Yet change it does. In my old car, the A/C is a button labeled "A/C". In new cars, I can't figure out how to turn it on.
It's similar to each iteration of Windows. I'm convinced that Microsoft takes 1000 darts, labels each with a command like "backup", and has a blind monkey throw it at a dartboard to determine where it goes.
At least Microsoft labels them with words, like "Control Panel", even though what's in it is completely random from one iteration to the next. The car companies label all the buttons with random splotches inspired by fingerpainting toddlers.
edit: and now that I think about it, I'm suddenly interested in understanding why consumer products seem averse to providing detailed/specific buttons compared to professional products? Is it to try to not overwhelm the casual / amateur user? (or conversely to be able to reach that user)
For example, professional video cameras that have physical buttons and dials for every function, versus consumer cameras that hide that 3 layers deep in a virtual menu.
Or, the cockpit of a jet (and all its displays and controls) versus a passenger car. Or how about a long-distance truck console -- is it similar?
Maybe it's the issue of casual / lowest common demoninator users not being overwhelmed by such detail. Or that if you cannot filter your users to the ones who can or want to handle the detail, you have to design to the lowest bar.
Which is a shame for those who want / like the detail.
I suspect a lot of it has to do with cost. Iterating hardware is expensive. On top of that tactile buttons are more expensive than you'd think, and Bill Of Materials can trump a lot of other decisions in hardware.
Some of it is also perception. The first cars that were likely to have in touch displays were luxury cars, and there you could show how advanced the car was by showing that there were no buttons anywhere. That said, I'm starting to see a move back towards buttons in high end cars again. Here's hoping that that filters down to lower end cars. Much as I prefer buying used cars, I'd still like to be able to buy a car newer than 2012 some day.
> For example, professional video cameras that have physical buttons and dials for every function, versus consumer cameras that hide that 3 layers deep in a virtual menu.
> Is it to try to not overwhelm the casual / amateur user?
Pretty much yes, at least in photography. Most consumers are perfectly fine with the automated standard profile. Zoom, focus, click, done - and they rarely need any of the advanced functions like exposure adjust, manual aperture setting, or adjusting ISO sensitivity of the sensor, so it's fine to hide this in menus (or, more shamefully, not exposing it at all) for consumer equipment. The fact that most smartphones these days have good enough sensors and processing capabilities to fulfill that "click, done" snapshot scenario is coincidentally also what's driving the market downturn on actual cameras.
On the other hand, professionals or serious hobbyists do need fast and easy access to all the options their cameras offer, so it makes sense to put them on actual physical buttons.
You'd think so, but even semi-pro cameras are falling prey to touchscreen mania.
Case in point: the latest Fuji X100V, sold for $1399, removing dials and buttons and moving some functionality to touchscreen.
The entire point of the camera is that it looks and feels like a film rangefinder.
Now, the first iteration of the camera had a scroll wheel, which enabled one-handed operation and preview, and fast scrolling through photos in the hybrid viewfinder.
You can use FujiX100 without ever turning the touchscreen on. You can use it in the dark. Most people will think it's a film camera.
The new version requires you to swipe the touchscreen, which means that some functionality is missing unless you blast that LCD screen into the world.
A jet cockpit is designed for flying through cloud. That is comparable to driving a car with all the windows painted over, which still has to stay on the road, make the right turns to reach its destination, and stay separated from other cars that also have their windows painted over. You would want to add some extra instruments to your car before trying that.
Yeah, I'm slightly exaggerating but the general comment like "a meter is so much more natural than a foot" is a good opportunity to increase cultural self awareness.
I assume in 10 years everybody has to install Chinese keyboards to their phones so they can translate what the hell is going on. Well, there's already software that interprets text from pictures, translates and embeds it back in.
Probably requires more effort than learning the meaning of some drawings if you don’t speak English. You might guess what a teardrop drawing means, but it’s impossible to know what OIL is.
It's similar to each iteration of Windows. I'm convinced that Microsoft takes 1000 darts, labels each with a command like "backup", and has a blind monkey throw it at a dartboard to determine where it goes.
At least Microsoft labels them with words, like "Control Panel", even though what's in it is completely random from one iteration to the next. The car companies label all the buttons with random splotches inspired by fingerpainting toddlers.