4 ms·

I wonder why they tried to move away from physical buttons to begin with ? Is it because they are cheaper to implement in software ?

JoshTriplett 3y ago
Also more compact and flexible: a software button can be repurposed for different screens or localized to different languages, without making a different physical design. It makes sense from many perspectives, except for the perspective of usability (especially usability without looking at the controls).
- t-writescode 3y ago
  A physical button can, too. You make it dependent upon the text on the current screen that’s displayed. The important thing is you can feel the button or dial itself, not what text is on it. Even when you glance to see where a button is or which button it is (temp or whatever), once you know where it is, your eyes can divert back to the road and you can feel around for the dial or button when you miss it.
- dharmab 3y ago
  The bizzare thing is that the soft buttons had hardcoded symbols on them! https://youtu.be/XGbPHp6QfkQ?t=447 https://youtu.be/XGbPHp6QfkQ?t=447 It was objectively worse than physical buttons, without any advantage at all!
  - happymellon 3y ago
    That was a painful watch. How does that get past any form of testing?
InvaderFizz 3y ago
Screens simplify the design, testing, reduces expense and variance with even more injection molds, wiring for each button, labor costs, etc. There are nothing but upsides for the auto maker, but it's mostly downsides for the end user. It's flashy, which helps initial sales, but consumers hate ever little inconvenience after having the car for a few months.
- kibwen 3y ago
  > Screens simplify the design, testing I wouldn't even say this. It just moves the design and testing out of hardware and into software (which, remember, is running on touchscreen hardware that still also needs to be designed and tested).
  - chias 3y ago
    You can OTA update software buttons though. So arguably a lot of the "testing" can happen for free by customers after it ships.
dboreham 3y ago
An MBA thought they'd get a big bonus because buttons need inventory management whereas touch panels don't.
- nrr 3y ago
  Wait, touch panels don't need inventory management?
bboygravity 3y ago
Because it was easier/cheaper for them and they didn't care that it wasn't as nice for the customer.
kibwen 3y ago
The same reason as the farcical Tesla yoke. Cars are luxury fashion these days, and when it comes to fashion, function goes out the window in service to form. It's not about providing a good product, it's about increasing your social standing.
kevin_thibedeau 3y ago
They couldn't figure out how to make buttons that didn't shed paint.
tw04 3y ago
Because Tesla cut all sorts of things to cut costs and called it technically superior. A bunch of people drank the koolade. Other vendors tried to join the party. It’s not technology, it’s blatant cost cutting that provides a significantly reduced experience.

JoshTriplett 3y ago

Also more compact and flexible: a software button can be repurposed for different screens or localized to different languages, without making a different physical design. It makes sense from many perspectives, except for the perspective of usability (especially usability without looking at the controls).

t-writescode 3y ago
A physical button can, too. You make it dependent upon the text on the current screen that’s displayed. The important thing is you can feel the button or dial itself, not what text is on it. Even when you glance to see where a button is or which button it is (temp or whatever), once you know where it is, your eyes can divert back to the road and you can feel around for the dial or button when you miss it.
dharmab 3y ago
The bizzare thing is that the soft buttons had hardcoded symbols on them! https://youtu.be/XGbPHp6QfkQ?t=447 https://youtu.be/XGbPHp6QfkQ?t=447 It was objectively worse than physical buttons, without any advantage at all!
- happymellon 3y ago
  That was a painful watch. How does that get past any form of testing?

InvaderFizz 3y ago

Screens simplify the design, testing, reduces expense and variance with even more injection molds, wiring for each button, labor costs, etc. There are nothing but upsides for the auto maker, but it's mostly downsides for the end user. It's flashy, which helps initial sales, but consumers hate ever little inconvenience after having the car for a few months.

kibwen 3y ago
> Screens simplify the design, testing I wouldn't even say this. It just moves the design and testing out of hardware and into software (which, remember, is running on touchscreen hardware that still also needs to be designed and tested).
- chias 3y ago
  You can OTA update software buttons though. So arguably a lot of the "testing" can happen for free by customers after it ships.

dboreham 3y ago

An MBA thought they'd get a big bonus because buttons need inventory management whereas touch panels don't.

nrr 3y ago
Wait, touch panels don't need inventory management?

bboygravity 3y ago

Because it was easier/cheaper for them and they didn't care that it wasn't as nice for the customer.

kibwen 3y ago

The same reason as the farcical Tesla yoke. Cars are luxury fashion these days, and when it comes to fashion, function goes out the window in service to form. It's not about providing a good product, it's about increasing your social standing.

kevin_thibedeau 3y ago

They couldn't figure out how to make buttons that didn't shed paint.

tw04 3y ago

Because Tesla cut all sorts of things to cut costs and called it technically superior. A bunch of people drank the koolade. Other vendors tried to join the party. It’s not technology, it’s blatant cost cutting that provides a significantly reduced experience.