Some carmakers are embracing buttons following consumer complaints of overly-complicated and distracting touch screens. Credit: DepositPhotos
For years, car safety experts and everyday drivers have bemoaned the loss of the humble button. Modern cars have almost unilaterally replaced dashboards full of tactile knobs with sleek, iPad-like digital displays, despite concerns these alluring devices might be making distracted driving worse. But there are signs the tide might be shifting.
After going all in on touch screens for years, Korean carmaker Hyundai is publicly shifting gears. Hyundai Design North America Vice President Ha Hak-soo remarked on the shift during a recent interview with JoongAng Daily admitting the company was lured in by the “wow” factor of massive, all-in-one screen-based infotainment systems. Customers apparently didn’t share that enthusiasm.
“When we tested with our focus group, we realized that people get stressed, annoyed and steamed when they want to control something in a pinch but are unable to do so,” Ha said.
Now the company is reversing course. Hyundai previously announced it would use physical buttons and knobs for many in-cabin controls across its new lineup of vehicles. They aren’t alone. Porsche and Volkswagen are amongst the major brands planning to buck the trend. It’s part of what looks like a broader acknowledgment of so-called “screen fatigue” setting in amongst car buyers.
Touch screens let carmakers jam-pack features into a single panel
The first touch screen in a car dates back nearly four decades to the 1986 Buick Riviera. That application, a cathode-ray-tube powered 3×4 inches box, was comparatively quaint compared to the massive desktop-sized screens in some modern vehicles.
Over the years, screens gradually developed in size and overall functionality. These screens were no longer just used for controlling the AC and the radio. In time, drivers were able to use touch screens in some models to adjust core car mechanics like traction control and even cycle between performance modes. The introduction of systems like Apple and Google CarPlay, which let users access some of their phone features through a car’s in-cabin display, similarly incentivized carmakers to outfit their vehicles with larger, more intuitive touch displays. At the same time, touch screens have reportedly become much more cost-effective for carmakers.
In theory, a tablet-like display should free up more space in the front of the vehicle by replacing a dashboard full of analog knobs with one centralized control panel. Since the screen interface isn’t limited by space it also gives drivers a greater ability to customize and control every aspect of their driving experience, from seamlessly linked Spotify playlists to perfectly warm seats. Tesla, which may have done more than any other carmaker to popularize the current in-car touchscreen aesthetic, took this trend to its logical conclusion by adding in the ability to play graphically intensive video games like CyberPunk 2077.
Many drivers find touch screens overly complicated and annoying
But it turns out drivers,