Car Controls: Buttons vs Touchscreens
Users debate the merits of physical buttons and knobs versus touchscreens for car controls like climate, audio, and infotainment, emphasizing safety, distraction risks, and preferences for tactile feedback while driving.
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Do you mind if I ask if the car you most interact with has touch or physical controls?
I can operate basically anything by touch in the car other than the touchscreen.
Saw Porsche Taycan with weird AC controls hidden deep inside the touch screen and a very un-intuitive UI. Honda did the same mistake and now have changed their decision and gone back to physical buttons. Hyundai realises it. Hope others follow the lead
Voice control isn't my thing. Touchscreen is not accepable as a substitute, I need buttons where I can feel that i'm hitting the right one without taking my eyes off the road.
I got a Mazda for this reason. Physical buttons for everything and carplay for navigation+spotify. Best of both worlds. Infotainment has touch screen when stationary, but while driving it can only be operated by voice and console buttons/wheel.
Touchscreen for media system and navigation in the car is ok. I always find it distracting to go through the menus to change air conditioning.
> High quality switches and buttons feel really luxurious.That's part of why I have an Audi.It's a 2021 model with a touchscreen. But it also has high-quality buttons and knobs for each of the tests in the article mentioned and would thus pass with a very low distance measured.There are some weird issues, however. The audio buttons control the current audio source but don't fall back if the current audio source disappears. Like if you are playing music through your
Audi has this kind of feedback on their newer touchscreens
As other people have said, I think auto makers are learning the error of their ways. I just bought a 2024 Toyota Sequoia last week, and love that basically every control has a button! There’s some infotainment stuff but that works with voice controls, like navigation and CarPlay.There are dozens of different buttons, so it definitely takes a period of learning to get proficient, but it just feels so nice, like I’m playing a multi ton musical instrument.
Hey no problem, I drive with the touchscreen anyway.