Android is rolling out its own version of Apple’s anti-motion sickness tool

Android users who struggle to look at their phones in moving vehicles may soon have a built-in solution designed to stop them from feeling sick.

Google is gradually rolling out Motion Assist on Android 17, starting with select Pixel phones. However, access remains limited and can differ even between devices running the same operating system.

Android Authority found the feature on a Pixel 11 Pro XL, but it was still missing from a Pixel 10 Pro XL running Android 17. This suggests Google is enabling it in phases rather than releasing it to every supported phone at once.

Motion Assist places animated indicators around the edges of the screen that react to the movement of a vehicle. The phone uses its accelerometer and gyroscope to detect turns, acceleration, and braking, then moves the indicators to reflect those forces.

The feature is designed to reduce the sensory conflict that can cause motion sickness when a passenger’s eyes are focused on a stationary screen while their inner ear detects movement.

How to turn on Android’s Motion Assist

Motion Assist appears in the Google section of Android’s Settings app. Users can tap their profile, select All services, then scroll to the Personal & device safety section.

It can be set to activate automatically when the phone detects a moving vehicle. Users can also add a Motion Assist tile to Quick Settings to turn it on manually.

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Android displays a notification while the feature is running, and Google allows users to change the indicators’ color, shape, and opacity. A Randomization option can vary those settings automatically.

The current version uses operating system-level changes that let its indicators appear over apps and Android interface elements. An earlier version spotted in 2024 relied on the Display over other apps permission and could not cover areas including notifications, Quick Settings, or the lock screen.

Google’s feature closely resembles Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues, which debuted with iOS 18 in 2024 and also uses animated dots to represent a vehicle’s movement. OPPO and vivo already offer a similar option on some of their phones.

Motion sickness has also caused problems beyond road trips. Blizzard previously had to adjust a World of Warcraft dungeon after its moving environment left some players feeling ill.