For years, car safety experts and everyday drivers have . Modern cars have almost unilaterally replaced dashboards full of tactile knobs with sleek, iPad-like digital displays, despite concerns these alluring devices might be making distracted driving worse. But there are signs the tide might be shifting.
After going all in on touch screens for years, Korean carmaker Hyundai is publicly shifting gears. Hyundai Design North America Vice President Ha Hak-soo remarked on the shift during a recent admitting the company was lured in by the “wow” factor of massive, all-in-one screen-based infotainment systems. Customers apparently didn’t share that enthusiasm.
“When we tested with our focus group, we realized that people get stressed, annoyed and steamed when they want to control something in a pinch but are unable to do so,” Ha said. Now the company is reversing course. Hyundai it would use physical buttons and knobs for many in-cabin controls across its new lineup of vehicles.
They aren’t alone. Porsche and Volkswagen are amongst the major brands planning to buck the trend. It’s part of what looks like a broader acknowledgment of so-called “ ” setting in amongst car buyers.
The first touch screen in a car dates back nearly four decades to the . That application, a cathode-ray-tube powered 3×4 inches box, was comparatively quaint compared to the massive desktop-sized screens in some modern vehicles. Over the years, screens gradually developed in size and overall.