Apple and Google have adopted a software feature that displays moving dots on phone screens to help reduce motion sickness while using the device. The dots move in line with the direction of the vehicle, in an effort to reduce the conflict between the body’s sensation of motion and seeing a stationary screen.
How moving dots reduce motion sickness
According to the explanation provided for the feature, motion sickness occurs when the body receives two conflicting signals while a person looks at a phone inside a moving car: the ears sense the body moving in one direction, while the eyes see a stationary screen. The visible dots provide indicators of surrounding movement, helping align what the eyes see with the vehicle’s motion. Apple added the feature, which it calls “Vehicle Motion Cues,” to its phones with the iOS 18 update released in 2024.
It can be enabled by going to Accessibility settings, then Motion settings, and selecting “Vehicle Motion Cues.” The indicators begin appearing automatically when the phone detects that the car is moving. Users can also add a button to quickly activate the feature through the Accessibility Shortcuts menu.
It is currently available only on some devices running Android 17, with more phones expected to receive it.
