Google rolls out five new Android features for accessibility and personalization

Google announced on Tuesday that it is rolling out five new Android updates aimed at making phones more accessible, useful and personalized, according to a company blog post.

Reducing motion sickness

Among the highlighted additions is "Motion Assist," built for people who feel unwell using their phones in a moving vehicle. The feature overlays a bubble on the screen that shifts along with the vehicle's motion, aiming to close the gap between what a person sees and what their body feels. Apple introduced a comparable tool, "Vehicle Motion Cues," in 2024, using animated dots along the screen edges. Android users will be able to enable Motion Assist automatically, add it to Quick Settings, and adjust the bubble's shape, color and transparency. The feature is available to Android 17 users.

Support for blind and low-vision users

"Guided Vision" pairs the phone's camera with Gemini to assist with tasks such as reading small print on food labels, viewing a menu in a dim restaurant, or identifying household objects. If the camera isn't positioned correctly, the feature offers voice guidance telling users to move or pan the device. Guided Vision will roll out to phones running Android 9 and newer in countries where Gemini is available.

Remembering items and messaging updates

Find Hub is gaining a "remembered items" section where users can tell Gemini where they've stored belongings, such as a passport in a bedroom drawer, and attach a photo for easier identification later. Google Messages is also getting a Google Keep integration for sharing and editing lists and notes within conversations, plus new personalization options letting users customize individual chats with backgrounds, photos and colors, with text bubbles adjusting to match automatically.