Google Unveils Five Android Features to Tackle Motion Sickness and Accessibility Issues
Google has rolled out five new features for Android to address various everyday frustrations and improve accessibility. The updates aim to reduce motion sickness while traveling, make smartphones easier to use for people with visual impairments, help users find items they have left behind, and expand personalization options in Google Messages.
The 'Motion Assistance' feature is designed to mitigate motion sickness by overlaying animated bubbles on the screen that respond to a vehicle's movement. This can be enabled automatically or added to the Quick Settings panel, with customizable bubble settings such as shape, color, and transparency. The tool will work on devices running Android 17.
The 'Guided Vision' feature combines the smartphone's camera with Gemini artificial intelligence to assist users with visual impairments. It can read small text on packaging, view menus in poorly lit spaces, and identify objects nearby. Gemini also provides voice guidance on how to position the camera for optimal results. The feature will be available on smartphones running Android 9 and later in countries where Gemini is supported.
Additionally, Google has introduced a saved items section in Find Hub, allowing users to specify where they left an important item using Gemini. This information can be accessed later when searching for the item.