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Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

theautopian.com

161–170 of 392 posts

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#161
post #54

one tangentially related extremely irritating “feature” of Teslas is automatic updates, which not only disable the car while they’re going on, but often rearrange the UI so you have to figure out where the buttons are all over again. it’s a flat out disgrace. you get into your extremely expensive car, ready to go, but no the car isn’t available because some dev team somewhere a few thousand miles away decided to push…

Agree that they change buttons and UI too often, this should be a more gradual process, or they should offer a choice to move to new UI. They do ask if you want to update now or wait + tell you that the car won’t be available for x amount of minutes.

Why even gradual?

It's a very software idea to ship things unfinished and fix them later. At best it's annoying, in a car it's dangerous.

I expect when I buy a car that the manufacturers have spent time thinking about the layout, and they've got it the best they can, ironed out the bugs etc. I don't want to come in in the middle of an iterative process. I don't want buttons moving, I don't want 'improvements', I want to buy an actual functioning car from day one. One that the manufacturer is happy to stand by from day one, and they don't feel entitled to 'improve'.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#162

This is a gem (emphasis mine): "The touch-screen-actuated glove box is terrible because it’s one of those examples where carmakers have found that they have the technology to do something, so they do it, without considering literally anything about what they’ve done . Did anybody want this? At all? It takes something that has never been a problem, opening a glove box, and added cost and complexity to the construction…

Remember curved TVs? Remember 3D for TVs?

That was essentially technology bullet-point features, but since they flopped hard you can no longer buy curved TVs or 3D TVs. Turns out if people really don't want shit, it disappears again, no matter how hard various corporations push the shit.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, iPhones support CarPlay without a cable?

Not all cars support that, though. Due to licensing or tech, some cars (even new ones) only support Apple car with a cable (my case). I bought a wireless adapter on Amazon and it works seamlessly.

A wireless adapter that lets you use wireless carplay on a car that doesn't have it? Could you please post a link?

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#164
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never driven a Mazda but I watch a lot of car reviews. It seems to me they're the only car manufacturer that gets car interactions right. They actually have a philosophy how human-cars should interact and design everything based on it. Hence everything comes natural and consistent and logical.

It may sound strange but UX is main reason why I drive mazda. I have no other requirements (besides basic safety).

I can't say it's the main reason I would choose a car, but bad UX (the whole thing, from UI to knobs) is certainly one of the no-compromise ones I would bail a car on.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#165
post #132
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That'd be nice .. or just bypass the entire added layer of relay controls and go back to a manual latch. The article scenarios raise some of the real life issues: * What if your battery dies, and you have your small emergency charger in the glovebox? * What if you’re waiting in a turned-off car while your friend or parent or lover pops inside the liquor store, and you need to get, say, your hyper-important pills out…

I gave my mom, something close to this: https://www.amazon.ca/Luxtude-Pack-Car-Safety-Hammer/dp/B087... There is no way a 90lb, octataraien, is going to rip a seatbelt loose if stuck, or smash her car window by hand, if the power is out, or if underwater. Yes she can reach the glovebox and get this tool, but not if the thing won't open!

Nice little tool.

I'm in an Australian rural farming district and a neighbour of mine used something similar when his 4x4 landcruiser was T-boned into a dam back when he was 90 or so (he's pushing 97 ATM).

If you or your mum haven't done this already .. get her a few old seat belts and passenger windows from a wreckers to practice on.

The theory is good but nothing beats a bit of muscle memory practice.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#166
post #55

I bet implementing the glove box control in this way simplifies the tooling/assembly somehow.

There is no world where wiring, relays and motorized latches are cheaper than a button latch.

This. It's a very different situations from touch screens being cheaper than physical controls, since in this case the latch is already necessary.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#167
post #152

I don't want touch screens in cars period and I can't stand this trend of using them. I'm finally starting to understand the feelings my grandfather had for anything thing he considered superfluous or inconvenient in a car.

I’m pretty much with you and was exactly the same - until I got a Polestar. All the stuff I need is still an actual button - although not ac controls. Physical buttons for volume, front and rear demist, cruise, lights and wipers. So I only need the touch screen for maps and some audio - like changing radio or which streaming service. Can still be eyes off road for a second admittedly. My dad has a VW golf with this d…

"Blame" that on Volvo. They've had some of the best in-car UX imo. Dozens of physical buttons, but they're intuitively laid out and it requires almost no thinking to do something.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#169
post #39
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think touch screens are ok right now for two things: settings menus that you set once and never touch again, and Apple CarPlay. I recently moved backwards from a CarPlay car to a non-CarPlay car. Even with a very convenient MagSafe phone mount right where the CarPlay screen used to be, I still miss CarPlay. It was just easier and more convenient for controlling phone media, gps, etc. On the settings app, the choice…

Mazda disables touch for Android auto and carplay and I think that's awesome. The wheel is much better to use.

The previous gen Mazdas would disable the touch screen when the car was moving.

The latest models go one further - the screen is not touch capable at all. It’s honestly great.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The round knob to increase / decrease sound volume is simply the best UX in the car. Why do I have to navigate to a submenu to push a button repeatedly to change the volume. The less I look at the road the higher the risk of an accident.

The whisker controls are even better. No need to take hands off the wheel.

> whisker controls

Tried a quick search and couldn't find it. Is it like the scoll wheel on a mouse? Would be nice to have those on the steering wheel instead of up/down buttons.

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