In cars, the widely emulated ultra-minimalism of Tesla’s touch-screen-centric control panels is giving way to actual buttons, knobs and toggles in new models from Kia, BMW’s Mini, and Volkswagen, among others. This trend is delighting reviewers and making the display-focused interiors of Tesla and its imitators feel passé.
Similar re-buttonization is occurring in everything from e-readers to induction stoves.
I for one believe this is a trend in the right direction. You can read the full article in the Wall Street Journal if you are a subscriber. Apple News plus subscribers can also read it there.
It’s strange they mention Volkswagen, while their EVs have controls on the steering wheel, they’re capacitive and therefore pretty useless as they can’t be used without looking at them.
The EU were talking about setting legal requirements for minimum controls which must be on a physical button. I hope they make them a mechanical button.
You are right about their current line-up. But this is changing. Their latest combustion engine models already have been released with more physical buttons and the ID.2 is moving into this direction, too.
Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer already acknowledged customers’ criticism on the over-reliance on touch controls — namely on the Golf Mk8 and ID.3, not to mention the same trend across the motor industry. The exec went as far as saying the earlier touch-heavy approach — endorsed by his predecessor, Herbert Diess — “definitely did a lot of damage” in terms of customer loyalty.
Distracted drivers have always been a hazard, and based on the reports of pedestrians and bicyclists being hurt and killed each day things are not getting any better.
A couple of weeks ago one bicyclist that I used to see frequently while I was taking a walk, was run over and killed while stopped on a sidewalk talking to a friend.
Physical buttons. The 2024 releases already have them. No rumors, out in the open.
You can find more on the internet. Diess has led Volkswagen into a crisis, they will have a hard time in the next few years. But I think that they have understood and that they can get back on track again.
Sorry, if this is too much off-topic in this community. A VW is no iPhone 16.
A friend had a hire car recently. Unfortunately, the touch screen failed with the aircon stuck at maximum temperature and maximum power, on one of the sunniest days of the year. Fortunately the windows were still on a button.
Speaking of Camera Control on the iPhone 16, personally I’m having mixed reactions to it.
While the control button itself is easy to use and a great way to pull up the camera app while I’m pulling my iPhone from my front pocket… the controls themselves are something to be desired from a usability standpoint.
Jason Snell, I think, recently called Camera Control features something akin to the TouchBar on the Mac and now I can’t shake perspective, ha ha. It’s still far easier to swipe through the focus, tones, etc. options onscreen than it is to scroll through the settings with Camera Control.
Also, I find the control button itself stiff, and has resulted in a few blurry photos thanks to some physical jiggle that occurs as I depress the button.
Perhaps it will just take a bit of getting to used to, but I find the onscreen control access easier to deal with overall and suspect I will primarily use the control button for quick pull-and-shoot photos.
The more I use it, the better I like it. I think the problem is more a matter of muscle memory using the prior system. We tend to default to what we know and what is, therefore, easiest.
For the past year, I used the action button as my primary way to access the camera, and the new camera control isn’t that big of a leap from that. But everyone has their own preferences. I like being able to access and change the magnification from the same button that I use to take the photo or video.
I understand the “physical jiggle” issue. I’ve had to adjust and ensure I’m holding the phone in a well-supported position when I press the button. But it’s been an easy adjustment and I have no issues after just a little use.
Touchscreens in cars have huge downsides. You’re not supposed to be staring at a screen trying figure out what’s on it, which can get you and others killed. You’re supposed to be staring at the road up ahead, and be aware of what’s going on outside your car. Physical buttons you can find by feel while keeping your eyes on the road improve safety.
With computing devices, the whole point is to keep staring at the screen. The iPhone’s action and camera buttons may be nice conveniences, but they aren’t game changers, and by themselves not very compelling reasons to trade in a recent iPhone that doesn’t have them. And the five physical buttons on the latest iPhones are pushing the limits of how many are practical.
Where physical buttons really matter on computing devices are keyboards, because they make it easy to type by feel as you stay focused on the screen and the content you’re creating or working on. (Virtual keyboards are just a way to make do when space is more important than typing speed.)
That’s why the touch bar never made sense. It forced you to take your eyes off your screen and content, look down at the keyboard, and choose among virtual buttons and sliders that changed with the context.
They are, IMO, mainly something to make the iPhone 16 look different. How hard is it to swipe once to open the camera and press a volume button to take a picture?
They’re tweaking a mature product. Unless they copy Android and make a folding phone, most of the significant changes are probably going to come from the software side, supported by processor improvements.
I think that the Camera Control is a significant improvement. I can get my phone out of my pocket and take a photo in seconds. Faster than swiping and with a single hand.
I’m still getting use to the swipe interface, but I think it’s going to be more intuitive and to hand.
The Action Button, is different, TBH there’s no one single action I take often enough to make it stand out enough to dedicate the button to it. Shortcuts can allow you to assign multiple actions to the button though.
From what I’ve read that seems to be the opinion of a lot of people. Does this mean our phones will need to be charged more often to run bigger processors, or will they just get thicker to accommodate bigger batteries?
AI compute is expensive and right now both Apple and Google are working to do more on-device, in part to avoid having to do it in expensive data centers. The next few years should be interesting.
I have no crystal ball, but I would hope that the energy efficiency of processors will improve even as they get more powerful. It’s also been a long time since there’s been a big breakthrough in rechargeable battery technology, and that could change things significantly.
The 2024 releases already have them. No rumors, out in the open.
