How to Enable Motion Sickness Settings on Your iPhone for a Comfortable Road Trip

If you are among those individuals who find it difficult to even check their phone while in a moving vehicle without feeling nauseous, rest assured you are certainly not alone. Many of us have experienced that unsettling wave of discomfort after attempting to scroll or check notifications while on the go. Whether it manifests as mild unease or full-blown motion sickness, this sensation can deter phone use during travel. Thankfully, with the arrival of iOS 18, Apple has rolled out a new feature designed specifically to ease the challenge of using your device while on the move.

Introducing Vehicle Motion Cues

Apple’s latest update, iOS 18, has brought forth the innovative Vehicle Motion Cues feature. This solution caters to individuals prone to motion sickness when using their smartphones while traveling. The feature cleverly syncs the phone’s screen movements with the actual movements of your vehicle—be it turns, stops, or starting.

Apple explains that the experience of motion sickness while engaging with a smartphone can be attributed to a sensory disconnect. Your body is aware of the motion of the vehicle, while your eyes remain fixated on a static screen, creating a conflict that can lead to discomfort and nausea, often leaving users unable to focus on their screens during travel.

The new setting for motion sickness on the iPhone introduces animated dots on the edges of the display, which correlate with the vehicle’s movements, thereby mitigating the sensory discord associated with phone use while moving.

How to Activate the Motion Sickness Setting on Your iPhone

To get started, navigate to your iPhone’s Settings app. Then go to General → About to confirm that your device is operating on the iOS 18 version. Apple provides a helpful list detailing all iPhone models that support iOS 18.

Next, tap on Accessibility, where you’ll find the Motion option ready to select. Choose it to access the Motion settings menu.

Within the Motion settings, look for the option labeled Show Vehicle Motion Cues. Selecting this will allow you to turn the motion sickness feature on or off. Moreover, you can set it to Automatic mode, which activates the cues when your iPhone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle.

Another quick way to access this feature is through the Control Center. Simply swipe down from the upper-right corner of your iPhone screen and press down on any empty area within the Control Center. This will enable the customization of the quick widgets. Tap Add a Control found at the bottom of the screen.

Now, simply search for ‘Vehicle’ to locate the Vehicle Motion Cues widget. Click on it to incorporate it into your iPhone’s Control Center. This will be a valuable addition among the other handy widgets available on your device.

The motion sickness feature on your iPhone can now be easily accessed through a simple tap in the Control Center.

Alternatives for Android Users

If you are using an Android device and experience motion sickness while traveling, there’s no need to worry. Although Android devices might not have a straightforward motion sickness toggle, there are several applications available that can offer similar functionalities.

One such app is the KineStop by Urbandroid, which provides animated motion cues on your display.

Upon launching the KineStop app, it will request permissions to draw over other applications. Once you grant this permission, just hit the play button located in the bottom-right corner of the screen to bring those animated motion-matching dots into view. You can also opt to have KineStop start automatically when you are in a moving vehicle.

Another application worth considering is MotionEase. The animated dots produced by MotionEase closely replicate the visual experience offered by the motion sickness feature on iPhones.

After launching MotionEase, simply tap the large play button centered on the screen. After approving the required permissions, your Android device will display animated motion cues on its screen.

The addition of these vehicle motion cues can greatly assist individuals dealing with motion sickness. iOS 18 also introduces several other exciting features, such as eye tracking on the iPhone. Unlike the Android apps, the motion cue dots do not appear in screenshots on iPhones—just one more plus for Apple users!

Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Samarveer Singh