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No crap, #Volkswagen!

Jalopnik: Volkswagen CEO Admits It Was A Mistake To Abandon Buttons And Other Physical Controls

https://jalopnik.com/volkswagen-ceo-admits-it-was-a-mistake-to-abandon-butto-1850557609


Volkswagen CEO Admits It Was A Mistake To Abandon Buttons And Other Physical Controls

Thomas Schäfer just threw Herbert Diess under the bus.
Collin Woodard (Jalopnik)
#volkswagen
in reply to Linh Pham

Mario Guzmán
Mario Guzmán
• •
it bothers me that these car companies don’t learn from each others’ mistakes. Like VW didn’t realize that Honda went all in on screen controls or capacitive buttons and undid their mistake. Lincoln did too!!! But these clowns are like “I bet we will do it right!” And then undo their mistake. It’s quite frustrating.
in reply to Mario Guzmán

Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:
Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:
• •
it’s cool to have options. Especially if you’re someone like me, usually on the opposite side of things - I love my car’s touch controls 🤩. Oh and btw, I loved the Touch Bar too but had no choice but to give it up 🔥😋
in reply to Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •

@konstantin I liked the idea of the Touch Bar, until I hated that ESC and F keys were there. I know they moved back to a physical ESC key later; but, it also meant that booting Linux on pre-T2 laptops meant losing said keys!

I'm a physical knob, button and slider kind of person. I don't mind a touch screen for controlling the infotainment; but, leave the HVAC and volume buttons physical. Also, touch sensitive buttons on steering wheels are just pure evil.

@marioguzman

@Mario Guzmán @Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:
in reply to Linh Pham

Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:
Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:
• •
it’s all cool and I hope we keep having options so folks can pick whatever they like. Until we invent programmable matter, at least.
in reply to Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •

@konstantin Would love to see the day where programmable matter becomes a thing. That way, Starfleet inspectors can't complain which side something is on 😅

@marioguzman

@Mario Guzmán @Funny Konstantin :bheartrainbow:
in reply to Linh Pham

Crowley
Crowley
• •
Yeah, Ford/Lincoln went through this exact same thing ten years ago🤦‍♀️
in reply to Linh Pham

Sloan Studio
Sloan Studio
• •
@thomasfuchs Literally every #UX designer... LOL
#UX @Thomas 🔭🕹️
in reply to Sloan Studio

Thomas 🔭🕹️
Thomas 🔭🕹️
• •
@SloanStudio I hope that designers next realize that “flat design” is essentially the same thing as touch screens everywhere
@Sloan Studio
in reply to Thomas 🔭🕹️

KeithC
KeithC
• •
@thomasfuchs @SloanStudio About twenty years ago, my wife and I had cars from GM. Hers had a nice-looking row of identical buttons across the middle, so you had to take your eyes off the road to work out which to press. Mine looked like they had grabbed random buttons from the parts bin, so I could find the one I wanted by touch
@Thomas 🔭🕹️ @Sloan Studio
in reply to KeithC

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •

@KeithC Yeah, having a row or square of identical buttons isn't great. I kind of have that issue with the row of switches that manage portion of the HVAC settings in my B9 A4 allroad. While it looks snazzy, it feels like a regression from the B8 A4/A5 or MQB A3.

@thomasfuchs @SloanStudio

@Thomas 🔭🕹️ @Sloan Studio @KeithC
in reply to Linh Pham

Sloan Studio
Sloan Studio
• •
@KeithC @thomasfuchs Those are issues for sure. It is nice though that there are physical reference points though so you can feel the edges and shapes and know without looking if you are on a dial, a switch, etc. Touch screens are so hard to use while driving. Target sizes have to be really big. The flexibility of screens also prevents spatial memory from working as well. One axiom I've taught is that things that act different, should look different!
@Thomas 🔭🕹️ @KeithC
in reply to Linh Pham

JB Emmons
JB Emmons
• •
One benefit of being broke is that I think I'll be able to skip the whole screens-instead-of-buttons auto cycle, since I sure as shit won't be able to afford a car until long after it's passed.
in reply to Linh Pham

Dominic Hopton
Dominic Hopton
• •

@sophia having recently had a rental 2023 VW golf, I can say that their placement, sensitivity, and general calibration is abysmal. My washing machine has better buttonless controls.

(And that’s before we get to the car saying the speed limit was 110mph. No, it wasn’t kmh, ‘cause other times it got it right)

@sophia
in reply to Dominic Hopton

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •

@grork I futzed around with the controls in the ID.4 and just walked away. I would rather pay more to get the Q4 corporate cousin just to get physical buttons and dedicated switches for the rear windows. Sadly, the steering wheel has capacitive buttons and both have absymal range.

@sophia

@Dominic Hopton @Sophia Teutschler
in reply to Linh Pham

Lukas Neville
Lukas Neville
• •
reject modernity, embrace tradition
in reply to Lukas Neville

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •
@lukasneville I was pretty happy with this setup in the A4 that I had from 2004-2016. Only thing I haded was the soft-touch coating that wore off or got sticky.
@Lukas Neville
in reply to Linh Pham

Lukas Neville
Lukas Neville
• •
moment of appreciation for the wood inlays, very fancy
in reply to Lukas Neville

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •

@lukasneville I think I had the same ones in my 2004 A4. I didn't like the wood options for the B8 S5, so I opted for carbon fiber (piano black is just glossy black plastic).

When I got my B9 A4 allroad, I went back to wood inlays, but opted for the natural wood finish.

@Lukas Neville
in reply to Lukas Neville

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•
Gotta have the stick, though. ;)
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Lukas Neville
Lukas Neville
• •
@tk whoa I've never seen that upholstery before. can we bring back designing car interiors with cozy cabin accents
@Neil E. Hodges
in reply to Linh Pham

Ben Berry
Ben Berry
• •
I rode around in an id.4 a couple times this month. the touch-only interface was at least the best one I'd seen (dedicated, recessed spots for common things, consistent layout, and a placement that was more driver-focused)
I still hate the concept, but VW seems to be doing it *better* at least
(caveat - I wasn't driving and the controls were in a language I don't read, so I'm making some assumptions about what was what)
in reply to Ben Berry

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •
@benb I know they have released updates since launch (when I tried it), but it was unbearably laggy then. The lack of backlight on the slider controls was a pretty bad omission as well.
@Ben Berry
in reply to Linh Pham

Kamiten, Cursed Feral Clown @EF
Kamiten, Cursed Feral Clown @EF
• •
thank god, the lack of buttons and knobs is why I wouldn't consider modern VW. :(
in reply to Linh Pham

Nobody In Particular
Nobody In Particular
• •
My Volkswagen has plenty of buttons and physical controls.
But then, it was built 45 years ago.
in reply to Nobody In Particular

Linh Pham
Linh Pham
• •
@nip Even VW's made in 2014 had a lot of knobs and buttons. I just *hate* the tabletization of controls for cars. It's fine for cars that are 100% driverless; but, not when we have people driving and are easily distracted for one reason or another.
@Nobody In Particular
in reply to Linh Pham

Ellis Pritchard
Ellis Pritchard
• •
Perhaps VW could find some retired 1980s SAAB designers to double check the result? https://en.saabblog.net/2017/09/26/design-saab-cockpits-in-walk-of-time/

Design. The Saab Cockpit over time - SaabBlog

Design and ergonomics. Security thinking. These are integral parts of the Saab DNA. Nowhere is one the constant pursuit of perfection
Tom (Saabblog)
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