# Do You Think Touch Screens Improve Things Originally Screenless? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 29, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935 "2024-04-29T17:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/21 "2024-04-29T19:27:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > As far as other things besides cars: I don’t think I own anything with a touchscreen except where the screen is central to the point of the device (as in a smartphone or tablet), but I can’t think of anything that would be improved by adding a touchscreen. I have both a watch w touchscreen & purposely bought the bike computer with **out** a touchscreen. They don’t work as well when wet, they don’t work so well if you’re wearing the wrong gloves. Especially when doing intervals or at the end of a race when you’re already hypoxic, I want to press the physical button for lap/stop; don’t want my finger sliding along the screen to change something inadvertently so that the button press does something other than what I want. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/22 "2024-04-29T19:28:54Z")
I rented a RAV4 last week. It had a small screen, but it was located high on the dash, so it was distracting. The worst part was that the display could not be turned off. I love the look and function of my touch screen on my iPace. (and it can be turned off if I wish) It’s mostly for GPS and audio. So maybe not what we’re complaining about here. > **[2019 Jaguar I-Pace Gets Standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto In The U.S. |...](https://www.carscoops.com/2018/10/2019-jaguar-pace-gets-standard-apple-carplay-android-auto-u-s/)** > > Other 2019 JLR models in North America get the smartphone mirroring functionality as an option ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/23 "2024-04-29T19:30:34Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > The only clunker is having to open the glovebox from the screen, which is in fact profoundly dumb. I always keep my glovebox locked since it contains documents I’d hate to see stolen (park passes, car registration, insurance etc). On our Subaru, that means taking the key out of the ignition to unlock and relock. Two quick touches on the display screen and the glovebox is open. It’s faster for me. We were worried about the screen in the car but now prefer it. I’ve recently driven a Nissan Rogue and a new Subaru and the amount of buttons, switches, and doo-dads every freaking where is overwhelming. No thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/24 "2024-04-29T19:32:07Z")
I honestly can’t think of a device that has added a touchscreen that doesn’t suck more than it did without one, except map interfaces. Everything else sucks worse. Phone interfaces have all gotten more horrible as the manufacturers have ditched physical keyboards and buttons. > [@Spiderman](#): > > Especially on bad roads. It’s bad enough I need to look down once to make sure my finger is in the right place because there’s no tactile feel on a flat screen but when you look back up at the road & manage to hit a bump/pothole which means you now press something other than your intended ‘button’ I now need to look down a second time & for longer as I figure out what I just did & how to accomplish what I was originally intending to do. Oh god yes. As a passenger, I’ve given up on tuning the stereo in my wife’s car on anything but smooth roads. The steering wheel controls are the only ones any good for controlling the stereo. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/25 "2024-04-29T19:37:50Z")
I don’t care for them. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/26 "2024-04-29T19:39:30Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > A few years ago I had a Ford Escape for a few days and one of the things I absolutely hated about it that apparently the designers thought was clever was that a bunch of knobs on the console all looked exactly the same even though they did entirely different, **totally unrelated** things. For instance, radio volume and tuning knobs looked exactly the same as temperature and fan speed controls. This is just fundamentally terrible ergonomics! Worse than that - it’s an aspect of human interface ergonomics that we’ve known about for decades and apparently don’t give a s\*\*t about when it comes to cars. Airplane designers learned (the hard way) to group controls according to their systems - engine controls here, environmental there - separated from each other. And for really important functions, to avoid having controls which couldn’t be differentiated from each other easily. This is why landing gear handles are shaped like wheels and flap handles are shaped like airfoils. This all makes a lot of sense in airplanes, and it really should be the practice in cars too. After all, there are many more people driving than flying and we’re still around 40,000 road fatalities every year in the states. I have to believe some percentage of those are due to poorly designed controls. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/27 "2024-04-29T19:49:11Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Airplane designers learned (the hard way) to group controls according to their systems - engine controls here, environmental there - separated from each other. And for really important functions, to avoid having controls which couldn’t be differentiated from each other easily. Actually, if you look at older Subarus and SAABs, both had controls designed and configured in this way, because their parent companies came from the aircraft industry (Nakajima Aircraft Company/Fuji Heavy Industries and Saab AB, respectively). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/28 "2024-04-29T19:53:05Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Yeah, this. Even physical buttons kind of suck, if they’re designed poorly. My current truck has a button for switching the heating from windshield to vents to floor vents, but it’s one button, and it contains a light that shows which vents are chosen. yup. My 2019 4Runner has three big knobs for temp control. One for fan speed, one for where you want it (defrost, floor heat, whatever) and one for how hot/cold. One big button for mirror and rear window defrost. Don’t have to look for that either. Seat heat? It’s right next to me. No need to look. I never have to look at any of them. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/29 "2024-04-29T19:54:33Z")
Yes, I noticed that, most notably the flap lever, speed brake, landing gear lever, and on the 737 even the landing light switches look like little spotlights. If the Ford Escape designers were building this, all the controls would look exactly the same and they’d be congratulating themselves on how “neat” it all looked! ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/30 "2024-04-29T19:55:08Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Actually, if you look at older Subarus and SAABs, both had controls designed and configured in this way, because their parent companies came from the aircraft industry (Nakajima Aircraft Company/Fuji Heavy Industries and Saab AB, respectively). I’d suggest the key word here is “older”. We seem to be moving away from this - even moving backwards IMHO. Incidentally, I’m unsurprised to see Saab as an outlier and on the correct side of safety and design. I’ve both driven and flown Saab products and they took design seriously. Which I guess you have to when they’re going to operate in that kind of cold… ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/31 "2024-04-29T20:01:58Z")
[Doug DeMuro recently did a video on this](https://youtu.be/F7EBH5guo6Q?si=0a2VLZnibAlYr5Mp/). I pretty much agree with Doug – frequently used controls should be physical buttons or knobs, like stereo controls, climate control, lights, etc. I’m fine with settings you change infrequently being in the touchscreen, i.e. setting the clock, programming your radio presets, changing the volume of the turn signal sound (yes, my car really has that option). Actually setting the clock is something that really is significantly better with the touchscreen. In my old car, whenever daylight saving time came around I had to consult the owner’s manual to figure out which combination of buttons I needed to press to set the time. In my current car it’s just home screen → settings → clock → daylight savings time. It’s very intuitive and easy to figure out without having to read the manual. If I want to actually change the time and not just toggle between standard time and DST, it’s just as easy. Just go to the same clock screen as before, and tap the up/down arrows to set the hour and minute. > [@CaveMike](#): > > The transition to touch screens is to: > > - save cost > - reduce time to market > - simplify the design That’s definitely part of it. With a touchscreen adding a control for a new feature simply requires a software update, rather than adding a new physical button to the console. But besides that, like Doug points out in his video, modern cars just have so many features and settings that you can configure, it’s literally impossible to control all of them with physical buttons. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/32 "2024-04-29T20:35:39Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Actually setting the clock is something that really is significantly better with the touchscreen. In my old car, whenever daylight saving time came around I had to consult the owner’s manual to figure out which combination of buttons I needed to press to set the time. Sounds like more bad design. There’s no way that setting a clock should be in any way complicated. It’s basic and simple on my current car, undoubtedly because it’s older and predates needlessly complicated whiz-bang tech. There are two recessed buttons labeled “H” and “M” that you press with the tip of a ballpoint pen. A quick press increments hours or minutes by one. A continuous press increments continuously. Simple! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/33 "2024-04-29T20:53:54Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Sounds like more bad design. There’s no way that setting a clock should be in any way complicated. It’s basic and simple on my current car, undoubtedly because it’s older and predates needlessly complicated whiz-bang tech. And yet it was that complicated on my 2009 Corolla, and on my 1995 Saturn, and I’m pretty sure it was that complicated on my 1988 Buick but it’s hard to remember how I set the clock on a car I last drove nearly 24 years ago. So it definitely not related to “whiz-bang tech”. It’s more like the designers wanted to avoid the added expense of adding additional buttons specifically for the clock, so they made some other random buttons dual purpose. Which made the clock setting procedure something like “Hold down the ‘mode’ button for 5 seconds until the clock starts flashing, then press ‘seek’ to advance the hour and ‘scan’ to advance the minute”, or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/34 "2024-04-29T21:03:04Z")
I like touchscreen controls in theory, but the car manufacturers equip them with CPU and RAM from like 1980 or something and the performance is insanely bad. If they were actually snappy and responsive it would be a different story. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/35 "2024-04-29T21:37:30Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Well, like all technology, the user interface can be well designed or poorly designed. > I have a 12” touchscreen in my 2022 Bronco. I like it a lot. > Almost all controls that need to be adjusted while driving (A/C, Stereo, Cruise, etc, etc) have physical controls. It’s only the 2nd tier controls that use the touch screen. There are so many settings that if they all had a physical control, it would look like the cockpit of a Blackbird. I wanted to quote this again, because I think this is the most nuanced take on it, so add my kudos to that of @Llama_Llogophile. One extra point though, is that making the majority of a car’s systems (specific hate point) dependent upon a single interface makes a massive source for point failure. If you’re like me, and driving a car into the ground right now, you might have one or more little or not-so-little things not working. But if nearly everything is controlled though a single, _fragile_ point, then you’re begging for a single failure to kill you (literally or figuratively) down the line. As for other touch-screen integrated devices, I think it boils down to “Am I paying a premium for this?” All too often, it’s at _best_ gilding the lilly - add features I don’t really need, but may not mind, yet at a much higher price point. And sometimes, it seems you can then order a model _without_ a touch-screen, but they charge you a surcharge for that. Oh, granted, it’s rare, but for a while, when I was shopping for a laptop for my Mother and Father in Law, I had to do custom configurations because a certain company (Dell, damn you!) only wanted to sell it with a touchscreen option. It’s not as bad as it once was though. Similar point with the equally subdued craze (not gone though) of 2-in-1 tablet/laptops that were a craze in search of a market much of the time. Not totally dismissing them, they can have points in their advantage for certain individuals, but damn they were pushing those systems hard. Still, overall I’d like some of my older, analog devices to include a touchscreen for additional controls and information, but far too often (and back to my earlier point) you’re paying so much that it’s insane. I do wonder though, if in the not-so distant future, with voice recognition being better all the time, if the “touch” portion of those touchscreens will be an afterthought and all those screens will be primarily voice controlled. Which could be nice, as long as you don’t have a kit or “friend” in the car who ruins it for you. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/36 "2024-04-29T22:01:14Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > One extra point though, is that making the majority of a car’s systems (specific hate point) dependent upon a single interface makes a massive source for point failure. If you’re like me, and driving a car into the ground right now, you might have one or more little or not-so-little things not working. But if nearly everything is controlled though a single, _fragile_ point, then you’re begging for a single failure to kill you (literally or figuratively) down the line. Yep. A friend of mine bought an Infiniti years ago that was quite trouble-free, although started to get expensive to maintain after a while. Anyway, when he took it in to the dealership, they’d give him a loaner, which was sometimes an almost-new Infiniti. Which he dreaded, because at the time, there was a known problem somewhere in the central electronics and the touch screen that controlled everything, namely the fact that sometimes when you tried to start the car, the touch screen would be **completely blank** and absolutely nothing would work, including the starter. Yay for high-tech wizardry! My attitude is, the more gadgetry I see on a car, the more things I see that can break. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/37 "2024-04-30T01:44:17Z")
My Mazda has a screen but it is not a touch screen. Apparently they stopped offering them because studies have shown that drivers using touch screens are more distracted, and thus more dangerous, than non touch screen users. I like it. The controls for the screen are on the console near the shifter, which is where my right hand often rests. I can operate most of the controls for the screen without taking my eyes off of the road. mmm ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/38 "2024-04-30T02:01:36Z")
I’m very glad to be driving an old car. My touch screen experience is with an iPad. And about half the time, when I touch it to do something I apparently haven’t touched the exact right spot, with the exact right sort of motion or non-motion, or with my finger in exactly the right condition, or something; with the result that what happens isn’t what I intended, but either something else, or sometimes nothing at all. This is annoying enough sitting safe in a chair at home; I certainly don’t want to deal with it while driving; that would be a major hazard. And in cold weather I often drive with gloves on. I don’t particularly want to have to get a special pair of gloves just to wear in the car. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/39 "2024-04-30T04:09:27Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > My Mazda has a screen but it is not a touch screen. Apparently they stopped offering them because studies have shown that drivers using touch screens are more distracted, and thus more dangerous, than non touch screen users. My Mazda has a touch screen, but the touch screen only works when you’re stopped. When the car is moving you have to use the controls on the console. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/40 "2024-04-30T11:35:24Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > My Mazda has a touch screen Interesting. What year is your Mazda? (mine is a 2022). mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935.md?page=3)