• Apple has introduced a new feature that aims to reduce motion sickness when using iPhones or iPads in moving vehicles.
  • The Vehicle Motion Cues feature will show moving dots on a screen to indicate the direction the vehicle is traveling.
  • CarPlay is also getting new accessibility features including voice controls.

Google isn’t the only tech giant announcing new automotive features as Apple has revealed a handful of updates to CarPlay. The company has also introduced Vehicle Motion Cues for iPhones and iPads.

Starting with the latter, Vehicle Motion Cues aim to reduce motion sickness when traveling in moving vehicles. As Apple explained, “motion sickness is commonly caused by a sensory conflict between what a person sees and what they feel.” In this case, the screen you’re staring at is stationary while you feel the vehicle moving.

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To help reduce this effect, Vehicle Motion Cues will show animated dots on the edges of the screen to represent changes in how the vehicle is moving. As an example, turning left would show the dots moving right while turning right would show the dots moving left. When accelerating, the dots move from the top of the screen to the bottom, and then reverse when braking.

While it appears more distracting than helpful, some people might appreciate it. Apple also noted Vehicle Motion Cues can be set to show automatically or can be turned on and off via the Control Center.

Apple’s New iPhone Feature Reduces Car Sickness With Animated Dots

Moving on, CarPlay is getting an assortment of new accessibility features including Voice Control. It enables users to navigate and control apps with just their voice.

Furthermore, the new Sound Recognition feature aims to aid people who are deaf or hard of hearing by displaying visual alerts when the system hears car horns or sirens. Lastly, Color Filters will make CarPlay’s interface easier to read and use for people who are colorblind.