{"id":"1794182302157-tech-segment","slug":"five-dollar-vision-pro-rival-is-cardboard","title":"Five-Dollar Vision Pro Rival Is Cardboard","summary":"TechEBlog reported on a DIY CardboardXR headset that uses an iPhone or Pixel and about $5 of lenses to create mixed reality; it was tested on iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.\n\nThe Anker 737 is a 24,000mAh power bank with 140W output and smart digital display, compatible with iPhone/Samsung/MacBook/Dell/AirPods/Vision Pro; TechRadar measured its 140W output. The Anker Prime is a separate 27,650mAh/250W model. The ₦190,000 price is the seller's listing and wasn't independently checked.\n\nElon Musk wrote the space shooter Blastar at age 12 and sold it for $500 in 1984; Apple does offer eye tracking on iOS 18 and Vision Pro, though the “well-suited” part is opinion. This is an engagement bait/hypothetical question, not a factual claim. This is a personal preference/headline, not a factual claim.","publishedAt":"2026-11-08T23:58:22.157Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Tech Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: TechEBlog reported on a DIY CardboardXR headset that uses an iPhone or Pixel and about $5 of lenses to create mixed reality; it was tested on iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.\nSource: [techeblog.com](https://www.techeblog.com/cardboardxr-apple-vison-pro-alternative-diy-homemade/) NAMES: $AAPL = Apple stock ticker; $GOOGL = Alphabet Class A st (https://x.com/techeblog/status/2118991465980502221)\n\nTRUE: The Anker 737 is a 24,000mAh power bank with 140W output and smart digital display, compatible with iPhone/Samsung/MacBook/Dell/AirPods/Vision Pro; TechRadar measured its 140W output. The Anker Prime is a separate 27,650mAh/250W model. The ₦190,000 price is the seller's listing and wasn't independently checked.\nSource: [techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/phones/phone-accessories/anker-737-power-bank-review); [amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Charger-Digi (https://x.com/samsino_/status/2117275857311973704)\n\nTRUE: Elon Musk wrote the space shooter Blastar at age 12 and sold it for $500 in 1984; Apple does offer eye tracking on iOS 18 and Vision Pro, though the “well-suited” part is opinion. This is an engagement bait/hypothetical question, not a factual claim. This is a personal preference/headline, not a factual claim.\nSource: [theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/09/elon-musk-blastar-video-game) NAMES: Elon Musk = CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; Blastar = his 198 (https://x.com/RDWareEsqu1re/status/2117206185967559088)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"TechEBlog reported on a DIY CardboardXR headset that uses an iPhone or Pixel and about $5 of lenses to create mixed reality; it was tested on iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.","sourceName":"[techeblog.com](https://www.techeblog.com/cardboardxr-apple-vison-pro-alternative-diy-homemade/) NAMES: $AAPL = Apple stock ticker; $GOOGL = Alphabet Class A st","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/techeblog/status/2118991465980502221","claim":"Here's a super budget-friendly alternative to the Apple Vision Pro that uses an #iPhone or #Google Pixel phone. #technews $AAPL $GOOGL https://t.co/zvBXY96XdE","author":"@techeblog"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The Anker 737 is a 24,000mAh power bank with 140W output and smart digital display, compatible with iPhone/Samsung/MacBook/Dell/AirPods/Vision Pro; TechRadar measured its 140W output. The Anker Prime is a separate 27,650mAh/250W model. The ₦190,000 price is the seller's listing and wasn't independently checked.","sourceName":"[techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/phones/phone-accessories/anker-737-power-bank-review); [amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Charger-Digi","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/samsino_/status/2117275857311973704","claim":"Anker 737 Power Bank - 24,000mAh with 140W Output ⚡ Smart Digital Display screen 🤖 Compatible with android & iPhone, Vision Pro, Samsung, MacBook, Dell, AirPods, and more. 🔖₦190,000 Anker Prime Power Bank ⚡ 27,650mAh capacity with 250W max output. - Smart App Control - http","author":"Samson, Tech & Gadgets🔌 (@samsino_)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Elon Musk wrote the space shooter Blastar at age 12 and sold it for $500 in 1984; Apple does offer eye tracking on iOS 18 and Vision Pro, though the “well-suited” part is opinion. This is an engagement bait/hypothetical question, not a factual claim. This is a personal preference/headline, not a factual claim.","sourceName":"[theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/09/elon-musk-blastar-video-game) NAMES: Elon Musk = CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; Blastar = his 198","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/RDWareEsqu1re/status/2117206185967559088","claim":"Yes — absolutely. Apple’s eye tracking (especially on iPhone/iPad via iOS 18+ Accessibility, and more powerfully on Vision Pro) is well-suited to a modern, hands-free or gaze-aimed version of Blastar (Elon Musk’s 1984 space shooter he wrote at age 12 and sold for $500).0 What htt","author":"Roger Douglas Ware (@RDWareEsqu1re)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/techeblog/status/2118991465980502221","name":"[techeblog.com](https://www.techeblog.com/cardboardxr-apple-vison-pro-alternative-diy-homemade/) NAMES: $AAPL = Apple stock ticker; $GOOGL = Alphabet Class A st","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"@techeblog"},{"url":"https://x.com/samsino_/status/2117275857311973704","name":"[techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/phones/phone-accessories/anker-737-power-bank-review); [amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Charger-Digi","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Samson, Tech & Gadgets🔌 (@samsino_)"},{"url":"https://x.com/RDWareEsqu1re/status/2117206185967559088","name":"[theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/09/elon-musk-blastar-video-game) NAMES: Elon Musk = CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; Blastar = his 198","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Roger Douglas Ware (@RDWareEsqu1re)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794182302157-tech-segment-five-dollar-vision-pro-rival-is-cardboard","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794182302157-tech-segment-five-dollar-vision-pro-rival-is-cardboard","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1794182302157-tech-segment-five-dollar-vision-pro-rival-is-cardboard and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Matilda","text":"Five dollars of lenses and a cardboard box, and suddenly it's a cut-rate Vision Pro."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I love when a hobby craft becomes a tech headline."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"TechEBlog posted the piece on X. The DIY headset is called CardboardXR."},{"host":"Chris","text":"You put an iPhone 15 Pro or a Pixel 9 Pro in front of your face, add small lenses, and it does passthrough mixed reality."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"For about five bucks in lenses, versus Apple's thirty-five-hundred-dollar headset."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the part I like. This is how VR first reached millions—Google Cardboard was the same idea."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Google Cardboard was also a roller-coaster ride and motion sickness for a lot of people."},{"host":"Chris","text":"True, but it gave people their first taste of VR for the price of a pizza."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"TechEBlog says CardboardXR was tested on those same phones. The phone's camera handles head tracking and the lenses create the stereoscopic effect."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's genuinely clever. It takes the one expensive piece—the display—and uses what's already in your pocket."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"But phones aren't designed for this. The weight balance is off, battery drains, and it heats up."},{"host":"Chris","text":"For five dollars, you accept trade-offs."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I accept that. But it's not an alternative to the Vision Pro. It's a phone holder with lenses."},{"host":"Chris","text":"No, no— it does eye and head tracking through the phone's camera. That's real."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"It's a clever hack. But the Vision Pro has hand tracking, spatial apps, high-resolution displays. A Pixel in a box won't replace that."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Who said replace? It's for someone curious about mixed reality who doesn't want to spend a mortgage payment."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And my problem is the word \"alternative.\" It oversells a very clever toy."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Demos matter. If someone tries a five-dollar demo and hates it, they saved themselves a fortune. If they love it, they upgrade."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Fine. Five dollars is the right price to find out if mixed reality makes you sick."},{"host":"Chris","text":"The world's cheapest barf test. There's your headline."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Different corner of tech: someone on X wants to bring back Elon Musk's 1984 space shooter with Apple's eye tracking."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Roger Douglas Ware posted the idea. The verified part: Musk wrote Blastar at age twelve and sold it for five hundred dollars."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The eye-tracking part is opinion, but it's not absurd. Apple already uses gaze tracking on the iPhone and Vision Pro."},{"host":"Chris","text":"For accessibility menus, sure. But a fast space shooter from 1984? Eye tracking would make it slower."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"That's not the point. For someone who can't use a keyboard or joystick, eye tracking is the whole game."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Okay, as an accessibility adaptation, maybe. But the post specifically says \"modern, hands-free or gaze-aimed version.\" That's a gimmick."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"You're ignoring the Musk origin story. Before Tesla, before SpaceX, there was a kid who wrote a game and sold it."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I know the story. I just don't think eye tracking turns a 1984 arcade relic into a must-play."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Not must-play for you. For a kid with limited mobility, it could be the first game they can actually aim."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Alright, that's a fair reason to build it. As mainstream gaming, I'm out."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I'd play one round, then go back to a controller."},{"host":"Chris","text":"The five-dollar barf test, now with extra eye strain."}]}