5 ms·

For the life of me, I can't fathom the EV obsession with touchscreens. Why?! I can understand one touchscreen for complex functions, but at least retain button

by spaceman_2020 4y ago

For the life of me, I can't fathom the EV obsession with touchscreens. Why?! I can understand one touchscreen for complex functions, but at least retain buttons for core functions. No one wants to tap five different screens to control the AC direction or wiper blades.

annexrichmond 4y ago
maybe one reason is that it's far cheaper to do touchscreens than a bunch of individual parts and circuit boards? And EVs are already pretty expensive and need to be competitive, so maybe they try to cut costs where they can. Add to that, I'm sure some market research is telling them either touch screens are popular, or that it's not a deal breaker for most people
- spaceman_2020 4y ago
  Hard to buy the cheaper argument when the cheapest cars in the world already have buttons.
  - lWaterboardCats 4y ago
    Harder to turns vehicles as a SaaS product with physical override features
maxerickson 4y ago
It's not a good reason, but it cuts down on part count and assembly time (and complexity).
- yreg 4y ago
  Also let's you change the UI at any time after shipping the product. Basically everything Steve said in the original iPhone keynote applies. Of course there are significant drawbacks as well.
  - Espressosaurus 4y ago
    Except I don't want my car changing its UI. Ever. I dislike it enough when Microsoft or Apple slip in a UI update with a feature update. For something like a car the driving needs to be instinctual so I can spend my attention on the other vehicles. Changing the UI gets in the way of that instinct.
    - shepherdjerred 4y ago
      Then don't buy cars with touchscreens. Some (most) people do want new features added to their devices.
      - defterGoose 4y ago
        I'm not sure that being in any presumed majority group of humans is something I'd want to be smug about.
        shepherdjerred 4y ago
        That sounds rather misanthropic. I don't want touchscreens in a car. I don't want my UI to change. That doesn't change the fact that many people do. Companies build for what customers want, not what engineers want. And even then, many (maybe even most) engineers would align with the average customer.
        Espressosaurus 4y ago
        Except touchscreens are a clear danger to the driver due to the attention they pull away from the road. Controls for the driver need to be physical, full stop. There's more than just driver preference at play here; there's physical usability and its impact on safety, and that should override expectations people have with tablets. We're flying around with 2 ton missiles, it's best we treat them with the appropriate respect.
        4y ago
jackmott42 4y ago
It isn't just EVs, it is all new cars.

annexrichmond 4y ago

maybe one reason is that it's far cheaper to do touchscreens than a bunch of individual parts and circuit boards? And EVs are already pretty expensive and need to be competitive, so maybe they try to cut costs where they can. Add to that, I'm sure some market research is telling them either touch screens are popular, or that it's not a deal breaker for most people

spaceman_2020 4y ago
Hard to buy the cheaper argument when the cheapest cars in the world already have buttons.
- lWaterboardCats 4y ago
  Harder to turns vehicles as a SaaS product with physical override features

maxerickson 4y ago

It's not a good reason, but it cuts down on part count and assembly time (and complexity).

yreg 4y ago
Also let's you change the UI at any time after shipping the product. Basically everything Steve said in the original iPhone keynote applies. Of course there are significant drawbacks as well.
- Espressosaurus 4y ago
  Except I don't want my car changing its UI. Ever. I dislike it enough when Microsoft or Apple slip in a UI update with a feature update. For something like a car the driving needs to be instinctual so I can spend my attention on the other vehicles. Changing the UI gets in the way of that instinct.
  - shepherdjerred 4y ago
    Then don't buy cars with touchscreens. Some (most) people do want new features added to their devices.
    - defterGoose 4y ago
      I'm not sure that being in any presumed majority group of humans is something I'd want to be smug about.
      - shepherdjerred 4y ago
        That sounds rather misanthropic. I don't want touchscreens in a car. I don't want my UI to change. That doesn't change the fact that many people do. Companies build for what customers want, not what engineers want. And even then, many (maybe even most) engineers would align with the average customer.
        Espressosaurus 4y ago
        Except touchscreens are a clear danger to the driver due to the attention they pull away from the road. Controls for the driver need to be physical, full stop. There's more than just driver preference at play here; there's physical usability and its impact on safety, and that should override expectations people have with tablets. We're flying around with 2 ton missiles, it's best we treat them with the appropriate respect.
        4y ago

jackmott42 4y ago

It isn't just EVs, it is all new cars.