Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues is a built-in feature designed to help reduce motion sickness while using your device in a moving vehicle. Introduced in 2024 with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, this feature displays animated dots along the edges of the screen that respond to changes in the vehicle’s movement.
Motion sickness can occur when the body’s sensory systems send conflicting signals to the brain. For example, reading a book in a moving car can cause your eyes to focus on a stationary page while your inner ear senses the acceleration, turns, and motion of the vehicle.
This sensory mismatch can confuse the brain and trigger symptoms associated with motion sickness, such as dizziness, nausea, and general discomfort. Vehicle Motion Cues aims to reduce that conflict by giving your eyes a visual representation of the vehicle’s movement.
How it Works
The feature provides visual cues without significantly interfering with what you’re viewing or doing. It can be accessed by heading to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Vehicle Motion Cues. Once enabled, you can also add Vehicle Motion Cues to Control Centre for quicker access.
Apple expanded the feature to the Mac last year with the release of macOS 16, bringing the same concept to users who need to work or use their laptops while travelling.
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Customization Options
With iOS 26, Apple introduced additional customization options, allowing users to adjust the colour, size, spacing, and movement of the on-screen cues to suit their individual preferences.
The feature may not eliminate motion sickness for everyone, but it is worth trying if scrolling through social media, watching videos, or replying to messages in a moving vehicle usually leaves you feeling queasy.
Enabling the Feature
To enable Vehicle Motion Cues, simply head to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Vehicle Motion Cues and toggle it on. You can also find more information about the feature on Apple’s official website.
According to the report, Vehicle Motion Cues is a built-in feature that takes only a few taps to enable, and it’s already available on your Apple device.
