Google is rolling out Motion Assist to Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones running Android 17, bringing a potentially useful anti-motion-sickness feature to more Android users through Google Play services rather than limiting it to a single phone brand.
Motion Assist is designed for those uncomfortable moments when looking at a phone inside a moving car, bus or other vehicle leaves you feeling nauseous. The feature places animated shapes along the edges of the display, with their movement responding to the motion detected by the phone.
The idea is to reduce the sensory mismatch that can contribute to motion sickness. Your eyes may be focused on a largely stationary screen while your inner ear detects acceleration, braking and turns. Motion Assist gives the display a visual representation of that movement without requiring users to stop reading, messaging or using other apps.
Once enabled, most phones display two columns of shapes along the left and right sides of the screen. Users can customise their appearance, choosing between circles, squares, pentagons and diamonds, as well as red, yellow, green, blue or system-based colours. Opacity can also be adjusted, while an optional randomisation setting periodically changes the colours and shapes.
More importantly, Motion Assist doesn’t have to be manually switched on every time you get into a vehicle. Google includes an option to automatically start the feature when the phone detects that the user is travelling in a moving vehicle. A Quick Settings tile provides manual control, and an active session can also be disabled from a silent system notification.
Google is distributing Motion Assist as part of Google Play services. The feature is appearing alongside options including Advanced Protection and Theft Protection, and has been spotted with Google Play services version 26.33.32.
Pixel owners can find Motion Assist by searching for it directly inside Settings. The longer route runs through Settings, Google, All services, Personal & device safety and then Motion Assist. Google also recommends adding its tile to Quick Settings for easier access.
The rollout is currently showing up broadly on Pixel devices and Samsung Galaxy phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, provided they’re running Android 17. Restarting the device may help if the feature has not appeared after the relevant software updates.
Google isn’t the first smartphone platform to explore screen-based approaches to motion sickness, but building the functionality into Play services could give Motion Assist considerable reach across the Android ecosystem if availability expands beyond the devices currently receiving it.
It’s the kind of Android feature that sounds minor until you happen to need it. For commuters and passengers who struggle to look at their phones while travelling, a few moving bubbles around the screen could end up being considerably more useful than another headline-grabbing AI feature.
