Photo: Hyundai
Carmakers have followed in Tesla's footsteps by ditching physical buttons in favor of a touchscreen-centric user interface. However, not everyone likes touchscreens, and Hyundai is now going back to offering physical buttons. The move was the result of focus-group tests that revealed people find touchscreens "annoying."
In 2012, the Tesla Model S introduced a revolutionary user interface, with most functions relocated to a huge center touchscreen 17 inches in size. Since then, Tesla has doubled down on its war against physical buttons, even removing the stalks in its most recent models. Instead, touch buttons and infotainment screen menus are used throughout. Most carmakers have copied this approach to some degree, and most people have prepared to pour one out for the physical controls.
While this approach looks futuristic and saves carmakers money, it also has disadvantages for drivers, including safety issues. Nothing beats physical buttons when it comes to tactile feel, allowing people to find the right button without looking at it. This is a crucial feat during driving because dedicating your attention to finding a spot on a touchscreen means you're not paying attention to the road. This is a serious safety issue and a contributing factor to many car accidents.
However, as Tesla fans swore that touch controls were much better than physical buttons, other carmakers embraced the Tesla way and started to design new cars with a touchscreen-heavy interface. Hyundai was among them, with most of its recent models ditching the buttons in favor of big touchscreens. However, this changed with the latest models, and even refreshed models like the 2025 Tucson were given an overhauled dashboard that marked the return of the physical buttons.
This surprising but welcome change hasn't been made due to safety concerns, though. Instead, Hyundai discovered that its American customers simply hated touchscreen controls. Especially when dealing with basic and frequently-accessed functions like changing temperature in the climate control system, nothing beats turning a physical knob. Hyundai tested this in focus groups and discovered that people got "stressed, annoyed and steamed when they wanted to control something in a pinch but were unable to do so," as Hyundai Design North America VP Ha Hak-soo admitted.
That was a reckoning moment for the Korean carmaker, which led to the revival of the good old button in newer models like the Kona electric, Ioniq 6, and, undoubtedly, the upcoming Ioniq 9 three-row SUV. However, as Ha Hak-soo told Korea JungAng Daily, this approach will be reconsidered once the industry moves towards autonomous driving. In that scenario, the passengers will favor a more relaxed stance, and turning knobs and hitting buttons won't be as safety-crucial as it is today.
On the other hand, younger carmakers, like Rivian, see voice commands replacing both buttons and touchscreens. With the rise of artificial intelligence, which can understand and react to natural voice instructions, Rivian has a good point. Currently, several carmakers have announced the integration of Chat-GPT into their vehicles' infotainment systems. However, these LLMs have to be really good to convince customers. So far, voice commands have been nothing but a broken promise for accessing a car's functions.
While this approach looks futuristic and saves carmakers money, it also has disadvantages for drivers, including safety issues. Nothing beats physical buttons when it comes to tactile feel, allowing people to find the right button without looking at it. This is a crucial feat during driving because dedicating your attention to finding a spot on a touchscreen means you're not paying attention to the road. This is a serious safety issue and a contributing factor to many car accidents.
However, as Tesla fans swore that touch controls were much better than physical buttons, other carmakers embraced the Tesla way and started to design new cars with a touchscreen-heavy interface. Hyundai was among them, with most of its recent models ditching the buttons in favor of big touchscreens. However, this changed with the latest models, and even refreshed models like the 2025 Tucson were given an overhauled dashboard that marked the return of the physical buttons.
This surprising but welcome change hasn't been made due to safety concerns, though. Instead, Hyundai discovered that its American customers simply hated touchscreen controls. Especially when dealing with basic and frequently-accessed functions like changing temperature in the climate control system, nothing beats turning a physical knob. Hyundai tested this in focus groups and discovered that people got "stressed, annoyed and steamed when they wanted to control something in a pinch but were unable to do so," as Hyundai Design North America VP Ha Hak-soo admitted.
That was a reckoning moment for the Korean carmaker, which led to the revival of the good old button in newer models like the Kona electric, Ioniq 6, and, undoubtedly, the upcoming Ioniq 9 three-row SUV. However, as Ha Hak-soo told Korea JungAng Daily, this approach will be reconsidered once the industry moves towards autonomous driving. In that scenario, the passengers will favor a more relaxed stance, and turning knobs and hitting buttons won't be as safety-crucial as it is today.
On the other hand, younger carmakers, like Rivian, see voice commands replacing both buttons and touchscreens. With the rise of artificial intelligence, which can understand and react to natural voice instructions, Rivian has a good point. Currently, several carmakers have announced the integration of Chat-GPT into their vehicles' infotainment systems. However, these LLMs have to be really good to convince customers. So far, voice commands have been nothing but a broken promise for accessing a car's functions.
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