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European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls
- Shorel 3y agoIt is a bit insane that simracers now have better wheels than real life cars. https://mozaracing.com/moza-tsw-steering-wheel https://mozaracing.com/moza-tsw-steering-wheel
- cwillu 3y agoA start, but not far enough: anything a driver might be reasonably expected to do while driving should have a physical control. Zero-force, zero-feedback, zero-travel controls should be illegal for such functions.
- bhpm 3y agoWouldn’t it be safer to require all cars to have voice controls? Then the driver doesn’t have to move their hand off the wheel at all.
- stevage 3y agoPretty impossible to have a conversation with a passenger then.
- infotainment 3y agoIMO, voice controls are good additional control modality, but not a good primary one, since the discoverability is zero. (And also they're usually just...not very good.)
- delfinom 3y agoCausing drivers to get road rage because they can't figure out the correct phrasing for voice controls probably also isn't a good idea. Google Assistant still regularly misinterprets what I say <.< Not to mention most voice assistants are fucking awful slow in language. It's like they pick a rural dweller as their speech model instead of a city slicker. Just give me a button instead, it'll be quicker and less distracting.
- dexwiz 3y agoNot all drivers can speak. Not all drivers speak in a way a voice control can reliably understand them. Not all drivers are in environments where voice commands can be easily understood, like loud music. If you are driving a car you likely have the ability to push a button.
- golergka 3y agoNot all drivers can use their legs, they have cars specially fitted for them.
- dotancohen 3y agoYes, and so far as I know there is no physical control system to fit into these touchscreen cars. Market opportunity?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- scaryclam 3y agoAnd even when the driver can speak, use the language, be understood and the voice controls are reliable, sometimes they don't actually want to disturb the passengers sleeping in the car just to crack the sodding window open a bit!
- focusgroup0 3y agoI took a ride with an owner of a brand new BMW with glass cockpit and minimal buttons. He complained to the dealer about not being able to find any of the actions in the endlessly nested menus. The dealer's response: Use voice controls. He tried it, and it's even worse than Siri in terms of reliability. Absolute unmitigated disaster.
- Reason077 3y agoI’ve yet to find any car where the voice control works speedily and reliably, unless using Siri via CarPlay. (Siri is actually pretty great at accurately recognising words, it’s just not always so good at doing something useful with them…) Even Tesla’s is really bad: “Turn off the wipers” frequently gets interpreted as “turn off the wife please” or other similar nonsense.
- dotancohen 3y agoTo be fair, many phrases that I utter (in the car or otherwise) are all also interpreted that same way.
- resolutebat 3y agoTell a Tesla to "go home" sometime, and it will respond what's obviously the best interpretation of your wish, namely playing Boney M's minor 1979 hit "Gotta Go Home" on Spotify. Fortunately, "stop wipers", "stop navigation" or in fact any kind of stop at all will instantly pause the disco assault.
- asyx 3y agoHaven't used it extensively but BMW and Mercedes works reasonably well in German.
- arlort 3y agoAnd that's presumably in english, which is likely the language which had the most money poured into having good voice to text and vice versa
- mc32 3y agoSome reactions are instinctive and don’t require thought. Imagine mid-sipping a drink and something falls out of a truck… garble garble garble —-crash. Voice controls in an emergency wouldn’t work unless you require like 500 feet (maybe more) car to car separation. And then you have people with temporary voice conditions (losing voice) and permanent voice conditions (mute/dumb)
- amluto 3y ago“Hey car, honk the horn” “Hey car, signal left” “Hey car, reverse” You’re kidding, right? Even if this worked far better than Siri, it’s too slow.
- ruined 3y agoHEYCARSTOP STOP STOPHEY CAR STOP STOP HEYCAR STOP *bong* i don't have that answer
- bhpm 3y agoNone of those controls are commonly located on a touch screen, which is the topic of the article.
- shagie 3y ago> But the organization wants to see physical controls for turn signals, hazard lights, windshield wipers, the horn, and any SOS features like the European Union's eCall feature. Those are exactly what is at issue. This also needs to deal with multiple languages and regional accents for Europe. If I, an American, rent a car in Germany, do I need to speak German in order to engage the windshield wipers? For that matter, navigating the on screen controls may also be problematic. Here's a picture of a German car - https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dashboard-luxury-german-car-close-photo-1366684259 https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dashboard-luxury-ge... Do you know which button to push to get the hazard lights on? It's remarkably similar to my Honda. https://www.sheehyhonda.com/honda-dashboard-light-meanings/ https://www.sheehyhonda.com/honda-dashboard-light-meanings/ and my parents' Chrysler https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/chrysler/300/2019/photos-interior/dashboard https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/chrysler/300/2019/photos...
- amluto 3y agoI’m not sure Tesla ever launched this abomination, but: https://www.theverge.com/22348668/tesla-prnd-drive-mode-park-neutral-model-s-x-refresh https://www.theverge.com/22348668/tesla-prnd-drive-mode-park...
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- justinclift 3y ago"Break" "BREAK!" "BREAAK!!!!" "OH GOD PLEASE BRAKE!" crunch Problems can occur if it the voice system brakes (pun intended). ;)
- Izkata 3y agoInstructions followed, car is now broken.
- culopatin 3y agoLike voice control is a reliable method of communication lol. Have an accent? Sorry can’t use your car. Mute? Cough? Lost your voice at a concert? Have the windows down? Come on…
- AdamJacobMuller 3y agoI'm not entirely sure you've ever used voice controls. I've never had experience with any car voice controls which didn't make me want to drive my car into a divider just to end the pain. Voice controls are so frustrating to use that I'm sure they are more distracting to use than even a touchscreen. I might be able to keep my eyes on the road easier with voice controls, but, my brain is going to be quickly annoyed and focused on trying to suss out why the voice control system is not understanding me, or am I using the wrong phrase, or do I need to put the windows up (impossible for me 6+ months of the year) so the car can hear me better? It's like trying to pair bluetooth with a non-carplay (or non-android auto -- which I haven't used but heard good things about) with virtually all OEM and many aftermarket receivers. A uniquely frustrating experience which makes me wonder if QA departments at automakers actually exist.
- roywiggins 3y agoBeing able to honk the horn or turn the windshield wipers on from the back seat would certainly be an interesting feature, especially for people with kids.
- seattle_spring 3y ago"Alexa, honk at this asshole" "Ok, calling Hank Armstrong"
- resolutebat 3y agoOn all cars I've driven voice control is not always on, you need to trigger it by pressing a button first.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- morkalork 3y agoYour reflexes are faster than you can speak. At least I hope they are.
- timothyduong 3y agoI hope you don't have any speech impediments, accents, and english is your first language.
- gnicholas 3y agoI've heard some of the newer cars have pretty good voice controls, especially on the more expensive models. However, the companies tend to put these behind a subscription wall, which I hate. I don't want my car to be always connected to the cloud. I'll do my navigation via my phone, and nothing else requires connectivity (except perhaps if I had an EV and wanted to schedule charging stops).
- dzhiurgis 3y agoObvious limitation is something like Maps and media. My guess ones that use mechanical dials (i.e. Lexus until ~ year ago) cause more distraction than touchscreen by simply being harder to use and taking more time to solve your problem. Given how well chatgpt's voice recognition works - why not just put it on all cars!
- gamepsys 3y ago> Obvious limitation is something like Maps and media I would love to see some data to see how dangerous it is to operate Maps and Media apps on a touch screen while operating a moving vehicle. This is data modern automakers should have access to. I suspect the answer is that it does reduce safety.
- avar 3y agoNobody has access to that data, even if you're excluded it to extreme cases like "an at-fault crash happening as the user was manipulating the map software directly". We can't bridge the gap between that and accident reports. And that doesn't get into the more subtle cases, e.g. a crash that happens later due to an earlier loss of situational awarenesses. It's also hard to quantify the opposite. E.g. I sometimes have to manipulate the map while driving, and resent the distraction. But afterwards I'm more likely to be in the right lane earlier, not be distracted because I'm trying to read a traffic sign in the 1-2 second window I might have etc.
- gamepsys 3y agoThere are enough sensors in a car to know when a collision has occurred. The car is capable of capturing touchscreen use metrics. Bonus points if you can find metrics for the same region/timespan for cars with tactile controls. You can then do any year 1 statistics algorithm to see if using the touchscreen is correlated with collisions. Yes, this doesn't prove causation. A correlation is enough to raise the flag about a safety issue. EDIT: A decent statistical analysis will also uncover if using the touch screen is negatively correlated with accidents -- if people that use maps in general are less likely to get into an accident. This again won't prove causation but would be of interest to the general public and regulators.
- bloopernova 3y agoI haven't looked at new cars in a while. Do most USA or European cars use touchscreens now, or do they still have physical controls?
- aembleton 3y agoThey have both physical controls and touchscreens
- aurareturn 3y agoAround 10 years ago, I started looking into buying a new car. I couldn't believe the number of cars that switched to touch controls even 10 years ago. It boggles my mind just how car makers thought it was safer/easier to have touch in a car while one is driving. I refused to buy any car that replaced physical buttons with touch controls 10 years ago and I still have this rule today. Then again, it also boggles my mind how car makers in the US continue to use flashing red lights as the turn signal instead of yellow lights. You can barely see the red light in sunlight and it's harder to tell the red light from brake lights. Furthermore, the same car will have yellow signal lights in the front and side. So yellow signal lights in front and side, red in the back. Just make it all yellow for turn signal!
- bolasanibk 3y agoI would the main driver was economics. It would be easier and cheaper to manufacture one big screen in the middle compared to a bunch of physical controls with wiring. Also makes it easier to change things later in the design if you do not have a bunch of physical controls to move.
- aurareturn 3y agoI get the cheaper and the ability to update thing. But if any car makers had done any proper UX testing, they'd quickly find out that physical buttons in a car is a non-negotiable.
- ahartmetz 3y agoDo not forget the massive "tablets are the future of computing" hype because Apple released a thing. Touchscreens were super cool by association. It was all pretty stupid. I say that as someone who creates mostly software for touchscreens... using keyboard and mouse because they are much better input devices. You just need the space and the budget for them.
- ceejayoz 3y ago> Then again, it also boggles my mind how car makers in the US continue to use flashing red lights as the turn signal instead of yellow lights. You can barely see the red light in sunlight and it's harder to tell the red light from brake lights. I'm also starting to see really thin - single narrow LED strip - turn signals that are barely visible next to the much larger headlight nearby.
- adwf 3y agoGood. My Tesla doesn't have a stalk for wiper control and it's just awful UX. The auto function is erratic (often triggers on a sunny day, doesn't pick the right level in the rain). Might be fine for sunny California infrequent use, but terrible for England. I'd much rather have easy full control at my fingertips than have to faff about with scroll wheels or the touch screen.
- croes 3y agoHow about buying an other car?
- speedgoose 3y agoThe challenge is that other cars are either worse or more expensive. A Tesla with some aftermarket modes (the sexy buttons for example) is still interesting despite its shortcomings. The perfect product doesn’t exists.
- adwf 3y agoExactly. I love the car in so many other ways that it just really makes some decisions stand out as ridiculous. Why try and skimp $50 manufacturing cost on stalks and sensors in a $50k vehicle when it's otherwise such a great car? Ultimately poor wiper controls and fixed headrests are hardly the end of the world, but they could trivially make it so much better...
- camillomiller 3y agoWhile I agree completely, I would expect that the suggestion should be backed by more actual crash data.
- breadwinner 3y agoCouldn't agree more. Tesla is the biggest violator. In new Teslas, they are removing physical stalks, so if you want to reverse the car, you have to use on-screen controls!
- illumin8 3y agoThere are still physical P, R, N, D controls right below the phone chargers. They aren't exactly easy to use, though.
- dkjaudyeqooe 3y agoOn some models they are above the windscreen. Ergonomic design at its finest.
- izzydata 3y agoEverything I ever hear about Tesla's keeps getting worse and worse. How are they still in business and why does anyone buy one?
- infotainment 3y agoHave you seen the other BEVs available in America? There really isn't much choice if you don't want an SUV -- your options are basically a Tesla or a Chevy Bolt.
- mhandley 3y agoPerhaps the BMW i4? https://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/all-electric/i4/gran-coupe/overview.html https://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/all-electric/i4/gran-coupe/o...
- bengale 3y agoGreat car. Suffers from some of the touchscreen-itis but nowhere near the Tesla nonsense. Not even in the same ballpark.
- nabla9 3y agoTouch screens are cheaper but step backwards in UX and ergonomics. If you need to look at the screen and your finger for basic functions, that's not different from using mobile phone while driving.
- illumin8 3y ago> Tesla is probably at greatest risk here, having recently ditched physical stalks that instead move the turn signal functions to haptic buttons on the steering wheel. I hate to break it to the article writer, but a haptic button on the steering wheel, while absolutely not easy to use, is a physical control.
- dzhiurgis 3y ago> while absolutely not easy to use Absolute majority would like to disagree.
- userbinator 3y agoBut the organization wants to see physical controls for turn signals, hazard lights, windshield wipers, the horn Are there really cars where the horn is not a physical button/ring on the steering wheel? IMHO the driving UX peaked in the 1960s, and was largely unchanged into the 2000s, until touch screens started taking over. Compare: https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/055a.jpg https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads... https://images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/2010-Lincoln-Town-Car-interior.jpg https://images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/2010... https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2017/07/Tesla-Model-3-interior.jpg https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2017/07/Tesla-Mod... At least the steering wheel and pedals still behave the same.
- I_Am_Nous 3y ago>At least the steering wheel and pedals still behave the same. For now, companies are experimenting with drive by wire. Don't think I like that concept.
- shepherdjerred 3y agoWhy? Brake by wire is already a thing.
- dexwiz 3y agoPost ALB there isn’t the same feedback thru breaks as there are steering. Steering systems have been highly engineered so you can get feedback from the road while still having power assist.
- I_Am_Nous 3y agoIf my steering wheel isn't connected to my front wheels mechanically, that's asking for a lot of trust. Previously a severe mechanical issue would be the only thing to worry about. Maybe on an EV with always connected and charged batteries it would be better, but on ICE I can imagine a number of ways the electrical system suddenly fails and now the wheel does nothing, even if just for a short lag. At least on brake by wire ICE systems I could let engine braking slow me if the brake system fails somehow (even if I have to blow the engine to save my life, worth the trade).
- techdmn 3y agoTouchscreen controls are the feature on my Tesla I dislike most. Try poking a small icon an arms length away while bouncing over typical Midwest roads and you'll see that it's impossible to do while keeping your eyes on the road. Physical controls would be fantastic, but at the very least they could: * Radically improve the ability to control the car with the scroll wheels on the steering wheel. I don't mean assigning certain functions to the buttons, I mean having a cursor I could glance at, then put my eyes back on the road while I click right twice, up once, click again and then scroll to change whatever. * For the love of all that is holy, ANCHOR controls to the top or bottom of the screen where you can brace your hand on the bezel while trying to poke the buttons. Pretty much the opposite of the fan control that is right in the center of the screen.
- modeless 3y ago> I mean having a cursor I could glance at, then put my eyes back on the road while I click right twice, up once, click again and then scroll to change whatever. They added a menu kind of like this in a recent update. Long press the left scroll wheel and then you can control a bunch of things using a menu that's controlled entirely by the wheel, no touchscreen.
- techdmn 3y agoOn my car I can assign one specific function to the left scroll wheel, like the fan speed. What I want is something like the experience of using Windows without a mouse. I should be able to navigate the entire UI without touching the screen.
- modeless 3y agoIt's not really "assigning" a function. It's simply a menu that remembers where you were. You can always navigate through the menu to control all of the other functions as much as you want.
- oidar 3y agoIf I was buying a new car in the US today, which automakers are doing a better job wrt physical controls?
- Rebelgecko 3y agoI really like Mazda's setup. Honda CRV setup is pretty good too. It seems like a lot of manufacturers are moving towards at least restoring physical controls for climate.
- xyzelement 3y agoI have a 2021 Toyota Highlander and always fail to relate to these threads. Everything that matters is a physical control.
- binarymax 3y agoAnother vote for Mazda here. But I’m not sure about 2023/2024 models
- tass 3y agoMazda have taken physical controls as a core part of their design philosophy. I don’t see them going away any time soon.
- cyphereal 3y agoI have a Mazda 2020 CX30. The display is not a touch screen and using CarPlay with the physical selector drives me nuts (it's also dangerous). I like physical controls for everything else, but please make displays for e.g. CarPlay touch screens.
- noirbot 3y agoYea, I generally agree with that. At least in my '14 model, it also has some weird internal gate where it won't let you scroll through more than 5-10 items in a list while you're going more than 5 MPH. And if you're stopped, and scrolling further than that, it resets you to the start of the list if you start moving. It's infuriating when I'm just trying to play an album that doesn't start with A-D. I can understand disabling touchscreen scrolling while driving, but at least save my place in the list.
- throwaway22032 3y agoThe idea that a touch screen is cheaper than buttons and that this is the driving factor I find hilarious. It's some top tier bean counter shit. I mean, yeah, sure. It'd be cheaper for my tyres to be made of wood. I don't give a toss, a new vehicle costs tens of thousands, what's $50 for a few buttons? edit: Top tier bean counter replies! Is it contagious?
- danparsonson 3y agoAcross ten thousand units? Half a million dollars. Not much in the grand scheme of things but not nothing.
- icegreentea2 3y agoI just randomly picked Ford for this. Ford had like 176 billion in revenue last year, but their cost of goods was like 150 billion and their final net income was 4.35 billion. Ford sells on the order of 5 million vehicles per year. If you can generate $50 dollars of COGs reduction in a car, that's 250 million per year. Yes, that's basically nothing in terms of their COGs, but that's like 5% increase in net income (if they can channel all of the savings into the net income anyways). Alternatively, if you want to be less cynical, Ford's R&D budget comes from that ~20 billion dollar slice between their revenue, COGs and final net income. 250 million is still a pretty ~1% slice of their R&D budget.
- dzhiurgis 3y agoButtons are cheap to manufacture. Their design, testing, installation and support - not so much.
- lelanthran 3y ago> I don't give a toss, a new vehicle costs tens of thousands, what's $50 for a few buttons? I don't think you've ever worked in manufacturing. It's not just the cost of the buttons. A larger cost is the fabrication of the housing for all the buttons: design the housing that goes into the dashboard/console, create a jig/die, continue creating new jigs/dies as the old ones wear out, keep the factory floorspace available even after the car has gone out of production, etc. This has to be done for each car model (yeah, even if you're using blanks). Another cost that dwarves the cost of buying buttons is the fitment: the fitment robots have to be purchased, programmed and maintained just to put those $50 buttons in. It has to be done for each car model. And, of course, design changes late in the process cause the manufacturer to spend all that money all over again. Spread over the lifetime of the car (how long they keep providing parts for it), a minimum of around 5 years, that $50 is negligible compared to the tens of millions of dollars poured into fabricating and fitting of those $50 buttons. Compared to a touchscreen, all that's done is to ensure that the dashboard design has a housing for the touchscreen. Done, and works for all models from baseline to top-end with no more money needed.
- Linda231 3y ago[dead]
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoSome folks may remember this discussion, from a couple of years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30140984 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30140984
- jay_kyburz 3y agoI thought you were going to post this one https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23702560 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23702560
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoAwesome!
- fransje26 3y agoI did not watch the video linked in the previous post (yet!), but a fun fact is that for the F-35, they decided it was a great idea to use touchscreens instead of push buttons, and they are finding out the hard way it was.. ..not the best of choices. It turns out that not having tactile feedback means that pilots are pressing the wrong button about 20% of the time. Even more so under g-loads.. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/technical-difficulties-f-35-has-touchscreen-problem-184103 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/technical-difficult...
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoIn the first version of The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman, he has a photo of the control panel for a nuclear reactor. There are two large levers, that, if I remember correctly, actuated the control rods. They were right next each other. The engineers replaced the two identical knobs, with handles from beer taps (Michelob and Heineken, IIRC). This differentiated the two controls.
- doubloon 3y agomore evidence that a used Nissan Leaf is the ultimate driving machine.
- culopatin 3y agoThat won’t for a round trip in most driver centric cities. Lucky for me my gf lived 25mi away and had a Leaf so whenever she came home after work or school she would have to charge it again before leaving. Who wants to do that in winter in the rain? Just stay the night!
- mancerayder 3y agoIs a normal steering wheel pushed horn so expensive for an automaker selling a 35k+ USD car that they had to put a button? The new Teslas have button turning signal - caveat emptor.
- 0x_rs 3y agoTouchscreens tend to be a plague in cars—the last place you want sluggish non-responsive visual attention magnets. What's worse, a poorly engineered and implemented one may render your vehicle inoperable (safety-wise) and thus force you to expend exorbitant amount of money to get them replaced. Physical buttons are high availability and do not depend on absurd amounts of complexity to perform basic functions. It's impossible not to pay attention to this after being burned once by it. Even if a car may offer some limited physical buttons (such as defrosting) for the least ease of access, it may happen that you're unable to revert its secondary effects until you get it fixed.
- tristor 3y agoThis was the primary reason I bought my 2024 Mazda3, instead of alternatives in market. The Mazda was the only option that had physical controls for everything. In fact it disables the touch screen altogether when you exceed 10mph, forcing the use of physical controls. It works flawlessly with wireless carplay
- culopatin 3y agoThe Mazda 3 is such a pretty car in and out. I wish there was an AWD turbo manual or a fully electric one. Either one will make me replace the Prius.
- noirbot 3y agoI've owned one for so long and it makes me so upset that Mazda doesn't have an EV yet. I just want my current car as an EV and I'd be happy.
- speedgoose 3y agoThey do sell en EV in some places, the MX-30. It’s a terrible EV that was outdated before its release, so that’s perhaps why they don’t try to sell it more. We are talking about the company that still invest in internal combustion engines so don’t have too high hopes.
- izacus 3y agoYeah, that car was only made to satisfy EV quotas for offsets :/
- freeAgent 3y agoThey are partnering with Toyota on future EVs, not that Toyota has been a leader there either…
- ProllyInfamous 3y ago
- wnevets 3y ago> In 2026, Euro NCAP points will be deducted if some controls aren't physical. > Euro NCAP is not a government regulator, so it has no power to mandate carmakers use physical controls for those functions. Why isn't this headline clickbait, what am I missing? edit: the headline used to have the word Regulator in it.
- magicalhippo 3y agoThat some consumers, maybe even many, pay attention to NCAP ratings before buying a car.
- culopatin 3y agoCar manufacturers still like their cars to look good and some people do look at those ratings when buying a car. Or you think people bought the old Volvo 240 because it’s sexy?
- arlort 3y agoNot too familiar with this specific sector, but I can see two reasons why this could be more than nothing 1. If the evaluator is well established it's likely companies would be negatively impacted if they get lower scores even if it just means lower sales rather than an outright ban 2. It seems that while Euro NCAP is not a regulator it is pretty involved with national agencies, so this might be a signal that things are starting to move towards official rules. Of the "self-regulate or you will be regulated" variety
- aaron695 3y ago[dead]
- dzhiurgis 3y agoHaving been driving Tesla for nearly a year went on a trip last week and got 2015 Toyota. Air con wasn't easier to control even after 6 days of driving. Still had to look at 10+ buttons all crammed up in 6cm diameter ring and figure out what is what. With Tesla 99% of time I just flip temperature slider at bottom corner. For rest - open larger menu for very intuitive extra controls. Kinda insane how mass media is picking up worst implementations from legacy auto and extrapolate that to a car that has best UX. It's literally 180 degree turn disinformation.
- dukeofdoom 3y agoReminds me of the adidas run tracking app. I need to go forward and back in the menu to even start a run. Then it does a countdown. So you start, because why wait until the end of the countdown. Once your phone is in the pocket. Then it decides that you need confirm something like (GPS signal is weak) through a popup. Of course you have no idea it did that. So you pull out your phone once you get back to your car, only to realize it wasn't tracing anything at all. On the opposite end, it's never smart enough to realize that you're no longer running and you got in your car and started driving. So it will happily add tens of kms. Then to correct it you somehow need to change the distance, time and km separately. It's like it's an incredible combination of both smart and stupid at the same time. You have to tap, double tap, slide, and press and hold at different places in the UI too.
- cfr2023 3y agoThe trend of touch screens replacing physical controls in domains where muscle memory is an advantage is an utter atrocity. No amount of interface versatility/flexibility can come close to touching the utility of not having to take your eyes off your subject. NONE.
- thepasswordis 3y agoNot to mention that on cars like Tesla, UI updates will change the location of these buttons. This drives me INSANE. The other one: some of the Tesla UIs feel like they were made with "minimalism" in mind. For instance the rear defroster vs the windshield defroster. I still, 3 years into my model Y, have no idea which is which, and every time I need to defrost the front windshield it's like a fight against the HVAC system and buttons and touchscreens to make it do anything. I love my tesla, probably to the point of being annoying, but I **HATE** the ridiculous "minimalist" UI stuff, and I absolutely hate it when they push a UI update which moves things around.
- teruakohatu 3y agoWhy do you love a car with anti-features that annoy you so much? I am genuinely curious, as I have only driven a Tesla once or twice.
- lelanthran 3y agoHow is it possible to love a car that does things you hate when there are other cars at the same price that does everything the object of your love does, and doesn't do the things you hate? It sounds like an irrational love for the car.
- speedgoose 3y agoWhich other car in the similar price range can fart on demand from the mobile app?
- Dylan16807 3y agoWhat's your list of other cars that have the same charging network access and self-driving capabilities?
- maxdo 3y agoWindshield wipers should be 100% automated for majority of the cars
- aembleton 3y agoDo any cars have 100% reliable rain detection?
- freeAgent 3y agoMost are pretty good in my experience, with the exception of Tesla. Tesla’s auto-wipers are comically bad. They NEVER work well because they try to use a tiny camera mounted to the top of the windshield to determine when to trigger them. The camera is probably unable to actually focus on the windshield itself, especially since it is also used for the driver assistance features and has to be focused at road-distance, so my guess is they’re using some kind of algorithm to try and detect distortion caused by rain drops on the windshield for an image captured with focus significantly further away than the windshield surface itself. And that challenge has so far remained unsolved. Tesla just pretend to have working auto-wipers.
- teeray 3y agoThe worst is when the touchscreen freezes and there is no master breaker switch to throw to reboot it “in flight.” You have to pull over, shut the car off, open the door, close the door, then start the car to reboot it.
- ggreer 3y agoWhat car do you have that does this?
- a-french-anon 3y agoMy parents' Mercedes-Benz SUV (GLC I think) has (had?) that problem.
- evanjrowley 3y agoI am waiting for the day when mechanical keyboard enthusiasts finally put kailh hot swap sockets into a car's controls. Then we can have debates about whether car controls should be tactile, linear, or clicky. GMK keycaps for German cars. Japanese cars with Topre switches. Anime dye-sub keycaps on ricers. QMK firmware forked and re-written in MISRA-C. It would be grand.
- golergka 3y agoSome people should be chiming in to say how annoying the click sounds are to the passengers.
- evanjrowley 3y agoI wonder if RGB backlighting would increase or decrease safety.
- masklinn 3y agoModern cars already have a ton of unnecessary RGB backlighting and I hate it so much. It’s really distracting at night to have trim LEDs reflect in every glass surface.
- asyx 3y agoI guess the passengers can take the bus then
- onetom 3y agoWhich bus? The CAN bus? :)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- llm_trw 3y agoObviously clicky, you want to know when actuation has actually happened. Just like keyboards.
- valtism 3y agoWhat car models are a good example of dashboard controls done right?
- erulabs 3y agoEh. Let the market decide. Yes Tesla overdid the touch controls - but they were also the first company to put a touch screen that isn’t awful into a car. Yes, removing the stalks a going too far imo, but I can’t imagine how narrow my awareness of the world must be for that to register outrage. I almost got hit by a porche 911 gt2 today. That car is completely mechanical - but it was being driven by an aggressive idiot; who gives a crap what the wiper button looks like. The controls haptic feedback must be at least on the 20 thousandth page of important things about a car. The market doesn’t solve all problems - but if the touch controls are so awful, there are only two answer: either they’re not that awful, or tons of people are idiots and you’re really smart. You know, the fount of all bad legislation.
- arrrg 3y agoEuro NCAP is not a regulator. It tests the safety of cars and scores them in a way that‘s readable to potential buyers of cars. Since potential buyers of cars can’t themselves test the safety of cars (they have neither the expertise nor the resources) this is pretty much the only way that exists to independently test the safety of cars in markets.
- freeAgent 3y agoYou can take comfort in the fact that the idiot’s repair costs will be ridiculously high. If you’re going to drive super aggressively on public roads, at least do it in a cheap car!
- Wolfenstein98k 3y agoI am instinctively opposed to the European way of regulation, but boy so I agree with this.
- jameshart 3y agoWhen they win that fight can we also get back analog speed gauges instead of numeric readouts? It can be a digitally displayed graphic on a screen, but please give me a moving needle, not just some numbers that update twice a second.
- seydor 3y agoThis is why i m not buying the ex30, dear volvo What's the cost difference between touchscreen vs controls?
- Beijinger 3y agoThey should not bring back physical controls but make everything voice controlled https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOUTfUmI8vs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOUTfUmI8vs
- modeless 3y ago> Now, Euro NCAP is not insisting on everything being its own button or switch. But the organization wants to see physical controls for turn signals, hazard lights, windshield wipers, the horn, and any SOS features This is much more reasonable than I assumed. Unlike seemingly most people here I have no problem whatsoever with fan controls or audio controls or whatever on the touchscreen, as long as it is responsive (of course the vast majority of car touchscreens are not, but some are). However, the absence of a physical speed control for the windshield wipers is the single worst design flaw of Teslas. Or at least it was, until they removed the physical turn signal controls. I'm very much in favor of requiring safety critical controls that must be used frequently or urgently to be physical.
- tmikaeld 3y ago> …Teslas. Or at least it was, until they removed the physical turn signal controls. The turn signals wasn’t removed, they moved them to the steering wheel as physical buttons. Which ofc isn’t optimal, because you turn it…
- williamcotton 3y agoSo that’s why everyone who drives a Tesla never uses their turn signal?
- snowfield 3y agoThey used to own BMWs
- faiD9Eet 3y ago:D
- resolutebat 3y agoThat's a weird assertion, because if you're driving a Tesla and using autopilot/TACS you have to use turn signals to change lanes.
- whitehexagon 3y agoI never want to see a car with any kind of monitor/touchscreen, I see enough of those at work. If it is about cost savings, why do I see a new plague of animated flashing indicator lights, horrible! And the number of small towns I drove through on my last big road trip that had flashing LEDs dotted all over road signs, crazy. Reminds me of the old flashing web adverts. Just another annoying distraction from driving safely. I'd like to see some rules like, no change is speed limit within certain distance of previous sign. Because suddenly we have a plague of signs, e.g. every 100m reducing the speed for a roundabout in 10km/h steps! are we allowing drivers on the roads that dont know to slow down in advance of a junction. And the best part, the roundabout has 'go around arrows' flashing in blue (the colour of police lights here) so straight away you assume a major traffic incident ahead, and then probably quickly learn to ignore blue flashing lights... So physical buttons need to be the start of a bigger push-back against needless technology based on 'because we can'.
- switch007 3y agoMy Ford has no physical buttons for climate control (except “Max”). If I want to direct the air at the windscreen and my feet full blast, I have to: - Tap the fan direction button - wait 2 seconds for it to load - tap windscreen and feet. Each selection lags at least 1 second - tap fan speed - drag a narrow, laggy slider up/down to the desired position I hate it. The auto setting doesn’t blow the feet hard enough when it’s wet, to dry your feet. It’s wet about 9 months of the year here. Another bad UX is to change the drive mode: - press the physical button - tap the screen to select the desired mode - tap a tiny back button (there is no timeout to auto go back to previous screen) You would think the physical button would toggle through the modes, but no !
- filcuk 3y agoMG4, when I turn on A/C or defog, the navigation is overlayed by an A/C controls screen, which must be tapped in a specific small area to get rid of it. I still fumble with it every damn time after six months of use.
- dTP90pN 3y agoYou can "wipe"/"drag" upwards to exit the A/C overlay (just like, for example, android quick settings/notifications). Of course, you have to do this the "correct way", which in and of itself requires a bit of experimentation to learn.
- seydor 3y agoThe most important thing is that, all this time, your attention is on the screen and not on the road
- Kwpolska 3y ago> Tesla is probably at greatest risk here, having recently ditched physical stalks that instead move the turn signal functions to haptic buttons on the steering wheel. What the actual fuck? Who thought that replacing such a common function with the least reliable input method possible (capacitive "buttons") was a good idea? Also, if I get into a rental car or whatever, I don't need to learn basic controls with sane manufacturers, because they're fairly standard. If I get into a rental Tesla, do I need to read the owner's manual first?
- iforgotpassword 3y agoI'm confused now. I haven't been in a current Tesla, but what do we refer to when we say haptic button nowadays? To me that's synonymous to tactile button = physical button, but you talk about capacitive buttons. Did Apple's introduction of haptic feedback for touch somehow shift the meaning?
- izacus 3y agoAs far as I know the latest refresh of 3 brought back physical buttons. Did you test that one? Capacitive buttons are the ones that don't physically move and give no feedback.
- masklinn 3y ago> To me that's synonymous to tactile button = physical button Why would we need a synonym for a perfectly working word? A physical button is a physical button, to me a haptic button necessarily means some sort of virtual button as otherwise the haptic properties don’t have to be specified.
- iforgotpassword 3y ago> Why would we need a synonym for a perfectly working word? Because that's just how language works, I can think of a dozen perfectly working words that have synonyms. The word haptic existed long before touch screens and capacitive buttons. What else could it have been used for then? > as otherwise the haptic properties don’t have to be specified They need to be specified precisely because today buttons that don't have any haptic feedback exists.
- badgersnake 3y agoIf a touchscreen is on a phone it’s illegal and dangerous but if it’s stuck to the dash it’s not. That never made any sense.
- mannycalavera42 3y agosay their names: all the "UX experts" who pushed for their removal
- mrweasel 3y agoIf any UX testing had been done on these cars it would have been noticed that the drivers eyes drift from the road for far to long while operating auxiliary features. These large glass interfaces are meant as eye candy and/or cost saving. It's really sad that companies no longer care to do any type of UX research, we need it more than ever. There are so few good product left in pretty much all product categories. It seems that with the introduction of the iPhone even Apple has opted to just stop doing any type of research and experimentation into UX.
- rsynnott 3y agoI'd assume that the car touchscreens were driven more by cost cutting than input from UX experts.
- axegon_ 3y agoYes, please. I drive an early 2010's BMW with an aftermarket android head unit. The headunit was not a big deal for me but it was useful since maps were wildly out of date and upgrading them was a pain in the ass and having music, live traffic and all that is appreciated but that's all it is. Now... There one or two things I hate about the car. First one is not having a temperature gauge. Instead BMW added this fuel consumption gauge which couldn't be more useless. The second thing I hate is the way the indicator switch works. I got used to it but holy hell, why were BMW so keen on fixing a problem no one had. Keeping this in mind, the whole touchscreen control from everything from fan speed to driving mode is ridiculous: you actually have to turn your head and look at the screen, whereas in my car I can do that without looking at the buttons at all: I more or less know where the button is and it's size, shape and texture. Modern cars are the exact indicator switch problem BMW was trying to solve, but cranked up to 11.
- fecker 3y agoPhysical controls and warm white lights You piss about with the touchscreen to change the temperature and lookup to be blinded by an oncoming 4x4 with low beam led's
- gnegggh 3y agoI’ve had the model 3 highland since it came out and still not used to it. Definitely a safety issue. Turn signals and vipers including speed should be physical and not a non tactile button. Love the car otherwise but kinda just want it with a screen that’s 1/3rd the size, CarPlay and speed and such in front of the wheel. Never used Netflix or any of that stuff. Controlling music via your phone app is easier anyway, since you’re used to that interface.
- hankman86 3y agoPoor usability and the generally spartan interior are the reasons why I did not even look at Tesla and ordered a BMW i4 instead. Sadly, they too have moved functions like the aircon into the touch screen. But at least you still get a driver dash with head up display, proper indicator stalks, real leather seats and quality materials throughout.
- Franzeus 3y agoI am so tired of seeing touch everywhere in general. Not just in cars, but putting the touch buttons on the stove is such a fail. Water spills out of the pot and locks the stove or you can't even touch the buttons because they are too hot.
- knorker 3y agoI rented a fully specced out Tesla Model S, once. That's not a cheap car. But the turn signal controls were shitty no-feedback buttons. I don't understand how anyone plowing six digits into a car finds that acceptable. It's a dealbreaker for me. On top of that there were other "virtualizations" of controls, that just made the car feel like a cheap shitty plastic toy.
- marzipanWhale 3y agoI got rid of my last car many years ago when cars still had casette players. What kind of controls do you really need in a car? I realize that a lot of cars have built in GPS now, but in my opinion all controls that require typing or looking at a screen should be disabled until the car is stopped.
- globular-toast 3y agoThese people basically live in their cars. Imagine just sitting on your bicycle without actually going somewhere on it. Seems weird, but that's what they do. These controls are all for the mobile living room aspect. Nothing to do with driving.
- Zenst 3y agoIt is somewhat crazy that the shift to a touch screen, which for some, is hard to use and for all, lacks tactile feedback. You can't beat a button or a dial-in in that respect or even replicate that fully on the limitations of a touchscreen. It almost feels like there is an untapped market for after-market physical controls that can interface with the car that is begging to be tapped. Equally, shudder if somebody patented the ability to add physical controls to augment touch interfaces.
- squarefoot 3y agoI couldn't agree more. Touch screen aren't cool, they're a necessary inconvenience where there's no room for physical controls (ie, phones and tablets) and can have some uses in multimedia systems, but using them for driving related or critical controls in cars is both stupid and dangerous: latency and lack of feedback could distract the driver attention away from the road, then a single hit on the screen and the user loses all controls at the same time.
- berkes 3y ago> they're a necessary inconvenience where there's no room for physical controls Hear, hear! and yet, SpaceX thought it was a good idea to make the controls in their space ships mostly touchscreens as well. Utterly insane, IMHO.
- squarefoot 3y agoIt was already stated (possibly here or a space related blog) that they have all critical controls replicated on mechanical switches.
- mihaaly 3y agoApart from the logical notion of fix location tactile feedback physical buttons are much much better (reliable!) in mission critical systems than pleasuring a glass with the strokes of you finger in heist discovery what is what and where (that the US navy also discovered through bitter and tragic experience [1]) as a complicating factor the user hostile software engineering practices where The Product is in the focus and drawing lots of additional attention, requiring constant self training - ironically presented as 'intuitive' or 'simple' - additional frequent maintenance and care, more than necessary (updates, settings, confirmations, feature promotions, suggestions, configurations, customizations), not to mention the manipulation of the user into something as the main focus in making apps nowadays instead of serving in the background, also not to mention the constant spying for their own sake only, also the constant f ups making the system dangerously fragile through complexity that additional steps and even more user attentions is essential(!) to preserve the integrity against intruders - making it even more complex and so, fragile -, and that this became a totally accepted treat of software from a huge set of users as well - several times arguing aginst themselves by praising and 'explaining' (no, citing a particular viewpoint is not an explanation alone) - but at least not condemned beyond private audience or leading to refusal, therefore when we talk about our next car an older model (likely used) with traditional dashboard is an overwhelmingly dominant choice with my wife. After our current 'old' and traditional one. The irony is that I make software for living, I am supposed to love using software. No, I do not. In general, regrettably. Should be pushed out of many places it got into along undigested rush (and many times dumb) ideas. Like this, like the dashboard of a car, replacing well known and familiar ways with something else. Should I instead be greateful that we still have steering wheel and pedals instead of a gamepad?.... [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49319450 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49319450
- eterevsky 3y agoI'm generally sympathetic to this (I have a Tesla and I wish they used traditional turn signal stalks). But is the set of prescriptive rules really the way to evaluate the safety of the car? Wouldn't some statistics like the number of crashes per 1m km be more informative?
- jwr 3y agoI have a VW (ID.4) and they took the touch craziness to another level. There are things that don't look like buttons, but are touch-sensitive, and there are also buttons, that apart from being pressure-sensitive, are also touch sensitive. Like volume buttons on the steering wheel, where if you try to feel for them without looking, you end up accidentally "swiping" and turning your volume up to the max. The whole touch cluster on the left of the steering wheel, just below the vent, is a disaster, too. If I want to check the temperature of the air that's blowing into the cabin, I end up accidentally turning off the lights, turning on rear antifog lights, and turning on defroster heating for the windshield. The next minute or so is spent trying to get everything back to normal. The rule should be that everything in the car needs to be a physically actuated button, and touching those buttons without pressing them should only ever light them up or show help messages, never perform any action.
- arlcode 3y agoI ultimately decided against an MEB based model because the (steering wheel) UX felt almost unusable during my test drive. I partcularily struggeled with the cruise control swipe-click and hilariously the window switch. The car i ultimately settled on has worse overall infotainment software but physical controls which can be operated blindely and reliably. No wonder VW is already in the process of correcting this disastrous, budget driven, decision.
- hef19898 3y agoVW went so far into left field with their controls on the ID-series, it is embarassing. Good to hear that they correct.
- arlcode 3y agoJust my own thought but I believe they were under immense pressure to achieve similar (or even some) margins with their very first broad market BEV, as they are getting with comparable ICE models. As a car the MEB siblings are not bad at all and by now the software is fine I hear, but they cut just to many ergonomic corners instead of accepting the costs of getting started in a slightly different market segment.
- lupusreal 3y agoApparently "physical controls" in new cars now work almost as badly as touch screens. Turn the fan speed knob then wait two agonizing seconds before the fan speed changes. Gods know what kind of telemetry they stuck in the middle of that operation to gum up the works.
- seydor 3y agoI wonder if there should be criminal liabilities against designers and engineers who create such monstrosities, especially now that every EV refuses to have any physical buttons. This can end up being life-threatening
- Toorkit 3y agoAnd fuck off with the Lane assist nonsense, it doesn't work in the hilly backwaters of Europe. It actively tries to pull you into on-coming traffic.
- plaidfuji 3y agoPreach. Very little further “innovation” required for turn signals, lights, wipers, windows, mirrors, seat heaters, horn (?!), gear shifter, HVAC, radio. I love the direction of recent Toyotas that have actually made the driver and passenger side temp. controls even larger knobs than before, with rubberized grips. Also generally pleased with BMW’s iDrive knob to control the center screen for more complex menu-based controls. Maps/Nav is the only thing that should require a touch screen, and the best interface for that is to delegate to the driver’s phone via CarPlay. Yes, having to lean over and use an index finger to interact with a touch screen while moving is unsafe. Hope the US follows suit.
- i_am_proteus 3y agoWill the physical controls still route through the infotainment system- and will that solve the responsiveness problem?
- moogly 3y agoThis is absolutely wonderful. As someone who has only had a driver's license for about a year, it feels beyond scary to start fiddling with a touch screen to do anything of import while driving.
- bengale 3y agoI think my BMW X5 has the best middle ground for buttons vs touchscreen. I think in the new one they've moved more towards my i4 setup though which is too far on the touch screen. The X5 has nice push buttons on the steering wheel for media control and stuff like cruise and lanekeep functions. Then it also has heating controls, a volume knob, and some shortcut buttons I can control. All the other gubbins is in the touch screen which works fine. My i4 moved heating controls to the touchscreen too and dropped the shortcut buttons which is annoying. It still has the nice steering wheel buttons though and a volume knob but it's heading the wrong way IMHO.
- drooopy 3y agoSystems that are vital to the operation of a moving vehicle should never under any circumstances force the driver to take their eyes off the road even for a split second to interact with them. It's mindblowing that this was even allowed to happen in the first place.
- bamboozled 3y agoIs the actual reason for getting rid of physical buttons because screens are actually easier to implement ?
- bloomingeek 3y agoI have a 2021 Ram Classic 1500 "plain Jane" truck. The only option it has is the tow package and the medium size touch screen. To adjust the HVAC air flow, you have to go to the touch screen! (you can adjust the fan speed with a dial.) The cab on this truck is pretty large, so adjusting from the lower vent to the defroster vent is quite risky while going down the road. On my wife's Pacifica, the fan speed dial is also a button that can be used to change the vent settings, which is much more safer. Why Mopar didn't include this on my truck is anybodies guess.
- exabrial 3y agoI would look at aviation like displays, buttons on side, but based upon paging. Tactile feedback is important.
- michaelteter 3y agoBumpy roads are the bane of touch sensitive interfaces. Without any doubt, a driver will spend more time and attention trying to operate a touch sensitive interface than a physical knob or button if the car is bouncing or shaking at all due to road surface irregularities. Not all roads are smooth highways (and some highways are in a horrible state of repair), so managing car systems without physical controls is almost as dangerous as operating a mobile phone.
- rareitem 3y agoThe European union is really taking big positive initiatives recently (usb-c, removable batteries, physical controls, etc)
- amelius 3y agoThey would have known this way sooner if they had just read HN ...
- DrScientist 3y agoWhat I can't understand is why, when so much money is spent on the design of new car models, such bad decisions were ever made in the first place. Did not one person say- "you know this is a really bad idea?" 'Touch screen' in this context an oxymoron - as it can't be operated solely by touch - you need to be looking at it.
- gkfasdfasdf 3y agoThe voice commands on my Tesla are pretty handy and I prefer to use them over the touch screen when possible. 'Set wipers to auto', 'Set temperature to <NUM>', and 'Open glovebox' are my go-tos. Main downside is that it requires cellular/internet connectivity.
- KomoD 3y agoYes, please. It's just so much better.
- quitit 3y agoIt is mind-boggling that we are at this point. I understand that reducing buttons has a cost-saving and reliability benefit, but it's unfathomable that core and frequently used controls are reduced to touch screens while emphatically stating that a driver must not be distracted by the screen while driving. I've lost all trust in car manufacturers that do this, it's not just wrong, it's obviously dangerous.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- wintorez 3y agoI test drove a 2024 Tesla Model 3. It was a perfect car except for one thing: No turn signal stalk. That's basically a no-go for me.
- ajmurmann 3y agoThe ideal car control has the following: Everything that was in the car twenty years ago needs to have physical buttons. This includes the controls for the audio system that were there twenty years ago. The touch screen should be exclusively be exclusively reserved for CarPlay or Android Auto, no overlays or pop ups or anything from the car manufacturer. Ideally there is a second screen, maybe in the mirror like some BMWs hav, to be used for the backup camera. Car companies should stick to what they are strong at and what they have perfected and not mess with it while they leave the fun software stuff to SV companies.
- dorukane 3y agoIt is like a 2+2=4 equation that touchscreen blocks more time out of the road to carry out simple controls over the car. Mazda in 2019: “And of course with a touchscreen you have to be looking at the screen while you’re touching...so for that reason we were comfortable removing the touch-screen functionality,” And still to this day, Mazda has minimum controls over a touchscreen. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1121372_why-mazda-is-purging-touchscreens-from-its-vehicles https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1121372_why-mazda-is-pur...
- jacktribe 3y agoSelf driving will largely make this topic irrelevant soon, however in the meantime, their time would be better spent developing a measurement of intuitiveness for touchscreens. With a few exceptions that they've since corrected, in a Tesla operating most functions comes naturally, it's similar to using an iPhone. Even the lack of gear shifter in the Cybertruck isn't throwing me off (though they did put an additional touch control for it by the rear view mirror).
- amai 3y agoToo bad we don‘t have crash testers in the IT industry.
- penguin_booze 3y agoGood. Now ban SUVs and other aircraft carriers on wheels, or tax them at 100% rate, every year.
- rmnwski 3y agoThis vivid discussion really makes me want to see what Apple did come up with for the UI. I doubt they made it all touch screens. But Apple might have had one of the biggest influences on car UIs. After the iPhone came out all the car makers wanted to be cool as well and put them in?
- Nemi 3y agoThis is totally off topic and will likely get downvoted, but the topic of whether physical controls in a vehicle is a non-issue or critically important is the kind of conversation I want to have when interviewing a prospective employee. It conveys so much in so relatively little. It shows: * Empathy for others * The ability to place oneself in an imaginary situation when using something and project what it might be like for you and others using that thing in all kinds of situations * Evaluate something objectively even when you have sunk costs (say if someone spent a lot of money on a Tesla or something) * most importantly, the persons judgement. How they view this topic of whether physical controls are important or not shows basic judgement, or lack thereof. That translates over into SO many other areas of life. As an employer, it tells you everything you need to know about whether this person is going to be a good decision maker or someone you have to micro-manage their every decision.
- rglynn 3y agoI wonder if it's possible to make adaptive surfaces on touch screens using the developments in bending displays. Being able to provide physical cues on a touch screen would have a wide array of applications. Obviously physical buttons would be the sensible solution here though.