Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds
Touch screens are just their 60+ year old fossils deciding &quot;that&#x27;s hip, that&#x27;s what kids want!&quot; and probably their testing audiences responding more positively to images of flashy touch screens and shiny lights.<p>Driving a car with touch screens (new BMW or Mercedes) has left me very unimpressed. My 2016 VW Golf has actual buttons, switches, and knobs to twist and turn and press and flip.<p>Car reviewers, too, often say it&#x27;s a shame that car manufacturers are switching to touch screen nonsense. It&#x27;s such a shameful trend if you think about it. The BMW series of pre-2022 had buttons in the dashboard, but the upcoming new series will do away with those entirely.<p>Touch screens even find their way onto steering wheels and doors.<p>Of course, it&#x27;s easy to understand why:<p>1. It&#x27;s cheaper to produce;
2. It looks more expensive, so the price goes up;
3. Testing audiences respond positively to shiny lights;
4. Fossils decided that this is what the young people want.<p>Honestly, I hope European legislation makes it illegal at some point. For the sake of safety. With touch screens, even the most simple task requires you to take your eyes off the road in front of you; with regular buttons you could do many task just with touch.<p>What was even more surprising, to me, is that Mercedes had this amazing nice center console unit to control things with your arm in a rested position. They removed that piece of brilliance!<p>So, now you need to do everything with an outstretched arm in a moving vehicle to operate tiny buttons on a flat touch screen.<p>Oh, and the touch screen can only barely hit 60 frames per second and often feels much slower. They&#x27;re even saving costs on GPU power in their fancy luxury cars.