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Why carmakers need to bring back buttons
Asian companies lead a reversal from touchscreen-dominated dashboards
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The return of the button is part of a recurring pattern in the history of technology.
PHOTO: ST FILE
June Yoon
You are driving down the highway when, without warning, traffic comes to a sudden stop as you enter a tunnel. You reach for your hazard lights, but they are not where you expect. Instead of a button, they are buried in a menu on your car’s touchscreen. You tap the screen, but it freezes. Now what?
Since the mid-2010s, many carmakers have embraced a buttonless future, inspired by smartphones and Tesla’s minimalist designs. Even safety functions such as hazard lights, windscreen wipers and defrosters have moved to digital-only touchscreens.
