iOS 7 and motion sickness: What you can do, and where you can learn more

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

One of the most amazing new features of iOS 7 is that it's built on top of a physics and particle engine, allowing almost any and every element to come alive with movement - shifting, colliding, bouncing, floating, and more. It looks and feels like a game space. And therein lies a problem for some people. It's reportedly making them motion sick.

I have a friend who can't play 3D games or watch 3D movies on big screens for more than a few minutes without feeling sick and having to stop. Another with Labyrinthitis that's, off-and-on, threatened his ability to get around and even stay standing. I myself can't read for long in a moving vehicle without getting nauseous and having to stop. None of us have had a problem with iOS 7 to date, but for those who do, it can be a show-stopper level problem. Craig Grannell has been tracking the issue closely, and has written about it on Revert to Saved:

Despite this, I worry a little about iOS 7, on the basis of my own problems with motion sickness. I've heard the parallax effect (a known trigger) can be disabled, but Charles Skoda has written about new motion-sickness triggers in Messages, and this on a system already packed full of large/full-screen transitions, which are also a big problem on OS X.

You can keep up with his information campaign by following him on Twitter @CraigGrannell. You can also email accessibility@apple.com and go to Apple's feedback page (opens in new tab) and let them know exactly what causes you problems. (Heartfelt emails to Apple executives have been known to get responses, at the very least, in the past as well.)

For many people the iOS 7 parallax effect is cool, dynamic wallpapers amazing, the Messages bubbles fun, the folder and app zooming transportive, and so on and so on. For those for whom they trigger motion sickness, they're off-putting, nauseating, or simply impossible to use.

Parallax can be turned off in Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion. So can Dynamic wallpapers in Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness. Message bubble bouncing, folder and app zooming, not so much. Apple also provides UI Dynamics as an application programming interface (API) so developers can more easily add some of those effects to their own apps.Those often can't be turned off either. That some of the effects can be turned off means Apple probably foresaw at least part of the issue. That all can't means they probably didn't foresee enough of it.

If 3D games bother you, it sucks but you can avoid playing them. If reading in a car, train, bus, or plane bothers you, that sucks too but you can listen to or watch something else. If the entire operating system discombobulates you, you have far fewer options other than seeking out an alternate platform.

I don't know enough about either medicine or programming to know if higher frame rates, faster animations, or less fiddly movements would help, or if there's any practical way to add a big honking toggle in Settings that turns off all physics-based animations throughout the OS. All I know is that attention levels need raising.

If you've had any problems with iOS 7 and motion sickness, let me know in the poll, and give me the details (which particular elements are causing it) in the comments below.

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

100 Comments
  • Rene, it does make me a little ill. Even with a static wallpaper and motion reduced switched on. I would much prefer the zoom in/out effect for folders me something i can turn off, but I'm at least mild enough that I can live with it.
  • i don't like the effects and would prefer to turn them off. i've turned off every thing that i can find to turn off and it has lessened it somewhat.
  • I get motion sickness fairly easily, and so far it's not been an issue for me. I do have that parallax effect off, for battery reasons, but even with it on it didn't bother me.
  • "That some can means Apple probably foresaw at least part of the issue. That all can't means they probably didn't foresee enough of it." - these two sentences are really confusing.. I can't even guess what you were trying to say?
  • I know Rene virtually always has a missing or extra word in his articles, but I see nothing wrong with those sentences. Practice reading comprehension and you'll understand better.
  • That sentence is a little awkward. I had to read it 2x.. but it is clear. Read it again. Slowly. Bottom line - they thought about it, but not enough. You can disable some, but not all of the offending effects.
  • that some can, < comma that all can't, < comma. This just needs commas to make sense.
  • More garbage, Rene. No one is getting motion sickness from ios7. You can't even cite an example in your post. And anyone claiming it in the comments section is full of it. I expect more than stream of consciousness writing and blogging for the sake of blogging from you and the rest of the tipb (always tipb to me) team.
  • It's been complained about on several sites. I seems more sensational news for attention than anything to me. iMore seems the last to be reporting on it though and at least points out ways to minimize the effects. Most are just saying iOS 7 makes people sick, etc. blah blah..
  • It's always something.
    hypochondriacs everywhere you turn nowadays. Go live in a box for Christ's sakes and give us all a break. I pity the national health care system if it goes into motion. We're all screwed paying for morons...
  • I can't play most video games because of the violent motion sickness I get. iOS 7 hasn't bothered me at all, but I can certainly understand those who it does. Hypochondriac ? I took 2 gravol and wore a sea band to try The Last Of Us and still played for 20 minutes before I was so sick I was down for hours.
  • I feel like if it doesnt happen to one individual, they dismiss it as "a load of crap" or something along those lines. Ive been getting motion sickness too from iOS 7. It's unfortunate, but it happens.
  • Not true. You could take 10 seconds to research before yo comment.
  • Check out the thread on macrumours then apologize for being rude. One poster there tried to make sickgate stick, great.
  • I'm not interested in people posting online. You gotta give me more than what I imagine is probably a lot of android ppl posing as iPhone ppl complaining. Too many trolls out there for commenters to have any credence here. You're just gonna have to give me something a little more objective and concrete.
  • There's a link in the post to a respect UK journalist suffering from the problem, and he links to several more. Usually I ignore people being dicks in the comments, but there's absolutely nothing funny about trolling accessibility. This is one of those issues that matters. I'd rather not start deleting asinine comments and bouncing people, but this is one of those threads I"ll have really low tolerance on.
  • ^ This. Totally agree, Rene.
  • Rene, I think you're real off base here. Based on your writing and your link and the link in your link all I'm reading is second- and third-hand word of mouth reporting and anecdotal evidence. You link to Grannell's letter doesn't contain one word about him suffering from motion sickness in ios7. He makes note of it as it relates to osx and the kindle app. But not a word about an actual experience in ios7. Same w the link from Grannell. That review of ios7 doesn't say anything more than there's a possibility of motion sickness from messages animations. I fail to see how pointing out these facts makes me a dick. And I don't even know what you mean by "trolling accessibility". I come to this site to read things like your fantastic review on ios7. No other site I read gave a more detailed and thorough review of this very new, very different os. Your attention to detail was unmatched anywhere else on the web. I expect that same quality of writing, research, and analysis on a subject like this, too. And if my tame critique of that is something you deem worthy of bouncing me for then I'm happy to take my reading elsewhere. What's the point of a comment section if agreement w the author is required? Great technology comes from people challenging one another and the status quo. Funny that would be lost on the editor-in-chief of a blog dedicated to Apple and their products.
  • Kudos - Admirer! I don't see how RUSH can say that this site is a WEALTH of information. Sometimes it is just RUBBISH. RENE! - just the facts. I don't care about feelings, I want TECH TALK! NOT, " WAAAAH, MY THUMBS HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RENE you are in rare SOAPBOX form today!
  • I don't think you get, or are willing to accept, that a lot treatments and symptom logging are based on anecdotal evidence. How else would we come up with lists of known side effects from medications and conditions if not for anecdotal evidence? Those anecdotes aren't any less factual in such a scientific arena. Just because it doesn't affect you personally doesn't mean it doesn't have an effect on someone else and your disagreement with the subject doesn't make it any less factual, either.
  • http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/apple-ios-literally-making-users-sick/s...
  • Well, I just went back to this article to see where to turn off parallax because someone on a completely non-tech forum I'm on said iOS7 was making her nauseous. She's had post-concussion syndrome in the past, so I imagine she's more susceptible than the average person. But it's still affecting her for real, and that shouldn't happen from an OS. Rene was right to write about it IMO.
  • Really?
    Is there really any respected journalist out there anymore? Come on Rene... and the UK no less. Who gives a crap what the UK has to say about anything. They're still pissed about America.
  • Oh. You're one of THOSE. Okay then, carry on with the obnoxious behavior wrapped in a country's flag for protection.
  • Yep. I went through all the betas on the iphone and ipad no problems. Had a friend with a balance problem caused by antibiotic side-effects upgrade after it shipped and it was the very first thing she said. "iOS 7 is making me sick". So yeah it probably affects a small number of people, but it affects them very negatively and severely. It needs a solution. Apple can do it without adding any more UI elements. Just make the existing reduce motion switch apply to the animations too (i'm hoping just slowing down, or making more localized motions is all that is needed as some of the motions are key indicators that something is happening.)
  • just turn it off or stop taking Clap pills!
  • No one has to give you anything, admirer_of_you. What, just cause it doesn't happen to you, then it isn't true, right? Whatever. How self centric can one person be?
  • This whole ordeal is based on conjecture, hearsay, and a lot of what ifs. I just want some empirical evidence. I don't exactly see that as being self-centric.
  • Why are you so invested in this? What constitutes "empirical evidence" in your mind? If first person commentary doesn't then you are SOL. Pointing out facts doesn't make you a dick. Starting first post on this subject with this does:
    More garbage, Rene. No one is getting motion sickness from ios7. You can't even cite an example in your post. And anyone claiming it in the comments section is full of it
  • I don't know what you mean by "invested"? Does the fact that I'm making comments make me "invested"? And if so, does that not make you invested, too?
  • Admirer - don't get started, you can't argue with the mentally challenged.
    They're unarmed.
    Sick love to be sick, and love to do nothing but try and make others sick around them by complaining. There is a study about it on the web, search it. It is true.
  • Wow, thanks for all those facts and empirical evidence about that study, Orealy. "There is a study about it on the web, search it. It is true." You realize the same statement exactly can be said about the motion sickness issue. It's on the web, so it must be true, according to you. Or is only what you want to believe from the web true, and everything else is false? You can't talk out of both side of your mouth, genius. You and admirer obviously are cut from the same cloth. If it doesn't affect me, then it's not real. If you say so. You can't argue with close minded people who wouldn't even consider the thought that this could be a possibility. Not wasting any more time on either of you.
  • There seem to be a lot of logical issues with your position but among the biggest is the low standard of evidence required for your opinion vs the high standard of evidence you require from others. This was an article on the Internet with comments by Internet users and you shared your disagreement via the Internet yet, according to you, it's not good enough for the opposing side to share their evidence...via the internet. If somehow you're really a good, open-minded person, these comments from you do not represent that. In fact, it's a classic example of the behavior identified with trolls.
  • Reporting is sources and cited. Commenting on a website is anyone spouting off whatever they want. That is not empirical. You could never turn in a college research paper cited w anonymous commenters in web forums. That's the difference.
  • If you're married to the empirical standard, where is your empirical proof that it does not exist. Now, we both know that it's pretty you to prove a negative, but you didn't simply state skepticism. You expressed in no uncertain terms that NO ONE is experiencing motion sickness from iOS 7. So, by what empirical method did you come to your conclusion? Just let it go. You overreacted and overstated. It happens to the best of us. Refusing to back down, no matter how wrong you are, though, is what happens to the worst of us. Clearly you're too smart for that. Anyway, for further anecdotal evidence, Leo Laporte (and please don't think I'm saying he is th standard of all things empirical) has repeatedly stated, before I heard anyone else do so, that the animations made him feel motion sickness. His co-host, Sarah Lane, responded with at least a tone of skepticism. I felt similarly. It seemed unlikely that the mild animation he showed resulted in feelings of nausea. BUT, what reason would Leo, Rene, or anyone else (particularly those who are largely pro-Apple) have to lie about this, of all things? If the well-reputed say something lik this is so. It's probably so.
  • "If you're married to the empirical standard, where is your empirical proof that it does not exist. " Sigh. You do realize it's not possible to prove a negative, right? While I like iMore and admire Rene this does need to be quantified as people might use the same term in different ways, i.e. one person finds the zooming a bit disorienting, another is violently ill. Both call it motion sickness, but those are very different results. Admirer's correct, too, that internet comments can't be taken as evidence. Sadly, there are too many people who troll for that to work.
  • You don't get to sigh when you quoted me but stopped right before I said the part that shows that I know about proving negatives: "If you're married to the empirical standard, where is your empirical proof that it does not exist. Now, we both know that it's pretty you to prove a negative, but you didn't simply state skepticism. You expressed in no uncertain terms that NO ONE is experiencing motion sickness from iOS 7. So, by what empirical method did you come to your conclusion?" Did you just stop reading then or did you deliberately misrepresent things to make your point look good? Because it really seems that you're defending trollish behavior by exhibiting trollish behavior.
  • Yes, I stopped reading. It's not 'pretty you to prove a negative' [sic] it's not *possible*. I've seen so many people who don't understand this that I immediately discount the logic skills of anyone asking someone else to do so. Oh and yes, yes, anyone who disagrees with you is a troll. You just keep believing that.
  • Well, someone named you right.
  • No doubt.
    Fricktards that start crap.
  • I got a headache from the parallax feature and had to turn it off. If you've never experienced this due to looking at something with 3D effects then that's great. But this is a real thing that can effect some people, including myself. I am not a troll. I have been an iPhone user since day 1. This is 100% real for some people. So here's your example. I'm a real iPhone user and this is absolutely effecting me.
  • He's already written you off as "full of it" (see his initial comment). No matter how many people this genuinely affects, unless the Mayo Clinic publishes a study on the matter, and unless it's quoted by the Wall Street Journal, his opinion is superior to all others. Welcome to the internet.
  • No, all admirer is saying is that, because people DO troll comments, esp Apple site comments, quite a lot that there's no way we can take sting7k's post at face value. He or she could be completely honest. Or a troll. And, sadly, there's absolutely no way to tell which. What Apple should do is gather people claiming to suffer from this and look at it in a controlled environment, trying different things. For example, does speeding up zoom animations help? Shortening duration? What does everyone mean by motion sickness (it might range from mild disorientation to nausea). Technically, it's probably not that hard to disable all of this, but the issue we'll have then is how transitions look and what happens when a 3rd party app calls for a transition that the user has disabled. Even stipulating that this happens it's not a trivial thing to change.
  • ha ha. I love how apparently you've evaluated ALL people. The entire planet. ha ha. "No one?" Such absolutes.
  • iOS7 definitely gives me a headache. I disabled the parallax effect right away. I find the color scheme too bright, but mostly it's zooming in and out for EVERY app. It's like travelling down a tunnel, but worse because the animations zoom to different parts of the screen (to the icon location). To me, the app transitions are like staring a high-speed PowerPoint presentation with animated transitions--I'll have to change to Android unless Apple releases a fix. Plenty of users on Twitter have the same complaints (nausea, dizziness, headaches, motion sickness, etc.).
  • It's not the colors i find too bright, it's the screen itself. Seems to annoying increase brightness in weird times (and not in reaction to light levels in the room i'm in changing.) I constantly bring up control panel to slide the brightness back down.
  • I'm with you on the zoom in/out. I usually look away briefly when entering or exiting an app or folder. That helps a little.
  • I tend to suffer mildly from computer motion sickness. Some games make me extremely sick such as running through mazes, etc. I play World of Warcraft which is 3D and it doesn't bother me at all. (A lot of static and gentle motion vs. rapidly moving sides). I do hope Apple will enable someway to dismiss all effects if one needs it and even maybe consider selecting milder or richer colors or even grey scale. There are some color combinations that do make me a little nauseous. My request to Apple is not one of complaint.... I love what they are doing (especially 64-bit), but, I actually could use the colors a little "different." At least some options to select different palettes to help with any nausea. Apple is the "go to" phone for people with disabilities and this is one area that needs not to be overlooked and added to their long list of how the iPhone helps with disabilities.
  • just don't use your phone while riding in a vehicle....same thing with books. you read a book on a car and you get sick. don't do it!
  • pffft, if it bothers you don't do it. I can read in a car sitting in a seat facing backwards and not have problems. Only time i got motion sick in a moving vehicle was attempting to play Doom in a U-Haul van with no shocks, otherwise i can play games all day in a car. but this problem isn't happening just in a car, it happens to some people just sitting down using the phone normally.
  • Exactly. Im sitting at a desk just using my iPad. AFAIK, my desk doesnt move :/
  • I shut that feature off right away hoping it may help battery life. I also changed my home wallpaper to jet black, looks great with the colored apps.
    PS, battery life keeps getting better.
  • While I don't have any problems, the animations in the springboard app is what causing my wife to not upgrade her phone. The way that the icons are always zooming in and out as you launch an app and return back makes her nauseous. I just find them slowing things down.
  • ydThe parallax feature seemed to give me a bit of a headache - I turned it off and the issues seemed to go away.
  • Thanks for the info on how to turn it of nvr bothered me just didn't really see the point and I'm sure it used battery didn't know how to turn it off now I do thanks. The motion backgrounds if they were cool I'd prob use them but they're pretty lame so I'm out on that too Sent from the iMore App
  • I love the parallax effect. The more I use iOS7, the more I love it. I'm not sure how one can get motion sickness. Now when I check my wife's old iPhone 4 with iOS 6, it feels too static and boring.
  • Medical conditions affecting balance seem to be a big cause. A friend has that as a side-effect of some drugs she has to take, people with vertigo have it too. The icon zoom makes them feel like they're falling and their eyes saying they're moving but their body saying they aren't really messes with them. Like color blindness, not everyone has it.
  • The parallax motion thing strains my eyes and was giving me a headache within the first several minutes after installing iOS 7. I will not be turning that back on.
  • this intrigues me simply because it was so subtle for me that i doublechecked to make sure it was on. On my screens the background moves maybe 1/8th of an inch... weird how people notice different things.
  • honestly....I disabled the parallax feature because im comparing battery life vs having it on or not. I can live without this feature.
  • Seriously
  • While I love the parallax and motion transitions in iOS 7, and I hope they don't take them away, I get it to a small degree. My wife gets headaches in poorly-rendered 3D movies, or anything that's been a 3D conversion, usually. Avatar was a mixed bag for her, because the 3D was bright and native, but it also employed the "windowed" effect, which bothered her a bit. So far, iOS 7 doesn't seem to be a problem for her, but I'm sure it could be for some people. Apple just needs to have a "Reduce Motion" toggle that does what it does now, and a "Reduce Animations" toggle to shut off the transitional animations. That's an easy fix, and will solve it relatively quickly. I'm sure they have it ready to go from some alpha version of iOS 7, so do some light testing, slap it into a point release, and call it a day.
  • I have "iMore Puke Syndrom!"
  • ...Well, I get dizzy spells, nausea, cold sweats, hot sweats, fever blisters, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, blurred vision, involuntary trembling, dead hands, numb lips, fingernail sensitivity, pelvic discomfort.
  • ...What if my heart stops beating? What if I'm looking for a bathroom and... my bladder explodes?
  • One of the more lame forum flameouts here in awhile.
  • Dude really is taking "online asshole" to a whole new level.
  • I like the animation as does wife and daughter. But I wouldn't mind seeing an option to disable it. I expect Apple will address it later.
  • Motion sickness? No. Increased gas output? Sure.
  • no motion sickness, just turned off that battery draining feature
  • Playing Starcraft 2 gives me headaches sometimes, but iOS 7 has nothing on that kind of visual disorientation. All good on this front, commander.
  • "One of the most amazing new features of iOS 7 is that it's built on top of a physics and particle engine" I do agree with that, but I think Apple designers mostly misused it on useless eyecandy. It seems like the developers came up with it and the designers went wild with the possibilities. It's distracting, useless, it mostly serves no purpose, and as you pointed out, it just gets in our way. It serves as a showcase of the new iOS, but for day to day use, when you're walking down the street and need to acess something with a minimum of hassle, its an obstacle. Animations and game physics have a place in our devices, but Apple has really not found it yet. Bouncing page edges is a great example of a good use of that. Parallax and opening app animations are a bad example. I wish for instance that buttons were animated, instead of this amorphous link/text visual that iOS 7 favors, where in apps such as the new Calendar you never know if something is clickable or not, and when you know, you still don't know if you have clicked and there is a delay, or have missed the button.
  • Thanks to Rene for posting this. I appreciate it, as I'm sure others do. I'd just like to briefly pick up a few points. First, some people need to understand just because something isn't happening to you, that doesn't mean it's not happening to others. Vestibular disorders and related conditions are extremely variable. People with motion sickness might be fine with iOS and vice-versa. Personally, I can tolerate the various effects on my iPhone, but my iPad is now basically unusable unless I close my eyes during all zoom transitions. A Twitter follower told me his experience was the precise opposite (fine on iPad, but the iPhone has made him very ill). Secondly, those fearing some kind of knife coming to iOS 7, I don't think anyone wants that. I certainly don't. I actually really like the non-gratuitious animation—the folder stuff is great for spatial awareness. However, I can't stomach it. Therefore, I'd like the option, in Accessibility, to turn it off. Ideally, this would be in addition to Reduce Motion. Thirdly, Marty Edwards sums things up brilliantly in arguing "Apple is the 'go to' phone for people with disabilities". I'd agree—it's great for vision/hearing/motor-control problems. But Apple's dropped the ball on balance, as it has for a long while. (OS X is also jam-packed with triggers for vertigo and similar conditions.) It needs to consult better in this area, and I very much hope that will change. Finally, I'm sure certain people in this thread (and elsewhere) will never be swayed, but if anyone would like further links to what I've written about this, my most recent post moves beyond my open letter: http://reverttosaved.com This includes background on my interest in this topic (largely driven by OS X Lion's full-screen mode), and provides a little insight into my iOS 7 use. There's also a link to my news piece that ran on Stuff.tv. Soon (I'm hoping tomorrow), there's also an investigative piece that should run on a major news site, which I'm hoping will get the word out further. As I've said on Twitter, from day one this has only been about usability and accessibility. People have accused me and others or wanting money via some kind of lawsuit or being Apple haters, and that's just total hogwash. I don't want money. I don't want iOS to change by default. I just want to be able to use my devices again and not run the risk of minutes, hours or even days of background nausea and dizziness.
  • Made me a bit I'll on iPhone 4S. iPhone 5C and 5S it's much less nauseating, certainly livable in moderate to small doses. Even pretty cool looking at times on my 5S. I think the screen size makes a difference, or maybe it's faster graphics processor smoothed it out enough that it doesn't bother me nearly as much on the new phone. Sent from the iMore App
  • Thanks for bringing this issue to the mainstream like this and being able to see that some 15% of users are probably affected. For me installing iOS 7 was a disaster. Immediately after the install I became nauseated and dizzy. I toughed it out but only made myself very ill for the rest of that first day. I continued to try to become accustomed to the new look but to no avail. I just became more and more ill. I turned off parallax and bolded the fonts but it made no difference. While the zooming effect was definitely bad, I found even reading text on the screen made me feel bad without the motion occurring. In the end Apple replaced my 4S with a new unit still loaded with iOS 6. The problem resolved immediately. I've never been so happy to be rid of a new OS in my life. I should add to this that I have always been prone to car sickness. Reading anything in the backseat of a moving car, especially on winding roads, is bad news.
  • iOS7 zoom in zoom out animations when opening/closin apps give me headaches and motion sickness. Can't even use my phone now, I have to look away when the animations are on.
    All the people mocking those affected are being jerks. It's a real problem for some people. You're not affected, consider yourself lucky.
  • Thanks for writing this article. It is definitely real. For me it is not the parallax effect because I have an iPhone 4. I don't even have the "reduce motion" option in the settings. I'm not exactly sure what causes it for me yet, but right now it seems like it is most likely the zoom effect. But I think it is a combination of everything. Every single thing you do now is animated. It's either zooming in or out or sliding across the screen. It happened while I was waiting for my food at a restaurant just a couple days ago. I was reading web, switching between tabs, switching apps maybe a few times. It was mostly typical iPhone use for me. It didn't take too long to happen. I couldn't even eat my dinner until I took a break for a few minutes and I was still nauseous the rest of the night. This has never happened before ios7. The only time I got sick using phone before was in the back of a cab with bad shocks and that would have happened if I was reading a book or anything else. I guess it will keep me from using my phone to much, so it has that as an upside. Please Apple create an option like Microsoft has in Win 7 and 8 in the accessibility settings to "reduce unnecessary animations"! Not only will it get rid of the motion sickness, it helps the operating system feel a little faster and snappier. The animations are pretty for a minute, then they just slow things down. (yes I know iPhone 4 is slow but my PC is not and turning off animations makes things feel much snappier and quicker)
  • I'm usually a pretty understanding guy and try to be very fair. I'm sorry but this however to me is just going a little bit overboard. I'm not saying some people don't have a problem I'm just saying there are alternatives. They might be alternatives you don't like ie. Get another platform but they are alternatives nonetheless. I have a couple of friends who can't play certain games on the 360 because it gives them motion sickness. The difference is they don't go to the media or forums they just complain about it and then find a solution. In my opinion the only reason we are hearing about this is because iOS 7 is new and has the spotlight.
  • You're very wrong here. No one more than I would like to be using this new OS. It has a number of improvements and looks good IMO. I cannot be bothered being hassled by some new OS or making comments about it. Have been an Apple addict for years. But this is full on if you happen to have a predisposition to motion sickness or whatever it is that causes it. I'm sure you've felt like you were going to puke at some stage in your life from something. It's one of the worst feelings. And this OS kicks it off immediately as though you are sitting in the back of a car on a winding road reading the paper. Pure vomit.
  • I am an iOS 7 user (and could be called a fanboi, since I took a late lunch break just to update my iPhone at 1 o'clock the day it was released.) The day after I installed the new OS and tinkered with it on and off for hours, I came down with an extreme case of dizziness and the spins and spent the entire evening in bed. I had an inkling that my woes could be attributed to the beautiful movements on my iPhone and iPad, but I didn't want to believe it. (Call me an idealist.) Nor did I want to admit my concern to my boyfriend, who is an Apple fan through and through. My history of motion sickness is confined to fair rides (not rollercoasters) and nearshore/offshore fishing trips, but my case is to the degree that I must take Scopace (scopolamine) tablets to keep symptoms at bay. It occurred to me that reducing the motion on my iOS 7 devices could allow my vertigo to subside ... And it did. After researching the situation, I was comforted to see others mentioning it on Twitter and now in this article ... And when I updated my parents' iPad, I took the time to reduce the motion, since my father has similar motion sickness issues. Without the effects, I still appreciate the new OS's beauty and functionality and have not suffered any additional ill effects.
  • For me it's not motion sickness, but annoyance: the zooming icons when you return to the home screen introduce a delay, and it makes my eyes feel like they're crossing. It's fun once or twice, but in everyday use it's distracting, it's a showy gimmick, like the OS X dock animation -- which I disable -- and I want it off. The other effects I find less bothersome, but I disabled what I could in hopes it would improve daily battery life. Thanks for drawing attention to this. I've submitted a report to Apple.
  • I downloaded last weekend and on Monday, while using IPad, ended up with a significant episode of vertigo which lasted remainder of day. Need prescription to relieve it. Have made all the adjustments Apple suggested, and still get headaches. Never had vertigo before, but was prone to motion sickness as a child.
  • I've now written for the Guardian on this subject, consulting with doctors, experts on vestibular disorders, and developers. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/27/ios-7-motion-sickness-...
  • Don't know about "motion sickness" but all those UI spasm and convulsions are just plain annoying and slowing everything down. using iPhone now amounts to constant cringing. i know some people do like it. i just talked to several strippers, my good friends, last night - and they all like the new icons and animations. so Apple did manage to please someone. but i personally hate it. why should i waste my time constantly watching some developer's pathetic experiments in animation? on Apple's part, it's a huge disrespect to the user to not give us an option to disable all animations. Android phones do have this option. but then we don't even get to other issues - like blindingly white background (for which i guess Office 2013 was the inspiration), weird UI (wow that keyboard came to us straight from 1987's HyperCard!) etc. right now, iPhone is a device i don't really want to touch and use. if not my contract, I'd switch to another phone right away. i do have faith in Apple though that they listen and will fix this disaster asap.
  • The new IOS is making me very ill. The zoom in/out feature for apps and folders gives me extreme motion sickness and nausea. I have felt sick for many hours each day simply due to causal limited use of my phone. It's unbearable. Currently I have to look for the app/folder I want, position my finger over it, close my eyes, then tap, wait and reopen my eyes. This, of course is a ridiculous solution to the problem. Being prone to motion sickness since childhood, I am very aware of what will make me feel sick and am generally able to avoid triggers. I immediately recognized the zooming screen movements would make me sick and began looking for a option to disable this feature the very moment I first used the new IOS. I can't believe there is no available solution. It troubles me to think that I am stuck in a phone contract with a phone I will not be able to use. If no solution is available within days, I will unfortunately be forced to get a new/different phone :(
  • The parallax features didn't bug me as much as the animations of opening and closing apps does. It's this sort of nausea or vertigo, though it's kind of weak, like the onset of motion sickness.
    The main problem is that it doesn't fade, any time I go to open something in my phone I'm gifted with this lurching vertigo. It's the of slow drag out of or into a new screen that seems to do it the most for me.
    So far, coving my phone with my hand or tilting it away from me when opening apps, has been the only way to escape it. (And yes, like almost everyone else, the first thing I did was hunt in the settings to see if this was something I could just "turn off." Turning off the Parallax effect was the first thing I did.)
    I try not to unlock my phone or open apps unless I have to. The new control screen that you drag from the bottom has been the saving grace of the update. (Also, luckily(?) the immediate nausea saved me from updating my ipad as well.)
    I used to get carsick as a kid and I'm not a fan of 3D movies, but I also ocean kayak (rolling waves are my favorites) and ride ferries frequently. So, I'm not massively prone to motion sickness, nor do I have any pre-existing conditions that would make this happen.
    I've been trying to power through it, hoping that I could adjust to it, but the intensity hasn't gotten better or worse. Sounds like the only current option is to try to find a "new" phone with the old iOS on it still. If that doesn't work it's back to my old android I guess. It's strange that some people think this is a hoax or a bid for attention. I just want to be able to use my phone again.
  • This "survey" question is super BIASED, and the results are meaningless!!! The phrasing suggests you should be answering "yes", there are two options to answer yes and only one option to answer no, and the only possible no answer has spelling errors which may confuse someone answering! I am a statistician and I can tell you that this is just garbage and a sorry excuse for "research"!!
  • For some reason it bothers me that people are so self consumed that they believe that if it doesn't affect them, then it must not exist. For example: there is a high pitch mosquito type sound frequency that most adults over 25 can't hear (frequencies above 13 or 14 kilohertz). If a device was emitting that sound, it would annoy teenagers and may lead to headaches, etc., but if I can't hear it, does that mean they are making it up?? Does that mean it doesn't exist?? Of course not. Naysayers, please open your minds just a bit. I am not a hypochondriac (I've perfect health and am not a complainer). Sadly, I am one of those who are truly affected by something in iOS7. It starts with feeling of nausea that then developes into a serious headache. I have turned off the parallax effect, yet still experience discomfort when using my devices. The nausea feels like vision induced motion sickness (similar to what I feel if trying to read while riding in a moving car), which is why I initially suspected the zooming effects. For all I know it could be a refresh rate frequency change and a more harsh color scheme that may be fatiguing my eyes and bringing on this nausea and headache. I am open minded enough to think that maybe my brain will train itself over time and get used to things...but it hasn't happened yet. So far, I've gone into settings and "reduced motion" selected "bold" text, "increase contrast" and have selected a dark plain wallpaper background. I also try to look away or close my eyes when opening or closing things. These things have helped some but the problem is still there for me. This is real. I've loved my iDevices (prior to iOS7) and have no agenda. I want to love them again!! I can't remember the last time I posted anything on a message board-- but for me this issue is compelling enough to drive me to action. I have also emailed accessibility@apple.com to express my concerns. In a reply email from Apple they mention the steps I've mentioned (reduce motion, increase contrast, bold text) and concluded with the following: "Apple is aware that some users may need additional motion control options. We do appreciate your feedback and will forward your comments on to the appropriate people for review... At this time we cannot comment on when a possible solution will be made available." So, the good news is that apple is aware and I have to hope that a solution will appear in a future update. In the mean time, if you are experiencing this issue, please take a moment to email accessibility@apple.com -- as the more they hear from us the more likely something will be done in a timely fashion.
  • Rene, I think it might not be a bad idea to run an updated story on whether it's worth it to upgrade your 5 to iOS 7 considering some of the issues being brought up. I know some are reporting poor battery life and more RAM swallowed up with the new iOS. Those that don't have many apps installed may not notice any issue such as lag, but from others I know who have 200+ apps on their iPhone 5, they do notice a performance hit.
  • Darwin.
  • Who is to say which trait is better in the long run? Perhaps those affected have a higher level of perception that lets them avoid damage that those unaffected are unknowingly being harmed by! It's too early to bring Darwin into this.. Lol :)
  • Rene thanks for the article, and trying to discuss something that doesn't have 'hard' data to back you up. I actually had similar problems after buying an iPad4, and despite trying everything could not use it. The retina screen itself effects a small percentage of people this way, and adding the motion elements is only increasing those the number of those with problems. I have not had many symptoms at all with the iPhone 5 running iOS7, the smaller screen makes a big difference. The basic problem is that the brain is seeing the HD elements as 3 dimensional instead of 2D, and is trying to focus on them as such. As you add more motion your mind / focus can't work-out the objects fast enough to keep pace with the movement, thus causing the nausea, etc. I am including a link for caseytv and others who have this problem. http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-iPhone-or-iPad-Nausea
  • Thanks Bob, I'll check that out!
  • Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion
  • The IOS7 screen doesn't make me sick personally, but I can easily understand how it does for many. I have a 3D TV, rarely use that feature though. I get a little disoriented, headache after 20, 30 minutes of watching a movie..I have to shut the 3D feature off.
  • Goto Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion
    Should fix the motion sickness problem
  • If you read many of the comments above you will see that "reduce motion settings" will turn off the parallax effect (hovering icons), but does nothing for the aggressive zooming animations. The advice could help some, but for me it was not enough. I contacted Apple and shared what they said in my long post above.
  • The zooming animations make me feel very sick. I have post concussion syndrome which seems to be affecting my inner ear and makes me very susceptible to motion sickness. It would be ideal if Apple could include an option to turn this effect off .
  • If iOS 7 is literally making you sick you can sign the online petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/apple-inc-ios-7-is-making-me-sick-litera...
  • I've been struggling with this motion sick feeling. I have started avoiding messaging or simply allowing my daughter to handle my phone for me. I couldn't figure out why I was getting sick until I had left my phone and realized I wasn't sick that day. Not once. Thank you all for the posts. Reading this has helped alot.