Google might be developing a new feature to tackle potential motion sickness when using Android smartphones in vehicles during transit, according to a report. It is said to have been discovered during an APK teardown of the latest version of the Google Play Services app. While third-party apps to prevent car sickness are available on the Google Play Store, Google’s in-development Motion Cues feature is speculated to introduce native support to combat this issue.
Google’s Motion Cues Feature for Android
In a report, Android Authority, teaming up with tipster Assemble Debug, unearthed references to the Motion Cues feature in the Google Play Services beta app version 24.29.32. The publication managed to activate the feature. Shared screenshots suggest that once enabled, it will show visual cues to mitigate motion sickness.
Google’s In-Development Motion Cues Feature
Photo Credit: Assemble Debug/Android Authority
Users will reportedly also have a choice to auto-enable the feature and the visual cues will automatically appear on the screen if driving is detected. The accompanying video in the report shows it in action. Once enabled, visual cues appear on the screen that move in the same direction as the motion of the vehicle, preventing the mismatch in signals sent to the brain by the ears and the eyes of the user.
As per the report, the Motion Cues will appear as a tile in the quick settings window. However, it reportedly requires the Display over other apps permission to work. The report further claims that the feature is not currently live, even with the latest version of Google Play Services. Thus, there is a possibility that its rollout may take some time.
Notably, Apple introduced a similar feature with iOS 18. Dubbed Show Vehicle Motion Cues, it displays dots along the edges of the iPhone’s screen which mimic the vehicle’s movement to reduce motion sickness. It is turned off by default and can either be turned on or set to automatic.
