# 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:** 3
**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, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/41 "2024-04-30T16:00:03Z")
Mine is a 2019. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/42 "2024-04-30T16:08:18Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > As for cars, the touch screen has some real benefits but nothing you couldn’t do in other ways. I see it as neither terrific nor terrible. You? My personal opinion: Touch screens in cars are a TERRIBLE idea because you _must_ take your eyes off the road to use them. Old fashioned knobs, slides, switches, etc. can be manipulated by feel, allowing you to use them and _still keep your eyes on the road._ Yeah, I feel pretty strongly about that. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/43 "2024-04-30T16:32:43Z")
> [@jacobsta811](#): > > the car manufacturers equip them with CPU and RAM from like 1980 or something and the performance is insanely bad. Every car I’ve been in with a touch screen system responds like it’s running off of a tablet from Big Lots. I once heard a Youtuber comment about a car system, “If you took this out and gave it to a kid to play with, they’d never stop hating you” which is generally accurate. ---
**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, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/44 "2024-04-30T16:34:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Touch screens in cars are a TERRIBLE idea because you _must_ take your eyes off the road to use them. Old fashioned knobs, slides, switches, etc. can be manipulated by feel, allowing you to use them and _still keep your eyes on the road._ Which is why stuff people frequently use while driving should be physical knobs or switches. But that doesn’t mean touchscreens are bad in and of themselves, if they’re used primarily for stuff you shouldn’t be doing while driving anyway, i.e. setting the navigation destination. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/45 "2024-04-30T18:35:36Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I wanted to quote this again, because I think this is the most nuanced take on it, I’ll quote you because I agree with your point as well. My previous car, a Subaru, had a touch screen. It was slow and kind of useless. I still had to have a phone holder on the dash because it didn’t have Android Auto or any other way (besides built in navigation) to put directions up on the screen. My current car, a Mazda, has what I regard as an excellent (non-touch) screen. It’s relatively high up, just to the right of the driver, in a great place to glance momentarily. It’s controlled by a large scroll wheel/x-y bump stick (I don’t know what to call it) near the gear shift. You can bump it to the right, e.g., to get it to jump to a window that’s to the right. The only sort of standard control that’s on there is the entertainment system. And that and the phone controls are also on the steering wheel. Another thing I love about it is that the volume control is a small physical knob near the big screen navigation knob. With Android Auto allowing my phone to integrate with the screen, I’d never give up the screen. There is nothing better for directions/navigation. I only wish that my phone directions would also integrate with the heads up display. The built-in navigation system has that integration, so you don’t need to look away from the road for your next navigation step. I really miss this when I am driving a different car. The one disadvantage of the scroll wheel interface is trying to “type” something in. It’s very tedious. But if the car is parked and I’m using Android Auto, my phone screen will activate so that I can type there. Also, it may be mostly from Android Auto, but there are a few things it will block and say “not while driving.” And if you are doing something that takes a while, like scrolling through a long list, it will pause the controls to make you look back at the road for a bit. > [@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. > > 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. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > Mine is a 2019. Mine is a 2021, and it’s got console controls only. We also have a 2012 Mazda, which did not come with a screen at all. But, we had to install an aftermarket one, because it also didn’t come with a backup camera, which it absolutely requires. We got a name-brand, very reputable one, but it’s been kind of annoying. And, the clock in that car is in a little digital display that shows the climate control settings. That clock used to be settable via the OEM stereo controls. Now that there’s an aftermarket stereo in there, the time for the dash clock can’t be set. (Except sort of, by disconnecting the battery at noon or midnight.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/46 "2024-04-30T18:40:43Z")
Personally, I think we’d be better off if automobiles went back to using Etch-A-Sketches like before. _The GPS says we’re on Main Road, but I thought we were on Centre Street._ **Hmmm, have you tried shaking it to reboot?** ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/47 "2024-04-30T19:16:59Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > 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. I haven’t (yet) encountered a car where the touchscreen was required to open the glove box. You like that feature, but how often is this really an issue? I guess if you get pulled over and need to dig out the registration… I grumbled about this in the stupid product design thread: the vehicle we rented a few weeks ago had storage all over the place (huge center console and so on). There was a spot on the passenger side, about where you’d expect the glove box (though a little on the small side), that appeared to have a door that ought to open. We could NOT figure it out. About 200 miles from home, on the return trip, I finally noticed a small square button a few inches to the left of it, in otherwise blank dashboard space. No labelling of any sort. I pressed it, and SPROING, the door on the “glove box” opened right up. A touchscreen control might have actually been easier (if I’d known to look for it, which I didn’t - I’d never heard of this until this thread). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/48 "2024-04-30T19:21:47Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > With Android Auto allowing my phone to integrate with the screen, I’d never give up the screen. There is nothing better for directions/navigation. I only wish that my phone directions would also integrate with the heads up display. The built-in navigation system has that integration, so you don’t need to look away from the road for your next navigation step. I really miss this when I am driving a different car. Now that we’ve finally gotten Android Auto to work reliably with our car, we love that feature as well. The car’s onboard nav system has given us screwy results on quite a few occasions. Not that Google Maps is perfect (“exit here, turn the wrong way, and make a U turn in 500 feet”). But I trust it more. Good point about wishing its directions displayed on the car’s dashboard the way the built-in nav system’s directions do! If we are using a rental car, with unknown AA integration capabilities, I’ll grab a freestanding phone holder to set on the dashboard, so we can be sure to be able to use the phone’s nav system. That’s actually a better position that the built-in display, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/49 "2024-04-30T19:25:06Z")
I’ll also point out that a lot of new cars have a very robust voice command system. In our new Cadillac you can pretty much control anything on the touch screen through voice. I’ve discovered if you tell it to call Joe’s Diner without specifying a city it will call the nearest one which is kind of awesome and kind of creepy. ---
**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 30, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/50 "2024-04-30T19:33:34Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > if they’re used primarily for stuff you shouldn’t be doing while driving anyway, i.e. setting the navigation destination. I can use my voice to set the navigation destination while driving. No need to poke at the touchscreen. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > You like that feature, but how often is this really an issue? We park at trailheads nearly every weekend and we lock things like wallets in the glovebox, as well as get out trailhead pass where required. Edit to add: I also learned I can just ask the car to open the glovebox. I need to learn more of the voice commands. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/51 "2024-04-30T19:37:00Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I can use my voice to set the navigation destination while driving. No need to poke at the touchscreen. The last time I tried doing that, the car suggested that perhaps I wished to go to the National Bank of Kuwait. Which is, not surprisingly, NOT the same thing as the Mount Washington Cog Railway. Interestingly, we COULD have actually driven to the bank - there are offices in New York City. Hopefully your voice control tool works a lot better than ours did! (that was the same trip where the onboard nav system claimed we were in the middle of Lake George… not the town, but the body of water). ---
**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 30, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/52 "2024-04-30T19:57:38Z")
So far, it has been awesome! It uses Google which is what we previously used, but on our phones. I also almost always have a navigator (my wife) to help with the work. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/53 "2024-04-30T19:58:05Z")
A friend has a Rivion pickup. Need the touch screen to adjust the air vent positions. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/54 "2024-04-30T21:13:10Z")
Hey Siri! I would like to call Pete. **Did you say: “I would like to call Pizza Hut?”** No! I want to call Pete! **Did you say: “I would like to call Pizza Hüt?”** …Yes… I would like to call Pizza Hüt… _Bleep bleep blip bleep blip bleep blip bleep Bleep blip blip bleep bleep blip bleep beep Bleep blip bleep blip bleep_ **Hej! This is Pizza Hüt! Sweden’s favourite American Style Pizza now in Malmö! What would you like to order?”** ---
**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 30, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/55 "2024-04-30T22:12:48Z")
Sounds like Siri is a knucklehead. Glad my car doesn’t use it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/56 "2024-04-30T22:46:10Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > A friend has a Rivion pickup. Need the touch screen to adjust the air vent positions. I read about that somewhere. A ‘solution’ looking for a problem for sure. That’s completely insane and just a function waiting to break. Probably need to open the glove compartment using the touch screen. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/57 "2024-04-30T23:08:03Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Not that Google Maps is perfect (“exit here, turn the wrong way, and make a U turn in 500 feet”). But I trust it more. Good point about wishing its directions displayed on the car’s dashboard the way the built-in nav system’s directions do! I use Waze, which has its own issues. I just have to brag about my car for a moment. My car doesn’t display the directions in the dash. I have a [heads up display](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display) that [projects info onto the windshield,](https://autoimage.capitalone.com/cms/Auto/assets/images/MMLPs/2023-mazda-cx-50-008.jpg) so I’m literally looking at the road the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/58 "2024-05-01T11:39:48Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I just have to brag about my car for a moment. My car doesn’t display the directions in the dash. I have a [heads up display](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display) that [projects info onto the windshield,](https://autoimage.capitalone.com/cms/Auto/assets/images/MMLPs/2023-mazda-cx-50-008.jpg) so I’m literally looking at the road the whole time. Jealous. My car can’t even find an address. It often directs you to the wrong city and even STATE. Even when you explicitly tell it the city and state. Shitiest GPS ever. The interface is horrible, and whatever data is behind it sucks. I’ve pretty much given up on it. If my Wife is with me, she will just play navigator using her phone. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/59 "2024-05-01T12:35:28Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I use Waze, which has its own issues. I’ve been using Waze for a while and never noticed any issues. Care to share so I know what to watch for? Maybe start a new thread in another area. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935/60 "2024-05-01T15:02:47Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I’ve been using Waze for a while and never noticed any issues. Care to share so I know what to watch for? Maybe start a new thread in another area. Even though Waze has been owned by Google for years, the two often give different directions. Last year, we were driving around northern New Jersey (which is its own special bit of hell, driving-wise), and I was driving with Google directions displayed on the car’s screen, and my husband was also helping to navigate, using Waze on his phone. The two conflicted often enough that I finally told him to quit it, as it was making things harder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-touch-screens-improve-things-originally-screenless/1000935.md?page=4)