Designed to reduce or even eliminate motion sickness in users who have difficulty reading or using their phones in moving vehicles, I find Vehicle Motion Cues to be the kind of clever innovation that can truly improve the quality of life. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Vehicle Motion Signals, plus the best Android alternatives already available.

Let’s put an end to travel sickness!

Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues is a smart solution for those who experience motion sickness while reading or using devices in a car. If you know it, you know it. Vehicle Motion Cues solves the problem by displaying small moving dots along the edges of the screen that mimic the movement of the car in real time.
The technology is simple but impressive. Motion sensors inside the phone detect when the car turns, accelerates, or decelerates, and those movements are reflected in the behavior of the dots on the iPhone’s screen. By responding precisely to changes in direction and speed, these signals prompt the brain to reconcile the movement it feels with what it sees on the screen, thereby alleviating the internal conflict that triggers nausea. The movement of the dots at the edges of the screen acts as a counterbalance to what is happening with the vehicle, helping users “anchor” their visual perception.

My real-life experience with vehicle movement signals

After testing Vehicle Motion Cues for a few days, I can confidently say that it’s a game-changer, almost eliminating my usual motion sickness symptoms. Sitting in the passenger seat and reading on my phone, I expected to feel the typical nausea after a few miles – but instead, I found myself surprisingly comfortable. The accuracy with which the iPhone’s dots reflected real-world movements was particularly impressive, especially on bumpy roads or during quick stops and starts.

You can see how the iOS 18 The Vehicle Motion Cues points react to the movement of the car in the following video:

Apple has cleverly designed the dots to be peripheral rather than intrusive, so that while they are still present, they don’t distract from what’s on the screen. If the car takes a sharp turn, for example, you can quickly focus on points to reorient yourself before continuing with what you’re reading or watching.

Vehicle movement cues could also be invaluable to children, who are often even more susceptible to motion sickness. Parents can enable this feature for children sitting in the back seat, allowing them to watch videos or play games during long trips without much discomfort. And, Apple being Apple, vehicle motion signals automatically turn on when the iPhone detects the user is in a moving vehicle and turn off as soon as you’ve finished your trip.

An alternative to vehicle movement signals for Android? KineStop and MotionEase are your best choice

As a fan of both Apple and Android devices, I naturally wanted to know if a similar feature existed for Android users. After some research, I discovered that the Play Store has a few motion sickness-reducing apps with features comparable to Vehicle Motion Cues. I tested all the options available and the two standouts were KineStop and MotionEase.
KineStop is the more established of the two, and while it doesn’t exactly mimic vehicle motion signals, it does offer some useful features for managing motion sickness. KineStop features a range of presets, including one similar to the subtle points of Apple’s vehicle motion signals. But it also features fun, kid-friendly graphics, such as moving dinosaurs and trees, which can be especially effective for kids prone to motion sickness. The app works well at detecting when the user is in a moving vehicle, although it doesn’t seem to register many changes in acceleration or deceleration. It does, however, respond accurately to turns and bumps, making it a solid option for reducing nausea during travel. MotionEase is another alternative I’ve found that more closely resembles the look and feel of Apple’s vehicle motion signals, particularly in the way it detects speeding up and slowing down. In terms of visual similarity, MotionEase comes closest, displaying similar edge points that move with vehicle movement. However, although MotionEase has an automatic activation feature in the vehicle, it seemed too slow to activate. Of course, you can always turn it on or off manually.

This is what smart technology is for

While Apple Intelligence and other AI implementations may be the current topic of conversation, vehicle motion signals represent the type of intelligent, life-enhancing technology that Apple has mastered so well. It’s exactly the kind of innovation that doesn’t seem revolutionary at first glance, but ends up making a big difference in everyday life.