of battery life in total with the help of the AMVR battery pack.
I have been pleased with the ability of this power bank to keep my Quest 2 nearly fully charged during use. Some other power banks do not charge the Quest 2 quickly enough to maintain charge during very demanding games, but my Quest 2 generally stayed at or close to 100% during use, and the lowest battery level I noticed was 87% until the power bank was drained.
I have also been pleased to note that the power bank is completely silent in use. Some external power banks can emit a faint, high-pitched noise while in use, but I have not detected any noise from the AMVR power bank.
AMVR highlights that the power bank can become warm during use, but despite me using it extensively and for hours at a time, I only noticed it feeling very slightly warm at times, but never hot. I could not detect any warmth from it when wearing a T-shirt while using it.
Comfort
I tested the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank on a range of games, including ones that require a lot of head movement, to see whether the USB-C cable would start to get annoying, or if the power bank would move out of position as I played. Thankfully, I had no issues at all, and the power bank remained comfortable throughout, even during multi-hour sessions.
I have tried a lot of different battery expansion solutions for Quest 2 and Pico 4, and they all have pros and cons. I have used the Elite strap with Battery for a long time, and this is a great option. However, I am still left wanting more battery life, so I have been delighted to be able to use the AMVR power bank alongside this, to extend the battery life to almost a full working day!
All batteries add weight, so by opting for a higher-capacity power bank, you usually have to compromise by having more weight on your head. The AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank gets around this problem by having the weight balanced around your neck, meaning you won’t feel any strain of carrying excess weight on your head.
This is a really comfortable product to use thanks to the thoughtful design of both the power bank, but also the USB-C connectors and cable, which prevent the cable from getting in the way when you move your head.
What I Like
I love the large capacity of this power bank, which lets me almost triple the battery life of my Quest 2. I am also super impressed with how comfortable it is to use. I had previously felt that head-mounted battery packs, positioned at the back of your head to act as a counterweight were the best option for providing additional battery life for VR headsets. However, if your headset is already fairly well-balanced, this is definitely the best solution I have used.
For example, the Pico 4 already has the battery mounted in the head strap at the rear of the headset, and other head-mounted power banks I have tried impact the weight distribution and comfort when wearing the headset for a long time.
With both the Quest 2 and Pico 4, I could barely feel that I was wearing the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank, and even when I did some marathon sessions of Eleven Table Tennis, Golf+, and Beat Saber, I still felt very comfortable at the end.
I also like that this power bank is very reasonably priced and represents good value for money. If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to significantly extend the battery life of your VR headset, this is a really good option.
What Needs To Be Improved
Whilst I have been generally very impressed with the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank, there are a few things that could be improved. Firstly, the choice of materials and build quality make it feel sturdy, rather than premium. I would like to see this improved so that it fits in better with the build quality and materials of headsets such as Quest 2, Quest Pro, and Pico 4.
On a similar note, the plastic casing of each section of the power bank is a fingerprint magnet, and I do find myself having to give it a quick polish to keep it looking good.
Conclusion
Overall, I can definitely recommend the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank. I wasn’t expecting to like this product nearly as much as I have, so I have been pleasantly surprised. This has now become my favorite power bank for use with my Pico 4, and I am using it with my Quest 2 whenever I need more battery life than the Elite strap with battery can provide.
You can purchase the AMVR Neck Hanging Power Bank from Amazon and also directly from the AMVR store.