We need something better than touchscreens in cars
The article critiques the widespread use of touchscreens in modern car interfaces, arguing they compromise safety and usability. It highlights a car manufacturer that avoids large touchscreens in favor of physical buttons, resulting in more durable and functional interiors. The author questions why the industry prioritized phone-like screens over ergonomic design, despite their shortcomings while driving.
- ▪A small-volume car manufacturer near Strasbourg avoids large touchscreens, using physical buttons for main controls instead.
- ▪Their previous models had no touchscreens, leading to interiors that age better than those with outdated digital displays.
- ▪The upcoming model only uses a screen when necessary, such as for GPS, and it may not even be touch-enabled.
- ▪Car manufacturers increasingly rely on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, outsourcing interface design to smartphone operating systems.
- ▪Touchscreens in cars create safety risks and poor user experiences, especially when drivers must navigate menus while operating a vehicle.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
We need something better than touchscreens in carsI live in the Greater Strasbourg area, and nearby, 30 kilometres away or so, there is a certain small-volume car manufacturer that understood years ago, before it was cool, that touchscreens in cars tend to age poorly. I love what they do instead of putting every command behind a fancy touchscreen: they try to give each of the main commands its own physical button, without relying on a capacitive piece of glass, as if we were still living in the first 120 years of the 140-year-old car industry.*1 There was no such screen in their previous flagship model (2005–2015), resulting in an interior that ages quite well compared to other interiors from the same era (imagine the resolution of these screens).
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Thejollyteapot.
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