Will there be a reversal in the use of touchscreens in cars?

[prydey]

https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...fafbda8c9a9c51

Interestingly, according to the article, Mazda has already taken this step in its new 3 series.

I'm a bit old school so I think it is a good idea. You don't have to take your eyes off the road with buttons and stalks, esp once you are familiar with your car. You can't replicate tactile function with screens either, so even if you can navigate to your screen and maintain focus on the road (unlikely) you still can't tell if you've pressed the button.

I'm surprised its taken this long to be honest, but I also don't think things will change too much. Not without fatalities.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by prydey

https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...fafbda8c9a9c51

Interestingly, according to the article, Mazda has already taken this step in its new 3 series.

I'm a bit old school so I think it is a good idea. You don't have to take your eyes off the road with buttons and stalks, esp once you are familiar with your car. You can't replicate tactile function with screens either, so even if you can navigate to your screen and maintain focus on the road (unlikely) you still can't tell if you've pressed the button.

I'm surprised its taken this long to be honest, but I also don't think things will change too much. Not without fatalities.

Agreed. I like vehicles with a FETH dashboard layout.

Falls Easily To Hand

[Polyal]

100% should have never got to the level it is now.

Screen for display, fine, but not interaction.

In saying that most cars have decent steering wheel controls these days which should cover that requirement.

[Polyal]

Mind you, it would be interesting to know the cost saves realised by OEM's by going down this route. I can only assume other than it being a trend that there was financial benefit.

[Express]

If the touchscreen fails the buttons make a good backup option otherwise you'd be locked out from using a lot of functions.

I prefer steering wheel controls as they do most everything I need apart from the A/C.





.

[jmack]

Originally Posted by prydey

https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...fafbda8c9a9c51

Interestingly, according to the article, Mazda has already taken this step in its new 3 series.

I'm a bit old school so I think it is a good idea. You don't have to take your eyes off the road with buttons and stalks, esp once you are familiar with your car. You can't replicate tactile function with screens either, so even if you can navigate to your screen and maintain focus on the road (unlikely) you still can't tell if you've pressed the button.

I'm surprised its taken this long to be honest, but I also don't think things will change too much. Not without fatalities.

same with old phones could write full msgs without even looking at the screen and send them ,not now.i hate even the basic of touch screens in cars especially on bumpy roads

[ozrunner]

Bloody hell after seeing those Tesla pictures you would need to be brain dead to want to drive a Tesla.

Besides having one of the most plain jane insipid exteriors that dash is just horrendous. To also have to swipe a screen to control items such as wiper speed or airflow direction is just freaking ludicrous and downright dangerous. No wonder these puss buckets wack into things

Hopefully this court ruling will wake people up who design this crap in that common sense should always prevail.

[Big_Daz]

Mazda has been iffy on the whole touch screen thing for years... the screen in my 2015 Mazda 6 was only able to be used touch screen if the car was stationary, otherwise there was a control knob with shortcut buttons to control which is placed well at hand to control it, including volume.. In the 2.5 years I owned it I never touched the screen... Its one of the things that wifey and i both loved about the CX-9 we have just purchased...

[simon varley]

100% down to the driver. He had a choice. If it was distracting he could have pulled over to adjust the wipers.

can't blame the manufacturer if the driver chooses to use the tech in a dangerous manner

[FTE217]

The 2016 bimmer I drive is pretty damn good not having to look much at all to the centre screen.
Steering wheel activation controls is good as mentioned in another post.
The other better point is having your speed at eye height on your windscreen.
Press cruise on, see the symbol on wndscreen as well, all I have ot do is lock in the speed at the wheel.
Nav, it all comes up on the windscreen as well, rippa set up imo.
Wipers, they adjust speed depending how much rain hits the screen.
Everything else is voice activation.

[Vormund]

We just got the new model Mazda3, (coming from a CX-5) and yeah I'm quite happy to use the rotary dial. It's partially because the screen is positioned a bit farther to reach, but in a good spot for line of sight.

My Volvo also isn't touch screen and it works well with the thumbwheel on the steering wheel or the rotary wheel on the console.

[Itsme]

It is not that far off where you will simply be talking to your vehicle without having to activate or touch any controls or devices where the vehicle will be talking back to you.
Touch screens will simply fill the void until new technology replaces it.

[Whitey-AMG]

Weird indeed !
Mercedes have always insisted on rotary dial control of all their screens up until their latest models. My 2017/2018 AMG A45 doesn’t have a touch screen, Mercedes cites safety concerns and were berated by the automotive world at the time for not being progressive enough... lol

So now they have caved and all their 2020 /2021 models are littered with massive touch screens so it will be amusing to see this come full circle again back to their original philosophy of rotary and button control only

TBH, I thought what a crock of **** it was to have a modern day prestige car without a touchscreen when I first bought it. But after having used it for some time now, I actually prefer it and it also keeps it clean from lack of touching constantly. Using the rotary dial is definitely less of a distraction and quite quick to use if manufacturer has spent time to make it intuitive .

Ideally, they can keep touchscreens just need to disable when vehicle is in DRIVE so you can only use the dial or buttons.

[lra]

Touch screens and current electronic gadgetry ............ the main reasons that I still have dinosaur cars with NA big engines.

[Wretched]

Our CX5 has the rotary dial and everything else in buttons.
I like it, i don't think i ever used the the touch screen, either voice activated (Android Auto/Car Play) or buttons.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by FTE217

The other better point is having your speed at eye height on your windscreen.
Press cruise on, see the symbol on wndscreen as well, all I have ot do is lock in the speed at the wheel.

BMW were one of the few to play around with heads up displays. I'm surprised it didn't become more widespread.

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by prydey

BMW were one of the few to play around with heads up displays. I'm surprised it didn't become more widespread.

Correct, its bloody marvellous have to say.
Sister just bought the lastest Maz3GT - has the same now.
The wife has a 2018 CX5, as some have quoted here, the big knob works pretty good TBH, you never bother touching the screen.
The bimmer also does but I agree that can be destracting for some.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by prydey

BMW were one of the few to play around with heads up displays. I'm surprised it didn't become more widespread.

forgot to mention that our CX5 has the heads up display. Not as advanced as the BMW, it is just a perspex screen that pops up as the car starts. It is very handy though, digital speed display, cruise control info but also reads the street signs and displays the speed limit.

[fnp]

There was a Mitsubishi I had the misfortune of driving for a week or so that had a touchscreen which was the only method of controlling the volume apart from the steering wheel button. Not only that, but you had to press it each step adjustment and it would beep at you for each press. The steering wheel buttons did that too, couldn't just hold it down, press press press beep beep beep. Which braindead idiot thought that was a better idea than a rotary knob.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

It is not that far off where you will simply be talking to your vehicle without having to activate or touch any controls or devices where the vehicle will be talking back to you.
Touch screens will simply fill the void until new technology replaces it.

Exactly. Voice commands will become the norm to control most of the functions. They just need to get on top of the technology to be better able to handle different accents, voices etc.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Agreed. I like vehicles with a FETH dashboard layout.

Falls Easily To Hand

Hadn't heard that term, I like them too.

Then again, I liked high beam switches down on the floor near left foot, so you could dip the beams to an oncoming car on a sweeping bend at night, without moving hands at all on the wheel.

[lra]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Falls Easily To Hand

Somebody else who can remember Romsey Quints' test drives.

[MercuryT]

Should never have got this far in the first place.

Clearly unsafe and goes against all the phone rules on why banned (rightly)

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Exactly. Voice commands will become the norm to control most of the functions. They just need to get on top of the technology to be better able to handle different accents, voices etc.

I'm not sure about that. How effective are they when the driver isn't the sole occupant?

[CyberWasp]

I don't want anything out on the road in front of me to distract me from watching my screen when I drive.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by lra

Somebody else who can remember Romsey Quints' test drives.

...............Waits for people to say"Romsey who?"

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by prydey

I'm not sure about that. How effective are they when the driver isn't the sole occupant?

Simple.....Voice ID recognition!

[fnp]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I don't want anything out on the road in front of me to distract me from watching my screen when I drive.

image

Is that for real? What car - I can't make out the steering wheel properly.

[kypez]

Anyone who hasn't owned a Tesla or modern Euro doesn't get it. Most functions are controlled by voice anyway and you can programme the steering wheel buttons to adjust wipers. I love not having buttons and haven't fumbled because of it.

I can't remember the last time I changed the vents position in any car. It's very much set and forget.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by fnp

Is that for real? What car - I can't make out the steering wheel properly.

It's a Byton. Don't think they're in production yet