Google Cardboard headsets are built out of simple, low-cost components. The headset specifications were designed by Google, which made the list of parts, schematics, and assembly instructions freely available on their website, allowing people to assemble Cardboard themselves from readily available parts. Pre-manufactured viewers were only available from third-party vendors until February 2016, when Google began selling their own through the Google Store.

The parts that make up a Cardboard viewer are