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Originally Posted by allinon72
They may come back for the short term, but that's about all you can hope for. Hiding behind all this "futuristic" tech is...wait for it....cost savings. It's one of the main drivers behind electric cars as well. Put everything in the screen and it's all programming; no switch to design and produce, one less part in the supply chain, etc. It opens up the world of subscription based features and more planned obsolescence.
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This is an old tech way of thinking. Less parts = less cost. Except with new tech, it doesn't work that way. If anything it is the opposite. It is because people don't understand the costs associated with "new tech".
The iDrive 8 climate control menu. That was not "free savings". It wasn't simply a matter of slapping the settings into a menu and tada, savings made. No, it required a programmer's (probably multiple) time (and consequently cost), over several weeks if not months. Also UI/UX devs on top of that working with the programmers to make it work. Also the mechanical technicians to get the wiring correct to interact with the head unit. Oh and don't forget the QA testers with their testing.
In fact, it is entirely possible it cost BMW more upfront than any physical button climate control panel ever would. The R&D will probably take a bit to "break even" on, but will end up with a cost savings in the end for BMW. That said, it wasn't cheap, I guarantee you that.
I don't see the issue. Eventually the more physical parts will make cars more expensive than it is worth, thus working out to a long run cost savings for consumers too. We are already seeing that in supply chain issues. If you want all these complex physical buttons and dials, well, you will have to pay, both in money and time. Streamlining the car functions to a single head unit decreases cost and time pressure, because it decreases supply chain pressures, allowing to take advantage of bulk ordering of a single unit (a screen), as opposed to multiple smaller things (like nobs and switches) which will ultimately feed down to the consumer.
Yes, it is cost cutting. It is becoming necessary. Unless you want our vehicle prices to continue to increase at astronomical levels, and wait times that continue to be months on end, if not longer.