Smart Head Track for OpenTrack vs Visual Pinball
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smart Head Track for OpenTrack
Transform your iPhone or iPad into a head tracker for PC games. Control your in-game camera by moving your head, eliminating the need for expensive hardware. Enjoy precise calibration and a seamless setup for an immersive gaming experience.
- Head tracking for PC games
- Uses phone's front camera and ARKit
- Compatible with FreeTrack/TrackIR games
- Easy WiFi or USB setup
- Independent axis calibration
- Simulation mode for preview
- Power saving options
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Smart Head Track — Head Tracking for PC Games, No Hardware Needed Turn your iPhone or iPad into a head tracker. Move your head to control your in-game camera in flight sims, racing games, truck simulators, and more — replacing expensive hardware like TrackIR with your phone's front camera and ARKit. WORKS WITH YOUR FAVORITE GAMES Compatible with any PC game supporting FreeTrack or TrackIR protocol: • Microsoft Flight Simulator • Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) • Euro Truck Simulator 2 / American Truck Simulator • IL-2 Sturmovik • Star Citizen • Assetto Corsa • …and hundreds more EASY SETUP Connect to OpenTrack (free, open-source) on your PC via WiFi or USB. Enter your PC's IP address, tap Calibrate, and start tracking in under a minute. On Your PC: 1. Download and install OpenTrack: https://git.io/JUs2U 2. Set Input to "UDP over network" 3. Set Output to "freetrack 2.0 Enhanced" 4. Ensure port 4242 is open on your firewall On Your Phone: 1. Launch Smart Head Track and enter your PC's IP address 2. Align your face and tap Calibrate 3. Press Start on both the app and OpenTrack PRECISE CALIBRATION Adjust each of the 6 axes (X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch, Roll) independently. Per-axis sensitivity, inversion, and offset controls let you dial in exactly the feel you want. SIMULATION MODE Preview your tracking in a virtual 3D cockpit before connecting to your PC — perfect for testing your calibration settings. BUILT FOR LONG SESSIONS • Power Save — Dim the camera view, hide overlays, or switch to minimal UI while tracking continues • Connection Monitor — Get notified if the link to OpenTrack drops so you can troubleshoot quickly AR FACE OVERLAYS Pilot helmets, sunglasses, combat gear, and more — add fun overlays to your camera feed while tracking. FREE & PRO The core tracking experience is free with a daily time limit. Unlock unlimited tracking and all face overlays with a one-time Pro purchase. CONNECTIVITY • WiFi: UDP over your local network (default port 4242) • USB: Direct cable connection via companion desktop app • iPad: Full landscape orientation support Privacy Policy: https://www.tinacinc.com/SmartHeadTrack/privacy_policy.html
Visual Pinball
Enjoy a realistic pinball simulation with hundreds of community-created tables. Experience immersive haptic feedback and customize your gameplay with intuitive settings and controller support. Advanced options are available for power users.
- Hundreds of community-developed tables
- Haptic feedback for immersive gameplay
- Customizable settings and POV adjustments
- Game controller support
- External DMD and AltColor/AltSound support
- Touch overlay and instructions
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The official Visual Pinball app. Built by volunteers since 2000 and open source since 2010, Visual Pinball is the simulator the virtual pinball community has been playing for over two decades. More than 70 people have contributed to it, and this app runs the same engine as the desktop version, so every table plays with the physics, lighting and sound its creator intended. No ads. No in-app purchases. No tracking. Made by volunteers. Two years of work from the Visual Pinball volunteers, in one update. Thank you for your patience, and for playing! A FRESH NEW LOOK • Redesigned for iOS 26 with Liquid Glass • Favorites and recently played tables at the top of your list • Search, sorting and three tile sizes • Light, Dark or System appearance • New loading screen that shows progress THE FULL DESKTOP EXPERIENCE • The complete Visual Pinball in-game menu for graphics, sound, controls and table options • Remap every button on keyboards and game controllers • Save settings for every table, or just the one you're playing MORE TABLES, LOOKING BETTER • Show the backglass and score display (DMD, alphanumeric or reels) on screen, right where you want them • Support for PUP packs, FlexDMD, B2S backglasses, video playback and VNI colorizations • All the latest physics and rendering improvements from the desktop version • Much lower memory use: textures are compressed on first load, then cached EASIER TABLE MANAGEMENT • Import .zip files, along with .vpx and .vpxz • Share any table as a single .vpxz file • The web file manager can now upload whole folders, extract archives, edit scripts and settings, and show the log live AND MORE • Many stability and memory fixes This version requires iOS 26.6 or later.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Visual Pinball at 4.3 against Smart Head Track for OpenTrack's 3.2. Visual Pinball also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (79% vs 63%). Smart Head Track for OpenTrack's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 12 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Smart Head Track for OpenTrack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Visual Pinball asks for nothing beyond the download.
Visual Pinball holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 74 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Smart Head Track for OpenTrack's written reviews are positive against 79% of Visual Pinball's.
Smart Head Track for OpenTrack ships an update weekly, Visual Pinball every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Smart Head Track for OpenTrack | Visual Pinball |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (39 ratings) | 4.3 (74 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.9% of reviews | 78.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 39 | 74 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 120 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | TINAC Inc. | Jason Millard |
Customer experience
Smart Head Track for OpenTrack
Visual Pinball
User reviews
Smart Head Track for OpenTrack
From 39 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great alternative to TrackIR
- 👍 Works well with flight simulators
- 👍 Easy setup and configuration
- 👍 Good value for money
- 👍 Smooth and accurate tracking
Room to improve
- 😞 Free trial is too short
- 😞 Expensive subscription
- 😞 USB connection issues
- 😞 Latency issues with Wi-Fi
- 😞 Tracking can be lost easily
Visual Pinball
From 74 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Awesome way to play virtual pinball on the go
- 👍 Super easy to set up with minimal file prep time
- 👍 Insane that I can play favorite pins on just my phone
- 👍 Fantastic portable implementation of VPX
- 👍 Fun and exciting to archive the history of pinball
Room to improve
- 🔧 More ability to adjust table settings needed
- 🔧 Struggling to manage camera angle
- 🔧 No fullscreen on iPad, plunger and outlanes cropped
- 🔧 Some tables don't work or have issues
Bugs and requests
Smart Head Track for OpenTrack
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes when switching to USB
- USB connection not working
- Tracking is lost easily
- Buggy tracking performance
- Headtrack exe won't start after Windows reinstall
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- View is all over the place
- Small movements result in track loss
- Glitching and spamming in-game camera
- Center position not staying consistent
- Windows 10 won't open port
Requested features
10 requests- Allow choice of camera on phone
- Background mode for headtracking
- Delay on re-centering
- Automatic re-center feature
- Wired/USB connection support
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- Support for landscape mode
- Change sensitivity option
- Improve low light performance
- More detailed setup instructions
- Video tutorial for setup
Visual Pinball
Reported bugs
2 issues- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS
Requested features
6 requests- List of most played tables
- Ability to reposition DMD
- Option to skip startup checks for some tables
- Ability to edit table scripts on the app
- Direct link to table depository
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- iPad version with more screen space
In-app purchases
Smart Head Track for OpenTrack
- Pro Upgrade$8.99
Visual Pinball
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Smart Head Track for OpenTrack free?
Is Visual Pinball free?
Which has better reviews, Smart Head Track for OpenTrack or Visual Pinball?
Do Smart Head Track for OpenTrack or Visual Pinball have ads?
Which is updated more often, Smart Head Track for OpenTrack or Visual Pinball?
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