Oncast Tech · Tech Tonight

Five-Dollar Phone Holder Mimics Vision Pro

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

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.

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.

Fact-check

VERIFIED 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.

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

Original post · @techeblog

[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

VERIFIED TRUE

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.

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

Original post · Samson, Tech & Gadgets🔌 (@samsino_)

[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

Sources

What the hosts said

CSomeone built a five-dollar Vision Pro alternative from a phone and a three-D-printed bracket.
MSo a phone strapped to your face. That's it?
CThat's the elegant part. Techeblog posted it on X.
CYou print a holder, slide in an iPhone or a Pixel, and run some software.
CThe phone's camera and screen do the work.
MSo a fancy View-Master.
CMaybe, but Apple charges thirty-five hundred dollars for its version.
MAnd this one has no eye tracking, no custom displays, no spatial chip.
MI looked it up, though. The maker is real, the five-dollar parts are real.
MIt does recreate many of Apple's software-style features. As a demo, it works.
CThat's what I mean. It's a toy, but it's a working toy.
MA toy people will use twice and then leave in a drawer.
CGoogle Cardboard already did that a decade ago.
MExactly. And Cardboard didn't create a market.
CBecause phones back then couldn't do mixed reality. Now they can.
MThey still overheat, they still drain the battery, and the experience is worse.
CFor five dollars, I accept worse.
MThen it's a cheap way to get motion sick.
CYou don't know that. Modern phone screens are better than most VR headsets from five years ago.
MA small screen magnified through cheap plastic is not the same as a headset display.
CAnd yet the whole point is that the gap is closing.
MThe hardware gap is not closing. The price gap is.
CThe price gap is the one most people care about.
MNo, they care about not feeling like they're wearing a sweaty phone on their eyes.
COh, come on. You're not giving the maker any credit.
MI am. It's a clever hack. But it's not an Apple Vision Pro alternative.
CFine. Not a true alternative. A budget experiment.
MA budget experiment with no app store and no support.
CThat's the maker movement. It doesn't need to be polished to prove a point.
MAnd the point is what? That phones can fake it in a bracket?
CThe point is the software layer is becoming a commodity.
MNow that's the interesting part.
CRight. Apple spent years building spatial software. One person can now get close.
MClose on the surface. The integration isn't there.
CNot yet. Give it a year or two of open-source clones.
MOpen source usually means debugging it yourself for three weekends.
CAnd a certain kind of person loves that.
MI'd rather use a tablet. But I get why the hobby crowd likes it.
CSo we agree it's not the future?
MIt's not the future. It's a sign the future is getting cheaper.
CThat feels about right. Techeblog called it super budget-friendly.
MFor once, that's not hype.
CUntil the next update breaks the passthrough.
MThen it's a five-dollar blindfold.
CThere's your use case.

Cite this story as https://oncast.fm/story/1794271251854-tech-segment-five-dollar-phone-holder-mimics-vision-pro. Fact-check by Oncast. Cite the original sources above too.

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