Google may be working on an Android accessibility feature to reduce the effects of motion sickness when using a smartphone or tablet in the automobile. Android Authority spotted a few code snippets for an unannounced Motion Cues feature during an APK teardown.
While there isn’t much information available regarding this suspected feature, it’s likely comparable to Vehicle Motion Cues, an accessibility tool in iOS 18 that adds visual indications to the phone screen.
Motion sickness is a common issue that can be exacerbated by using a smartphone or tablet in the automobile. This is because while you look at your phone screen, your mind and body are unable to perceive and adjust to changes in vehicle movement.
As a result, Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues display dots on your iPhone’s screen that indicate the direction in which a car is going. They’re clear enough to give you a sense of how the car is traveling while remaining subtle enough to not interfere with phone use.
Apple’s visual signals, shown in the figure below, are meant to reduce the effects of motion sickness. They may soon be available on the finest Android phones as well.
Android Authority discovered several code strings relating to “motion sickness” in Google Play Services beta version 24.46.30. Specifically, the code refers to a feature that is most likely termed Motion Cues.
It is stated as being used to “show visual cues to mitigate the motion sickness.” In other words, it sounds similar to Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues in iOS 18.
The feature isn’t currently available, and the code snippets don’t fully explain how Google intends to incorporate these motion cues in Android.
However, because the strings are in the Google Play Services beta rather than the Android beta, Motion Cues may eventually be available on many Android versions. There is precedent for this, as most devices running Android 10 or higher recently received the newest security upgrades.