- Motion Cues could be ready to launch in Android
- It combats motion sickness while traveling
- We first saw hints of the feature this time last year
A year ago, a new Android feature called Motion Cues was spotted hidden away in the Google Play Services code, with a launch apparently imminent. It hasn’t shown up yet – but that could be about to change.
Once again we’re indebted to the team at Android Authority for doing the necessary digging, and it seems as though the feature is still there. However, a restriction in the capabilities of Android itself is the reason it hasn’t yet launched.
Motion Cues, like the equivalent feature in iOS, will draw dots over the screen that move in relation to the actual movement of the phone – in theory reducing nausea, because it means your brain won’t be quite so confused as to whether you’re moving or not.
However, drawing those dots on top of key setting panels requires elevated security permissions that Motion Cues doesn’t yet have. The limitations are in place to stop hackers from overlaying elements over icons and menus that control how your phone works.
Arriving soon?
In the latest version of Android Canary – the pre-beta software where Google engineers test out new features – it seems that the responsibility for Motion Cues is being passed over to a more fundamental part of Android, with extra security rights.
That means the dots that sync with the movement of your phone will be able to cover the screen entirely, 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, that should then mean it’s made public. It could well show up as part of the Android 17 update that we’re expecting to hear more about over 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 enable the feature from the main Settings screen by tapping Accessibility > Motion > Vehicle Motion Cues.
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