Lawrence Ulrich, c. 2023 The New York Times Company / Photo: Valia Dimitrakopoulou

From smartphones we can barely fit in our pockets to TVs that take up an entire wall, we’ve often wondered: how much screen is enough? The question has even extended to today’s gadget-laden cars, whose increasingly gigantic displays are causing controversy among designers, buyers and auto industry skeptics. These touchscreens, the brains of many new cars, have drawn backlash due to their size, as well as problematic surroundings that can take your eyes off the road.

“I think the screens have reached their peak,” said Maserati chief designer Klaus Busse, who was head of design for Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia. “Displays have a right to exist, they are in many ways better than physical switches. We just delayed a little.” Ergonomics and safety considerations aside, some luxury car designers are reacting for aesthetic reasons. For them, screens are just not sexy or impressive. “When flat screens came out, there was a ‘bigger is better’ trend,” said Kai Langer, head of BMW i design in the company’s electrical department. “But ‘the biggest’ isn’t always the most impressive.”

Displays are now an integral part of most modern cars, which are pretty much supercomputers on wheels that “execute” 14 times more code than a Boeing 787. And designers need to be mindful of the demands of car owners who expect to seamlessly connect their smartphones. Apple or Android. “Steve Jobs changed the world, and now humanity is touching the screen,” said Gordon Wagner, chief designer at Mercedes-Benz. “It radically changes the car itself. A car needs a good touch screen, not just a wiper and turn signal switch.”

almost magical

When Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Model S in 2009, the 17-inch LCD touchscreen command center looked almost as revolutionary as the car itself. And by giving drivers digital control over vehicle functions, Tesla was able to avoid the cost of designing, wiring, and building an interior with expensive analog switches, buttons, and gauges—or having to buy them from another automaker or supplier. Especially with regards to the modest Tesla Model 3 and Model Y models, one can suspect that interior designers worked overtime on their smart displays until they decided they couldn’t be better. Some of Tesla’s competitors have emulated the austere, somewhat sci-fi atmosphere of the showrooms.

The makers of more recent electric vehicles, including BMW’s futuristic but luxurious iX and Kia’s EV6, have come up with warmer car interiors that are more suitable for drivers who may not want to feel like they’re spending hours inside a Tron mainframe. Some designers even go so far as to ditch the somewhat outdated look of electric vehicles, the grey-silver-white Mac-inspired monochrome models.

With its larger touchscreen, Tesla has also sparked an arms race measured in inches. Ford installed a 15.5-inch display on the Mustang Mach-e and F-150 Lightning electric vehicles. The newly formed company Rivian installed a 16-inch screen in the R1T and R1S models. Another Californian company, Lucid, has created a 34-inch curved glass display for the Air sedan. And then there is Hyperscreen from Mercedes-Benz. Powered by eight processors, framed by a sculpted slab of double-coated glass, the hyperscreen (actually three screens that look like one) stretches 56 inches across the dash. Augmented Reality Navigation creates virtual road signs and directions using a real-time camera. Almost magically, virtual address numbers hover over homes and businesses as you approach your destination.

However, Hyperscreen doesn’t always work as elegantly as it seems, especially when drivers are, um… driving. Issues include awkward thumb steering and moments of confusion, especially for customers who grew up in the pre-digital age. Wagner said that Mercedes deliberately launched Hyperscreen into its electric vehicles to attract tech-savvy customers.

BMW is no stranger to the use of displays, having introduced iDrive in the 7 Series sedan over 20 years ago. This digital operating system, with its now obsolete 6.5-inch screen over the dash, angered many drivers because it was so difficult to install. use. But as BMW has improved it over the years, its competitors have adopted similar systems. The i7 sedan, the new electric model from BMW, has a curved screen around the driver. At the rear of the car is a 31-inch movie theater fold-out touchscreen with 5G connectivity and Amazon Fire for streaming. Another 5.5-inch screen is attached to each of the arms of the rear seat.

Everywhere and nowhere

At the annual CES show in Las Vegas in January, BMW threw down the gauntlet by going far beyond the touchscreen. In the iVision Dee, a concept sedan that represents the BMW Neue Klasse series of electric vehicles, the first of which is due to hit the market in 2025, the windshield itself takes the place of a touchscreen on the dashboard. “Let’s use the biggest screen we already have in the car, which is the windshield,” Langer said. The augmented reality windshield resembles a minority report, displaying traditional instruments (speedometer, temperature settings, sound indicators) as well as social media and streaming content.

The system, which BMW will call Panoramic Vision, greatly expands head-up displays that project content into the driver’s field of vision, allowing them to stay in control without taking their eyes off the road.

For those who fear contact with the road will be blocked, Langer said drivers can select the projection level on their screen. A “mixed reality slider” could reduce traditional information like the speedometer to a thin strip at the bottom of the windshield where modern head-up displays work. Drivers more familiar with digital displays can fill the windshield with any content. When the car is not moving, including at stops to recharge, passengers could hypothetically use the entire windshield as a virtual entrance for movies, games, Zoom meetings, or trips to the metaverse.

If touchscreens shrink or even “disappear” from car interiors, designers will be free to change interiors for something more aesthetically pleasing. “The touchscreen doesn’t speak to our senses,” Langer said. “We are designed to touch fabrics and feel different surfaces – that’s what makes us human.”

Screen or disk?

Some of iVision Dee’s most creative technologies, including a chameleon-like car that can instantly change to any of the 32 available colors, may be abandoned or downgraded in production versions. However, BMW promises that the panoramic screen will be shown at least in car dealerships. Mercedes-Benz is careful. Although he offers head-up displays, he is convinced that the views on the windshield are “light years behind in quality and resolution than what you can get on a screen,” Wagner said. “This is definitely an innovative approach,” he continued. “But we’ve tried it and it’s annoying or disorienting to have all these features in your line of sight.”

Maserati takes the middle path with GranTurismo. Its interior includes a pair of discreet displays. “We don’t want the screen to be the protagonist,” Boucher said. In his opinion, the car is a refuge from the digital world and its pressure. “For us,” he said, “the driving experience is still important: enjoying this beautiful car and the environment in which you drive it.”