Samsung’s new app turns Galaxy Buds into a remedy for motion sickness

Samsung made a surprise announcement today. Out of the blue, the company announced a new mobile app, Hearapy, designed to help people who suffer from motion sickness during travel and car journeys.

The app has a singular purpose. It plays a precise 100 Hz sine wave that stimulates the balance system in the inner ear. Listen for a minute, and you could resist motion sickness for up to two hours — almost like casting an anti-sickness buff on yourself.

But Hearapy is not magic. Samsung says the idea came from a study by Nagoya University in Japan, where researchers investigated which tone most effectively stimulates the vestibular system. Their findings suggest that listening to a 100 Hz sine wave at 75-85 dB for several minutes can temporarily improve balance.

Samsung claims that just 60 seconds with Hearapy can provide relief from motion sickness for up to two hours.

Interestingly, Samsung mentions the new Hearapy app in the same breath as the new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro wireless earbuds. The company does not mention other models.

We did test Hearapy, and you can, too. We found that the app works with just about any headphones, even if they're not Galaxy Buds. Your mileage might vary.

Still, Samsung notes the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro “deliver clean and powerful 100 Hz sound,” so it’s unclear whether the app is perfectly tuned for the Buds 4 Pro or if the effect is equally efficient on any headset that can clearly render a 100 Hz sine wave.

In any case, the Hearapy app debuted a few days ago, and you can download it via Google Play. Try it and see if it eases motion sickness. Who knows? It might become one of your most valuable apps.