Legendary Apple iPhone designer Jony Ive has weighed in on whether he thinks touchscreens have a place inside cars.
Many carmakers have gone all-in on in-cabin touchscreens in recent years, like Mercedes, which has packed a trio of screens in the GLB, or Cadillac with its 55-inch dashboard screen.
However, others appear to be pulling back – this Hyundai concept was designed after asking ‘why do we need a screen?’ in our cars.
And when it comes to a debate about in-car touchscreens, then who better to ask than the man who designed the iPhone and helped turn the world on to the tech?
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He helped popularize touchscreens with the iPhone, but does he like them in cars?
Apple design guru Jony Ive helped to catapult the touchscreen into popularity, and these days they appear on everything from phones and tablets to kitchen appliances.
In a recent interview with Autocar, Ive explained that he and his team settled on the idea of a touchscreen ‘to solve a problem’.
Mercedes-Benz
The idea was to fit the iPhone with a single general-purpose interface that could be used as a typewriter, camera, or just about anything else.
However, when it comes to in-car systems, Ive reckons that a touchscreen isn’t as necessary and it’s not what he would have chosen had he been in the design room.
“I never would have used touch in a car [for its main controls],” he told Autocar.
“It is something I would never have dreamed of doing because it requires you to look.
“So that’s just the wrong technology to be the primary interface.”
Ferrari
Ferrari
Ive worked on the design team for the interior of the newly unveiled Ferrari Luce EV, which does feature a single central touchscreen, but also includes physical buttons and switches.
He said that the touchscreen in the Luce is ‘very thoughtful’ and that most of the controls are physical, and can be differentiated by feel, without the driver needing to take their eyes off the road.
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He shared why so many carmakers are including screens
Despite not being a huge fan of infotainment touchscreens himself, the former Apple employee also revealed why carmakers were choosing them.
Tesla
He told the publication that the new tech is ‘almost like fashion’, in that designers want to include whatever the most up-to-date technology is.
He went on to say that this way of thinking tends to lead to screens becoming bigger and more plentiful.
With that said, it seems as though the expert isn’t expecting to see that change anytime soon.
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