{"id":315959,"date":"2025-12-14T18:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T18:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/315959\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T18:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T18:02:08","slug":"google-is-working-on-an-android-feature-to-reduce-motion-sickness-while-using-your-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/315959\/","title":{"rendered":"Google is working on an Android feature to reduce motion sickness while using your phone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google is working on a native fix for one of the most annoying parts of using a phone: getting carsick while doom-scrolling in the back of an Uber. The feature, currently called Motion Cues<\/a>, looks like it will drop in a future update \u2013 probably Android 17<\/a> \u2013 and it\u2019s all about making it easier to read or watch videos without your stomach turning.<\/p>\n

What Google Is Working On<\/p>\n

What happened: Motion Cues is Google\u2019s attempt to fix \u201csensory conflict.\u201d That\u2019s the fancy term for what happens when your eyes tell your brain you are sitting still (staring at a screen), but your inner ear screams that you are moving (bouncing around in a car). The disconnect makes you nauseous. Google\u2019s fix adds little animated dots to the edges of your screen that move in sync with the vehicle. By giving your eyes a visual reference that matches the motion your body feels, it tricks your brain into chilling out.<\/p>\n

\"Android<\/p>\n

\t\tTushar Mehta \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a brand-new concept. Apple added something similar, \u201cVehicle Motion Cues,\u201d in iOS 18, and an Android app called KineStop has been doing this since 2018. But Google wants to bake it directly into the OS so you don\u2019t need third-party tools.<\/p>\n

Code sleuths found Motion Cues hiding in recent Android Canary<\/a> builds, but it\u2019s currently turned off. Right now, the test version has a major flaw: it uses a standard overlay, meaning the dots disappear if you pull down your notifications, open Settings, or look at the lock screen. That kind of defeats the purpose if the \u201ccure\u201d vanishes half the time you use your phone.<\/p>\n

Why This Matters and What Comes Next<\/p>\n

Why this is important: It looks like Google is fixing<\/a> that overlay problem by building a dedicated Motion Cues API right into SystemUI \u2013 the core part of Android that handles the status bar and navigation. This is a big deal because it bypasses the usual security rules that stop apps from drawing over sensitive screens. By moving it to the system level, those motion dots will stay visible no matter what you are doing on your phone.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\t\tJoe Maring \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n

They are also keeping a tight leash on it. Only privileged system apps will get the keys to this API, so you don\u2019t have to worry about random spammy apps taking over your screen. It creates a dedicated, safe lane for accessibility features.<\/p>\n

Why you should care: If you are the type of person who has to put the phone away immediately when the car starts moving, this is a game-changer. It could mean finally being able to finish a text, read an article, or watch YouTube on a commute without feeling like you need a barf bag. It turns dead time in transit into actual usable time.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next: Since this requires deep changes to the operating system, it likely needs a full OS upgrade. We might see it sneak into a late Android 16 update, but Android 17 feels like the safer bet. When it does launch, don\u2019t be surprised if Google rebrands it to something like \u201cMotion Assist\u201d and bundles it with the rumored Transiting mode, which automatically tweaks your phone when it detects you are traveling. Until then, you can grab KineStop from the Play Store if you need relief right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Google is working on a native fix for one of the most annoying parts of using a phone:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[29185,844,125427,88,2306,125428,6994,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-315959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-android-17","9":"tag-google","10":"tag-ios-16","11":"tag-iphone-17","12":"tag-mobile","13":"tag-motion-cues","14":"tag-phones","15":"tag-technology","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}