The marketing machine is firing up for KIWI design’s upcoming Enhanced Elite Strap with Battery. A few Twitter and Instagram posts shared by the VR accessory maker show a glimpse of what we can expect from the new highly anticipated head strap, which hopes to bring the same level of comfort as their great original head strap with the addition of a larger than most built-in battery.
Their Instagram post (above) shared a glimpse of the rear of the strap, which looks like it has taken many of what made their original Elite strap so great, with the two-tone coloured Elite style strap, the same front pivoting hinge and thick top padded strap, and the deep rear O-ring back.
A new addition we do see here is the four power indicator lights and a USB-C charging port that spans the middle of the rear portion of the strap. The rear part of the strap is also thicker to accommodate its large internal battery.
On Twitter KIWI design shared a full rear view of their new battery strap (above), which gives us a full view of what to expect from their upcoming strap. As expected from their image shared on Instagram, all the great features from their original strap remain – don’t change it if it ain’t broken, right?
The rear portion of the strap (where the dial sits) has been thickened to accommodate a 6400mAh battery, some 1400mAh more power than most other straps that come with a built-in battery, such as the 5000mAh batter in the Aubika Elite Strap. The BOBOVR M2 Pro, for example, features a slightly bigger 52000mAh proprietary swappable battery.
The top head pad looks similar, if not the same, as the previous version, however in this image it looks more solid, but I am sure to fit all head shapes it will be the same and it has just been shaped this way to make it look better. You do see the front flap folded back on the top front side of the top strap.
The charging cable that connects to the Quest 2 exits out the left side, as you would expect, with what looks like a short running cable that ends with a light coloured (or silver) elbow join USB-C connector that slots into the Quest 2 without obstructing the headphone jack. It’s nice to see a similar light coloured cable here to the obvious black one on the BOBOVR M2 Pro.
Along the side of the strap, it is hard not to notice the rather large cable management accessory that velcros around the side of the head strap. It looks like it has an upper spare cable slot that could be utilised for an additional Oculus Link cable. It looks quite chunky and a bit unnecessary, but when you think the head strap pivots at the front, you might need some decent cable management to cope with the cable strain as the whole head strap bends open and shut.
Finally, we have USB-C charging input port at the back to recharge the internal battery, as well as to add pass through charging to the Quest 2. There are four indicator lights, meaning 25% increments of the battery charging capacity without having to power on the Quest 2 and view it on the home screen.
One omission on this strap, from what I can see in these two images, is that there is no button to control the charging of the internal battery. This will mean that the Quest 2 is charging at all times when the cable from the head strap is connected. Hopefully, there is some decent level of battery management software on the strap to avoid overcharging and added stress on the Quest 2 internal battery.
My thoughts
If KIWI design matches the same level of comfort, I am sure this head strap will be a big hit amongst Quest 2 fans seeking comfort from their headset as well as added battery life. If priced well, and the added weight from the internal batteries isn’t as impactful or messes with the headset’s counterbalance, I am sure KIWI design will have no trouble selling this new head strap.
Look out for my full review of this new battery head strap from KIWI design, as soon as it arrives at OQPlay HQ. Be sure to follow and subscribe to my channel to be alerted as soon as the review goes live!
