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Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

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Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#211

Post by bigger_cheese »

Tagbert wrote: post #7
fnordpiglet wrote: post #2

I’m apparently unique in this, but I prefer touch screens. Not because I fail to realize the value of buttons, but I don’t find sitting in an airplane cockpit with a few hundred buttons that much better than a screen that is contextual. I like having a few buttons for common tasks like audio controls, and voice control for most else. The rest of the stuff can be on a touch screen for all I care. I get others prefer b…

I’ve never seen any car dash with more than a few dozen buttons.

I've just upgraded from a very old Toyota to a new Mazda. There are so many buttons in my new car and so much more technology it is honestly a little intimidating.

Most of the buttons are for features I've never had before. There are buttons for Bluetooth (I think for receiving phone calls while driving and turning up and down audio volume etc) located on the steering wheel, There are a bunch of buttons for cruise control and I think lane keeping assist also on the steering wheel - I've never had a car with cruise control before and honestly I am a little intimidated to try it out. It seems so complicated. There are some buttons for the Front cross traffic sensors it took me a while to figure out what was going on with these. My car would randomly beep at me while at intersections before I finally figured out what was causing it. Then there is buttons to toggle the parking sensors and toggle between the front / reverse parking cameras.

On top of that quite a lot of things in the car are automated now too - headlights will automatically turn on, wipers automatically switch on etc.

My old car had a radio and heating/AC that was it. I've had the car for just under a month and I've already had to consult the manual 2 or 3 times because I've forgotten what certain buttons do.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#212

Post by sircastor »

I’m a former infotainment engineer. Touchscreens made it possible to make modern technologies available, and make them accessible in the car to people. If this results in car makers ditching touchscreens, people will get mad that they can’t use CarPlay like they used to.

In my experience, most people who have driven their car for ages can’t use the buttons on their center console without looking at them. Maybe the volume control…

As an experiment, I challenge you to draw a picture of your car’s center console from memory. See how much of it you get right. This isn’t to say that physical buttons aren’t any better than touchscreens, but I think people romanticize how effective they are with their cars interface.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#213

Post by epgui »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #189

I wouldn't mind touchscreens as long as these imbecile developers would strictly limit UI response time to under 16ms. In no world where you're barrelling 3,000+ lbs of mass at tens of miles an hour should you be distracted by some moronic app or subsystem failing to respond in time because it was written by under-experienced software "engineers." Any software running as a part of a motor vehicle should be federally…

Touch screens arguably make development and feature iteration easier, but they are clearly and obviously a net negative for safety and ease of use. Cars are safety-intensive machines.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#214

Post by munificent »

I'm surprised the article didn't mention one of the key regulations that led to this as an unintended consequence: By law, cars in the US must now have a back-up camera. That means every car must have a screen.

Given that, automakers figured they may as well use the damn thing for everything else too and cut costs.

It wasn't just that they wanted to take away tactile controls to save money. It was that they had to make room in there for the screen anyway, so they figured they'd make the most of it.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#215

Post by anamexis »

naikrovek wrote: post #208
hcknwscommenter wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. With a physical button, you know you pushed it because you feel it give and then stop giving. After the first couple of uses you can get used to any response time. With a touchscreen, there is no tactile feedback difference between a button press and a miss. So when you press it and it doesn't do anything, or behaves unexpectedly, you don't know if it is lagging or you missed. Touchscreens are much worse…

the apple Macbook trackpad proves that this tactile feedback could be done for touch screens also. touchscreens are worse but they don't have to be. manufacturers just don't care enough to make them better. they're too busy charging more for touchscreens while saving tons of money on buttons, which are expensive in comparison.

You still have to look to find where to press. With real buttons, you can find the right button purely with tactile feedback, as well.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#216

Post by jimmySixDOF »

bedobi wrote: post #89

Audi have some very recent cars that are completely screen free - they have a screen which completely retracts into the dashboard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_F2dpj5Kas&t=42s and if you have analog gauges too, there are no screens. (except the tiny one between the gauges which doesn't count imo) They're also completely piano black free. Best car interior maybe ever. Thread here https://old.reddit.com/r/Audi/comm…

They have also just been promoting the Activesphere Concept Car in the last few months that uses Mixed Reality / AR glasses developed in collaboration with Magic Leap.

https://youtu.be/f0MC1D3c0m8

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#217

Post by misssocrates »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #189

I wouldn't mind touchscreens as long as these imbecile developers would strictly limit UI response time to under 16ms. In no world where you're barrelling 3,000+ lbs of mass at tens of miles an hour should you be distracted by some moronic app or subsystem failing to respond in time because it was written by under-experienced software "engineers." Any software running as a part of a motor vehicle should be federally…

They should be faster, but don't they support voice commands while driving? That's the idea so you don't have to touch it much or at all while driving.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#218

Post by UI_at_80x24 »

Fr0styMatt88 wrote: post #52
testfoobar wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Touch screens are also pretty terrible for older people. Vision and fine motor skills both degenerate. Without tactile feedback, it is hard for older people to determine if they've successfully clicked on something. Gestures can be tough to teach and successfully implement without error.

Worse than touch screens are those touch buttons (you know, where the thing is just printed on the outside of the TV). I have no idea why, I'm fluent with touchscreens in the usual way but something in my brain just.... I don't know. Theoretically it should be the same, right? Except it feels horrible and wrong and I even have trouble trying to find the button. Probably because I'm vision-impaired and an actual touch…

Those are known as optical switches. And they are horrible.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#219

Post by fnordpiglet »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #66
karaterobot wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm disappointed that your comment has gotten downvoted. Hard to see why it should be, since it's just your opinion, and you even backed it up with a reason.

I think it's because they talk about "hundreds of buttons" and then mention they don't actually use the touch screen, they use voice.

I do use the touch screen, but when doing complex driving tasks I don’t. I don’t think I specifically am advocating for touch screens as the singular interface. I’m advocating that buttons are a terrible singular interface. In fact, I use the steering wheel buttons extensively while driving. It’s only when I want something not core to the act of driving, like changing the song or some other ancillary function, do I go to voice command. The touch screen I use primarily when I’m stopped or as a passenger. But I’d rather that than have a hundred buttons decorating the center console. It’s not a reasonable user interface for things that aren’t necessary to have at a quick finger index.

On the downvoting, don’t be obtuse. On HN people downvote if they disagree with an opinion. I don’t particularly take much notice of either direction on the voting. Internet points don’t count for much, and I’d rather enjoy my discourse than scrounge for points.

Re: Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens

#220

Post by amluto »

naikrovek wrote: post #208
hcknwscommenter wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. With a physical button, you know you pushed it because you feel it give and then stop giving. After the first couple of uses you can get used to any response time. With a touchscreen, there is no tactile feedback difference between a button press and a miss. So when you press it and it doesn't do anything, or behaves unexpectedly, you don't know if it is lagging or you missed. Touchscreens are much worse…

the apple Macbook trackpad proves that this tactile feedback could be done for touch screens also. touchscreens are worse but they don't have to be. manufacturers just don't care enough to make them better. they're too busy charging more for touchscreens while saving tons of money on buttons, which are expensive in comparison.

Can you explain? Mac trackpads can be delightful, but they’re delightful when the user is looking at the screen. Which is a bad idea when driving.
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