Talks to Watch

A New Car UI: How touch screen controls in cars should work

473K views · Feb 18, 2014 · 3:18 · 4 HN recommenders · 6 mentions · discussed 2017–2023

Matthaeus Krenn presents a concept for car touchscreen UI where the screen controls only one thing at a time, designed to suit driving. A tablet prototype accompanies the short demo.

Why Hacker News points people here: Repeatedly cited in car touchscreen debates as an elegant, sensible alternative to distracting automotive UIs.

“I feel compelled to share a video, now 9 years old, that shows how touch screens could be accommodated with sensible design in cars.”HN comment, 2023

What Hacker News said 6

Strongly recommendsssalkaApr 2023

“I feel compelled to share a video, now 9 years old, that shows how touch screens could be accommodated with sensible design in cars.”

Shows touchscreens accommodated with sensible design suited to driving.

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I feel compelled to share a video, now 9 years old, that shows how touch screens could be accommodated with sensible design in cars. The UIs we are used to on our phones are not suitable for driving, but we could make something that is. this video

in “The Glorious Return of a Humble Car Feature” · view on HN
RecommendscyberferretMay 2017

“this engineer's proof of concept for a touch screen interface in a car [0]”

Engineer's proof-of-concept touchscreen interface for cars.

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Whew, I was glad to see they hadn't completely scrapped the iconic 4 rings. Nice to see them making all their branding assets available like this though - right down to the icon sets etc. That would make third party apps or in car navigation systems etc. conform to the same look and feel. On that note - I wonder how soon it will be before car manufacturers have 'app stores' for add ons to their internal systems. Wouldn't it be cool, for instance, to have a custom navigation app that you could install in your Tesla to supplement the factory installed one? For example - this engineer's proof of concept for a touch screen interface in a car [0]. If he could brand it with the Audi graphic assets and pitch it to them, I am sure it will go a long way to them incorporating it in their future vehicles... [0] - this video

RecommendscyberferretJun 2017

“something far better represented by todays interfaces, such as this concept for a car audio control”

Concept for car audio control beyond knobs and sliders.

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I'd love to see the antithesis of this collection - whereby smart UI designers try and improve the current audio controls to move away from the old style knobs/sliders, to something far better represented by todays interfaces, such as this concept for a car audio control: this video

in “Redditors design worst volume sliders possible” · view on HN
RecommendscyberferretJul 2018

“I think it is an elegant solution (only allow ONE thing to be controlled by the touch screen at a time)”

Elegant solution: touchscreen controls only one thing at a time.

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Every time I see posts about car touch screen interfaces, and the associated UX problems, I am reminded of this video I saw a few years ago [0]. I think it is an elegant solution (only allow ONE thing to be controlled by the touch screen at a time), however will require a lot of learning and remembering to get used to all the different gestures. [0] - this video

in “Why touchscreens in cars don’t work” · view on HN
RecommendshndamienSep 2019

“I'd love to see something like this, even in a Tesla.”

A car touchscreen interface the commenter would love to see in cars.

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It doesn't help that automotive latency for touch screens is incredibly bad. It it had smartphone level response maybe it would be a better starting point for comparison. I'd love to see something like this, even in a Tesla. this video

in “Porsche Taycan revealed: $150,900 base price, 0-60 MPH in 3 seconds” · view on HN
RecommendslbayesNov 2021

“I still wish something like this UI would have caught on.”

UI the commenter wishes had caught on in cars.

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I have a 2015 Audi A3. I didn't want the brand at all, but loved (and still love) the dial control. I've been dreading getting a new car specifically because I do not want the touch screen. Fortunately, I still have a few years left of good life in this machine, otherwise I'd jump on one of those immediately! I still wish something like this UI would have caught on. this video

in “Some new BMWs won't have touchscreens thanks to chip shortage” · view on HN