Touch screens are over. Even Apple is bringing back buttons.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The tyranny of touch screens may be coming to an end. Companies have spent nearly two decades cramming ever more functions onto tappable, swipeable displays.
Now buttons, knobs, sliders and other physical controls are making a comeback in vehicles, appliances and personal electronics. In cars, the widely emulated ultra-minimalism of Tesla’s touch-screen-centric control panels is giving way to actual buttons, knobs and toggles in new models from Kia, BMW’s Mini, and Volkswagen, among others. This trend is delighting reviewers and making the display-focused interiors of Tesla and its imitators feel passé.
Similar re-buttonization is occurring in everything from e-readers to induction stoves. Perhaps the most prominent exponent of this button boom is the company that set us lurching toward touch screens in the first place. Apple added a third button it calls the “action button" to its full slate of new iPhone 16s unveiled this month, after introducing the feature on its upscale Apple Watch Ultra and Pro-model iPhones over the past couple of years.
It also added a button-like “camera control" input on the iPhone’s side. As Apple shows, companies aren’t just rediscovering buttons, they’re reconceiving them. The camera control includes touch features, and the company has also developed the “force sensor" that enables its AirPods to respond when you squeeze their stems.
Engineers and industrial designers—often prodded by user complaints—are tapping into our exquisitely sensitive sense of touch and spatial awareness, known as proprioception. And it’s all in service of making gadgets easier, more fun and, in some cases, safer to use. We want to touch type or operate cruise control without
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