Google is rolling out five Android updates that add tools for reducing motion sickness, assisting blind and low-vision users, remembering where physical items are stored, collaborating through Google Messages, and personalizing conversations. Several features use Gemini, while others bring capabilities similar to ones already available on Apple devices.
Google detailed the features in its September Android update. Availability varies by feature and Android version.
Motion Assist and Guided Vision Add Accessibility Features
Motion Assist is designed for people who experience motion sickness while looking at a phone inside a moving vehicle. It places bubbles over the screen that react to the vehicle’s movement, reducing the difference between what users see and what their bodies sense.
Android 17 users can have Motion Assist activate automatically, add it to Quick Settings, and customize the bubbles’ shape, color, and transparency. Apple introduced a similar feature called Vehicle Motion Cues in 2024, using animated dots that respond to vehicle movement.
Google is also introducing Guided Vision for blind and low-vision users. The feature combines a phone’s camera with Gemini to help users read small text, inspect menus in low-light conditions, and identify objects around them.
Gemini can provide spoken instructions when the camera needs repositioning, such as asking the user to move the phone, pan across an area, or center an object. Guided Vision will be available on devices running Android 9 or newer in countries where Gemini is supported.
Gemini Can Remember Where Users Store Items
Google is also adding a “remembered items” section to Find Hub. Users can tell Gemini where they placed an object, such as a passport inside a bedroom drawer, and retrieve that information later.
Photos can be attached to remembered items to help identify them. The feature extends Find Hub beyond locating connected devices and trackers by letting users manually save the locations of everyday objects.
Google Messages is also gaining Google Keep integration, allowing users to share and edit grocery lists, travel notes, and other information from within conversations.
The Messages app will additionally allow users to personalize individual conversations with photos, backgrounds, and colors. Message bubbles will automatically adjust to match the selected design.
Apple introduced similar custom conversation backgrounds for its Messages app last year. Google’s updates will roll out across supported Android devices according to the individual requirements for each feature.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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