- Motion Cues could be ready to launch in Android
- It fights motion sickness during travel
- We first saw hints of the feature this time last year
A year ago, a new Android feature called Motion Cues was discovered tucked away in the Google Play Services code, with a launch apparently imminent. It hasn’t appeared yet – but that may be about to change.
Once again, thanks to the team at Android Authority for doing the necessary digging and it looks like the feature is still there. However, a limitation in the capabilities of Android itself is the reason why it has not yet been launched.
Motion Cues, like the equivalent feature in iOS, will draw dots across the screen that move relative to the phone’s actual movement – in theory reducing nausea because it means your brain doesn’t get quite as confused about whether you’re moving or not.
However, drawing these dots on top of key setting panels requires elevated security permissions, which Motion Cues does not yet have. The restrictions are in place to prevent hackers from overlaying elements over icons and menus that control how your phone works.
Arriving soon?
Look at
In the latest version of Android Canary – the pre-beta software where Google engineers test new features – it appears that responsibility for Motion Cues is being transferred to a more basic part of Android, with added security privileges.
This means that the dots, which sync with your phone’s movement, will be able to cover the screen completely, even if you’re looking at important system settings or have the Quick Settings panel pulled down from the top of the screen.
Once this new approach has been tested and established, it should mean that it is published. It could easily appear as part of the Android 17 update, which we expect to hear more about in the next few months.
Apple’s version of this, called Vehicle Motion Cues, was introduced with iOS 18 and works in a similar way: you can manage and activate the feature from the main Settings screen by tapping Accessibility > Motion > Vehicle Motion Cues.
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