Many people experience nausea, dizziness, or headaches when they try to read or use their phone in a moving car.
The problem often comes down to confusion between your eyes and your inner ear.
When you’re sitting still but the car moves, your inner ear senses motion while your eyes, focused on a screen, do not.
This conflict between what your body feels and what your eyes see can cause motion sickness.
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The inner ear’s vestibular system is responsible for helping you balance and sense movement. It works together with your vision to keep you oriented.
When these systems send mixed signals, your brain interprets it as something being wrong, leading to nausea or dizziness.
Apple's Vehicle Motion Cues
Apple has introduced a feature called Vehicle Motion Cues that aims to solve this conflict.
It adds small moving dots to the sides of your iPhone or iPad screen.
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These dots shift according to the motion of the vehicle, mimicking what you would see if you were looking out the window.
For example, when the car accelerates, the dots move in one direction. If the car turns, they change direction accordingly.
This visual feedback helps align what your eyes see with what your body feels, reducing the sensory mismatch that triggers carsickness.
You can find this setting by going to Accessibility > Motion on your iPhone and turning on Vehicle Motion Cues.
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It can be set to appear only when your device detects you are in a moving vehicle.
Does it really work?
Apple has not cited a specific scientific study behind this feature, but similar research supports the idea.
A 2019 study from the University of Salzburg tested moving visual elements on screens and found they helped reduce motion sickness in participants.
Although the study was small, the results were promising.
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So far, user experiences with Apple’s feature vary. Some report feeling noticeably better, while others see little difference.
This article is based on information from Popular Science.
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