{"id":"1794271251854-tech-segment","slug":"five-dollar-phone-holder-mimics-vision-pro","title":"Five-Dollar Phone Holder Mimics Vision Pro","summary":"A maker built a roughly $5 3D-printed phone-holder headset that uses an iPhone — with Android/Pixel support via ARCore — and software to recreate many Apple Vision Pro-style functions. It is much cheaper, but it is not a full Vision Pro hardware equivalent.\n\nThe Anker 737 is indeed a 24,000 mAh power bank with 140W output, a smart display, and compatibility with iPhones, MacBooks, Vision Pro, and other devices. The ₦190,000 price is a local vendor listing, not an official manufacturer price. This is an engagement-bait “which one would you pick?” post, not a specific factual claim or verifiable giveaway. This is a local rental/classified ad for concert phone rentals; the listed tour/date detail is not presented as a factual news claim. This is a reaction post with hashtags; it contains no factual assertion to verify. Joke/meme post; no factual claim. The text is a vague tease, likely tied to an image or link not provided; there is no verifiable factual claim in the text.","publishedAt":"2026-11-10T00:40:51.854Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Tech Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: A maker built a roughly $5 3D-printed phone-holder headset that uses an iPhone — with Android/Pixel support via ARCore — and software to recreate many Apple Vision Pro-style functions. It is much cheaper, but it is not a full Vision Pro hardware equivalent.\nSource: [hackster.io](https://www.hackster.io/news/can-5-get-you-an-apple-vision-pro-alternative-714788223cde) NAMES: $AAPL = Apple Inc. stock ticker; $GOOGL = Alphabet (https://x.com/techeblog/status/2118991465980502221)\n\nTRUE: The Anker 737 is indeed a 24,000 mAh power bank with 140W output, a smart display, and compatibility with iPhones, MacBooks, Vision Pro, and other devices. The ₦190,000 price is a local vendor listing, not an official manufacturer price. This is an engagement-bait “which one would you pick?” post, not a specific factual claim or verifiable giveaway. This is a local rental/classified ad for concert phone rentals; the listed tour/date detail is not presented as a factual news claim. This is a reaction post with hashtags; it contains no factual assertion to verify. Joke/meme post; no factual claim. The text is a vague tease, likely tied to an image or link not provided; there is no verifiable factual claim in the text.\nSource: [techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/phones/phone-accessories/anker-737-power-bank-review) and [amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Charger-D (https://x.com/samsino_/status/2119773142583296395)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"A maker built a roughly $5 3D-printed phone-holder headset that uses an iPhone — with Android/Pixel support via ARCore — and software to recreate many Apple Vision Pro-style functions. It is much cheaper, but it is not a full Vision Pro hardware equivalent.","sourceName":"[hackster.io](https://www.hackster.io/news/can-5-get-you-an-apple-vision-pro-alternative-714788223cde) NAMES: $AAPL = Apple Inc. stock ticker; $GOOGL = Alphabet","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 indeed a 24,000 mAh power bank with 140W output, a smart display, and compatibility with iPhones, MacBooks, Vision Pro, and other devices. The ₦190,000 price is a local vendor listing, not an official manufacturer price. This is an engagement-bait “which one would you pick?” post, not a specific factual claim or verifiable giveaway. This is a local rental/classified ad for concert phone rentals; the listed tour/date detail is not presented as a factual news claim. This is a reaction post with hashtags; it contains no factual assertion to verify. Joke/meme post; no factual claim. The text is a vague tease, likely tied to an image or link not provided; there is no verifiable factual claim in the text.","sourceName":"[techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/phones/phone-accessories/anker-737-power-bank-review) and [amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Charger-D","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/samsino_/status/2119773142583296395","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_)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/techeblog/status/2118991465980502221","name":"[hackster.io](https://www.hackster.io/news/can-5-get-you-an-apple-vision-pro-alternative-714788223cde) NAMES: $AAPL = Apple Inc. stock ticker; $GOOGL = Alphabet","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"@techeblog"},{"url":"https://x.com/samsino_/status/2119773142583296395","name":"[techradar.com](https://www.techradar.com/phones/phone-accessories/anker-737-power-bank-review) and [amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Charger-D","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Samson, Tech & Gadgets🔌 (@samsino_)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794271251854-tech-segment-five-dollar-phone-holder-mimics-vision-pro","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794271251854-tech-segment-five-dollar-phone-holder-mimics-vision-pro","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1794271251854-tech-segment-five-dollar-phone-holder-mimics-vision-pro and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Chris","text":"Someone built a five-dollar Vision Pro alternative from a phone and a three-D-printed bracket."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"So a phone strapped to your face. That's it?"},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the elegant part. Techeblog posted it on X."},{"host":"Chris","text":"You print a holder, slide in an iPhone or a Pixel, and run some software."},{"host":"Chris","text":"The phone's camera and screen do the work."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"So a fancy View-Master."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Maybe, but Apple charges thirty-five hundred dollars for its version."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And this one has no eye tracking, no custom displays, no spatial chip."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I looked it up, though. The maker is real, the five-dollar parts are real."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"It does recreate many of Apple's software-style features. As a demo, it works."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's what I mean. It's a toy, but it's a working toy."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"A toy people will use twice and then leave in a drawer."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Google Cardboard already did that a decade ago."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Exactly. And Cardboard didn't create a market."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Because phones back then couldn't do mixed reality. Now they can."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"They still overheat, they still drain the battery, and the experience is worse."},{"host":"Chris","text":"For five dollars, I accept worse."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Then it's a cheap way to get motion sick."},{"host":"Chris","text":"You don't know that. Modern phone screens are better than most VR headsets from five years ago."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"A small screen magnified through cheap plastic is not the same as a headset display."},{"host":"Chris","text":"And yet the whole point is that the gap is closing."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The hardware gap is not closing. The price gap is."},{"host":"Chris","text":"The price gap is the one most people care about."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"No, they care about not feeling like they're wearing a sweaty phone on their eyes."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Oh, come on. You're not giving the maker any credit."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I am. It's a clever hack. But it's not an Apple Vision Pro alternative."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Fine. Not a true alternative. A budget experiment."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"A budget experiment with no app store and no support."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the maker movement. It doesn't need to be polished to prove a point."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"And the point is what? That phones can fake it in a bracket?"},{"host":"Chris","text":"The point is the software layer is becoming a commodity."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Now that's the interesting part."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Right. Apple spent years building spatial software. One person can now get close."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Close on the surface. The integration isn't there."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Not yet. Give it a year or two of open-source clones."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Open source usually means debugging it yourself for three weekends."},{"host":"Chris","text":"And a certain kind of person loves that."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"I'd rather use a tablet. But I get why the hobby crowd likes it."},{"host":"Chris","text":"So we agree it's not the future?"},{"host":"Matilda","text":"It's not the future. It's a sign the future is getting cheaper."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That feels about right. Techeblog called it super budget-friendly."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"For once, that's not hype."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Until the next update breaks the passthrough."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Then it's a five-dollar blindfold."},{"host":"Chris","text":"There's your use case."}]}