---
title: "Death to Car Touchscreens, Buttons are Back, Baby!"
description: "Touchscreens dominate cars, but not for the best. Amidst consumer backlash, some automakers are beginning to reign their tech fad in."
date: "2023-04-29"
modified: "2023-04-29"
authors:
  - name: "Frank Landymore"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/car-touchscreens-buttons-back"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
tags:
  - "cars"
  - "the digest"
  - "touchscreen"
---

# Death to Car Touchscreens, Buttons are Back, Baby!

![Touchscreens dominate cars, but not for the best. Amidst consumer backlash, some automakers are beginning to reign their tech fad in.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/car-touchscreens-buttons-back.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Porsche / Futurism\</em\>*

## Pushing Buttons

Touchscreens? Who needs 'em.

As [*Slate* reports](<https://slate.com/business/2023/04/cars-buttons-touchscreens-vw-porsche-nissan-hyundai.html>), car companies are finally beginning to take notice that touchscreen infotainment systems are a road safety hazard — and above all, that their customers absolutely hate using them.

Case in point, Porsche [has phased out](<https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/03/buttons-are-back-at-porsche-as-we-see-the-2024-cayenne-interior/>) its all-touchscreen design of the Cayenne luxury SUV, *Slate* notes, adding some much-needed buttons back. The new 2024 design still features a central touchscreen, but at least now new owners will no longer have to suffer the ordeal of infotainment-based climate controls.

It's a small victory, as the [touchscreen craze has plagued cars](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-02-13/are-car-touch-screens-getting-out-of-control?sref=YfHlo0rL&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social>) for the past decade or so, blurring the line between automaker and tech company. Tesla, in particular, has been leading the charge, prominently featuring giant, tablet-like infotainment systems on their cars' dashboards that control almost all of the vehicles' functions, down to the [windshield wipers](<https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53666222>).

## Back in the Game

The problem with touchscreens in cars is that they're just too damn distracting and aren't very good for controlling things, as [multiple studies](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/study-finds-that-buttons-in-cars-are-safer-and-quicker-to-use-than-touchscreens>) [have shown](<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457521005364?via%3Dihub>).

Unlike buttons, touchscreens have no tactile feedback so you can't feel your way around them while keeping your eyes on the road. It's the worst of both worlds: a pain to navigate, and a big draw of your attention.

"The irony is that everyone basically accepts that it’s dangerous to use your phone while driving," Matt Farah, a popular car reviewer and [YouTuber](<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgeGealT0QYcrnoYRMltDZg>), told *Slate*. "Yet no one complains about what we’re doing instead, which is fundamentally using an iPad while driving."

Thankfully, it looks like the industry is beginning to catch on, as [consumers](<https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/j-d-power-2023-vehicle-dependability-study-technology-continues-to-frustrate-consumers>) and [car journalists](<https://jalopnik.com/touchscreens-in-cars-have-been-a-failure-1833553621>) have been throwing a big stink for years.

Several other automakers have expressed support for adding buttons back, too, including [Hyundai](<https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/hallelujah-hyundai-vows-to-resist-modern-trend-for-all-digital-cabins-and-keep-using>) and [Nissan](<https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1126717_nissan-cleans-up-cabin-design-just-says-no-to-more-touchscreens>).

Meanwhile, Porsche's parent company Volkswagen [confirmed](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/vw-brings-back-steering-wheel-buttons-after-many-customers-complain>) last fall that it was dropping excessive touchscreen controls on its cars' steering wheels after customers voiced their outrage.

Still, it doesn't look like all automakers have relented on needlessly giant and still distracting infotainment systems.

But hey, what do you expect from an industry that has spent the better part of this century literally reinventing the button?

**More on car tech:** [New Car Has No Rear Window, Just a Camera](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-car-no-rear-window-just-camera>)

## Author
At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/f-w-l.bsky.social>)