The Voice News : If you’ve ever felt nauseous while reading or scrolling on your phone in a moving car, you’re not alone—motion sickness affects about 59% of people at some point in their lives. But here’s some good news: Apple has quietly added a feature to help with this in its iOS 18 update.
Why We Get Motion Sickness
Motion sickness happens when there’s a disconnect between what your eyes see and what your body feels. “Your balance system includes your vision, inner ear, and sensors throughout your muscles,” explains Dr. Mohamed Elrakhawy, assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center. When these systems send conflicting messages to your brain—like when you’re reading on your phone while your body is in motion—you can start feeling dizzy, nauseous, or disoriented.
Apple’s Fix: Vehicle Motion Cues
To help address this, Apple introduced a feature called Vehicle Motion Cues. It adds small animated dots to the edges of your screen that move in sync with your car’s motion. These dots act like visual guides, helping your brain align what your eyes see with what your body feels—similar to how drivers rarely experience motion sickness because they can anticipate movement.
“When you’re in the driver’s seat, your brain knows what to expect. These motion cues are designed to replicate that for passengers,” Elrakhawy said.
How to Turn It On
To activate this feature on your iPhone or iPad:
Go to Settings
Tap Accessibility
Select Motion
Choose Show Vehicle Motion Cues
Pick from:
Off
Automatic (turns on only when movement is detected)
On (always enabled)
Does It Really Work?
Results vary. Some users find the feature helpful, while others say it makes their symptoms worse. If it doesn’t work for you, there are other remedies:
Look outside at the horizon to help stabilize your vision.
Keep your head still and take breaks from your screen.
Try over-the-counter meds like Dramamine.
For severe cases, speak to your doctor about prescription patches.
Motion sickness has been around for a long time, but thanks to smart features like this, managing it while using your phone on the go is getting