Vehicle Motion Cues is a pretty new accessibility feature that’s meant to help folks whose motion sickness gets worse in moving vehicles. If you’ve ever noticed your iPhone acting weird or you start feeling queasy when using it in a car or bus, this might be what’s causing it — or what could fix it. Since motion sickness happens because your brain gets conflicting signals between what it sees on the screen and what your body feels physically (like acceleration or tilting), adding these visual cues could make a difference.
The idea here is to add animated dots around the edges of the screen that mimic the changes in vehicle motion. It’s kind of weird, but those dots basically aim to sync what your eyes see with the motion your body is experiencing, so your brain doesn’t get confused as much. According to Apple, Vehicle Motion Cues detects when you’re in a moving vehicle using the built-in sensors of your iPhone or iPad and then responds by showing those cues. Not sure why it works, but it seems to help some folks actually enjoy using their device without feeling sick afterward.
What does the Vehicle Motion Cues on iPhone do?
The feature displays animated dots on the edges of the screen. These dots move in sync with the vehicle’s motion, which might help your brain understand that what it’s seeing matches what your body is feeling. For a lot of people, this reduces or even stops motion sickness while they’re using the phone in a moving vehicle. It’s especially good if you’re sensitive to these sensory conflicts or prone to nausea — though, on some setups, this toggle might be kinda finicky or not show up right away. Still, it’s worth trying.
How to turn on the iPhone Vehicle Motion Cues feature?
If your iPhone feels like it’s fighting you when you’re in a vehicle or you just want to see if this helps, turning on Vehicle Motion Cues could be the move. Here’s a step-by-step, but beware — on some versions or setups, these options are sneaky and might not work immediately or need extra tweaking.
Make sure the feature is enabled in Accessibility settings
- Open up Settings on the iPhone. Isn’t that obvious? But sometimes you’d be surprised how many miss it.
- Tap on Accessibility.
- Scroll down to find Motion — it’s usually under Vision or Interaction. Tap that.
- Look for Vehicle Motion Cues. If you don’t see it, your device might not support it yet or the feature isn’t available in your region.
- Toggle Vehicle Motion Cues to ON. Also, enable Automatically in Vehicle if that’s an option. That way it kicks in automatically when you’re in a car without manual toggling every time.
Doing this helps if you notice nausea or discomfort when using your phone in transit. If you’re someone who’s triggered by motion, this might be a legit game-changer. The feature relies heavily on the sensors in your device, so if those are busted or disabled, it might not work as intended. Also, on some iPhones, these options are kinda hidden or don’t show up if your iOS version is outdated — so update if needed.
Adding Vehicle Motion Cues to the Control Center
- Pull down your Control Center (swipe down from the top right corner on newer iPhones or swipe up — depends on your model).
- Check if Vehicle Motion Cues is showing there; if it is, you’re golden.
- If not, go back to Settings > Control Center.
- Tap Add Controls and look for Vehicle Motion Cues in the list.
- Tap the plus sign to add it, then exit settings.
This way, you can toggle it quickly without diving into menus, which is especially handy if you’re on the move and need quick relief. Fair warning — not on every update or iPhone model will this appear right away, so if it’s missing, double-check your iOS version and consider doing a reset or update.
Either way, fiddling with these options can be a little tricky sometimes, and not every setup gets it right the first time. But hey, once it’s set up, you might notice the difference — at least it’s worth trying if motion sickness is your bête noire while on the road with your phone in hand. Good luck, and fingers crossed this helps everyone who tries it out.
Summary
- Enabled Vehicle Motion Cues in Settings > Accessibility > Motion.
- Added the feature to Control Center for quick toggling.
- Probably helps with motion sickness when in vehicles — results vary.
Wrap-up
Enabling Vehicle Motion Cues is kinda low effort but might make a noticeable difference if motion sickness is a pain. It’s not perfect, and sometimes the options are hidden or won’t show up depending on your device or iOS version. Still, it’s a good first step before digging into other options or third-party apps. If it works, cool — if not, at least you tried.