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Comment by Denzel | Hacker News Reader

I agree with you, I think Porsche’s approach is terrible. I just like to ask about the Model 3 because usually when I hear touch screens won’t beat buttons, it’s from someone who hasn’t test driven a Model 3.

And I say this because I thought exactly the same thing before I experienced it. Similar to how I thought I’d never enjoy a full touchscreen phone and that it’d never beat physical keys until alas I actually tried the iPhone. Tesla’s UX is really really good. And almost everyone has a change of heart when it’s actually in front of them.

I recommend you at least give it a go if you’re interested.

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I also thought that about phone touchscreens. And although the extra screen real estate is useful for reading, I do miss the physical keys of the Blackberry. I could type so much more accurately (and therefore more quickly) on them.

Haven't tried a Tesla but I have tried the recent Porsche controls and I preferred the old ones to be honest. My experience with car controls is that the nearer the steering wheel (preferably on the wheel) the better and the more tactile the better.

I never tried a Model 3, but I test-drove a Model S, and I was pleasantly surprised by the touch screen and controls. They are - by far - the best in the auto industry.

But they're still not as good as physical buttons, because they are impossible to control without looking at them.

Having a great touch screen does not rule out also having great buttons.

I don't know how long your test drive was but you may have missed that there are plenty of physical controls in the S, including buttons, that cover most functionality.

I still miss my BlackBerry Bold. Typing on a touchscreen is awful and almost impossible to do without looking at the screen.

There are pros and cons to touchscreens. For phones, I can see someone preferring the larger screen to physical buttons. I'm not one of those people, but I can understand it.

What are the pros in a car that outweigh the cons? Looking at your fingers while you fiddle with a phone is annoying. Looking at them while you drive a car is incredibly dangerous.

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