Hyundai’s touchscreen honeymoon is over because sometimes buttons are just better

Hyundai, a institution that has been conscionable arsenic blameworthy successful the past of spreading the touchscreen scourge successful cars arsenic immoderate other, has been course-correcting lately, putting much buttons and knobs into its cars. The logic isn’t surprising: people dislike touchscreens, astatine slightest for definite basal controls for illustration HVAC systems, and they told Hyundai so.

“As we were adding integrated [infotainment] screens successful our vehicles, we besides tried putting touchscreen-based controls, and group didn’t for illustration that,” Hyundai Design North America VP Ha Hak-soo told Korea JoongAng Daily in an question and reply that InsideEVs spotted. He said Hyundai, which was arsenic infatuated pinch touchscreens arsenic the remainder of the manufacture astatine first, recovered that successful attraction group testing group sewage “stressed, irritated and steamed erstwhile they want to power thing successful a pinch but are incapable to do so.”

You tin spot the consequence of those lessons successful cars for illustration the Hyundai Ioniq 6 — an EV that, yes, has large ol’ touchscreens. But it besides features beingness buttons and knobs for a batch of communal controls (though it does still usage touch-sensitive buttons for ambiance controls). Still, though Hyundai is prioritizing buttons now, HDNA caput of interior creation Kevin Kang told the outlet that self-driving cars could move the needle backmost towards non-button controls.

Not everyone is keen connected restoring buttons to their rightful place. Last month, Rivian’s Wassym Bensaid suggested that the early is really sound control. Maybe that will thief pinch the safety issues presented by touchscreens, which will gain immoderate touchscreen-heavy cars little information ratings successful Europe starting successful 2026. But will it beryllium little frustrating to outcry astatine an LLM complete the sound of screaming kids, construction, cruddy roads, aliases rain? Color maine skeptical. Just springiness america the buttons, y’all.