I wonder how an ai would design it.
Aren't those designs copyrighted by apple?
Using round oleds with inset bezels and physical needles to emulate a traditional 90s (and earlier) gauge cluster is an interesting idea. Honestly refreshing in a sea of sameness in the car industry today.
But there's absolutely no way the apple car would've had gauges anywhere near this physically complex, or a steering wheel that looks like this with the thin spokes and manettino. A lot of the switches also look significantly more premium that what you'd realistically expect from someone like apple making their first car.
Some nice details: - There's digital readouts around the binnacle gauges - The physical needle on the speedo comes from the outside to leave the center available for the digital screen - The drive selector has a small screen (light?) in the center as an indicator
The combination seems like it may create a quite polished feel if it's done well in motion.
There are some nice buttons here, and individual components (as photographed) look good on their own.
BUT altogether it still seems like disparate components who share design language, just slapped into a vehicle.
automakers are slowly figuring this out but, unfortunately, the move to electric may retard this realization because "high-tech"
The clock looks like a dollar store alarm clock. The center console otherwise looks okay, environment management can be done easily, that's a good trend to continue.
The instrument cluster has no aura - completely anonymous, doesn't make me think "Ferrari" or "high performance, high technology".
Rounded square design language isn't fit for purpose in a ferrari, which is about aerodynamic shapes that reinforce that you're in a high-performance sports car.
Jony Ive is a garbage-tier car designer. He'd fit in better at Kia. Or Volvo.
But BMW is, in general, very good at finding a design language that fits all the right buttons in the right places while feeling like a mid-to-up market car. It's a blend of usability and aesthetics and brand (+model) identity that finds a really good balance across all three categories.
Heh, my thought on opening the article and seeing the image was "huh, without the badge in the photo, if forced to guess the make, I'd have gone with Kia."
the emergency lights button should be colored red and elevated because it needs to be interacted with in high-stress situations
temperature should be set with a slider rather than a toggle switch because then a given temperature selection becomes spatially consistent and selecting max-hot or max-cold is instant and obvious
and so on
all in all better than expected and shows that we are moving past the "everything is an ipad" phase of civilizational development
Is it our hubris as armchair UI designers that we miss obvious problems? Is it internal politics? Is it bureaucracy? Is it hardware difficulties?
they also make it difficult to support an "auto" function, because they would need to move automatically to maintain a consistent user experience
sliders aren't used very often in cars now so it is probably harder to find well made components for them
etc
hopefully as the automakers move back to physical inputs they bring back these sorts of controls
This is second hand account but here are my uncle's credentials...
There aren't enough buttons, there is too much to read, and all of this while I'm driving.
I remember my friends dad had a Corvette or something in the mid-late 90s, and it had this red projected HUD on the windshield. All of your information was right at eye level, and you never had to look away from the road to see your RPM or speed, and probably more, but that was 30ish years ago, and I barely remember yesterday.
Also, my vehicle is a truck, one of the last places where manufacturers still let you have buttons and knobs to control climate.
The speedo and rev counter are exactly where they should be. What else do you need to read while driving?
What buttons are you missing?
See the multigraph section: https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/ferrari-luce
I like the physical controls. I actually just traded off my truck over the weekend and the climate controls being through the screen were a major part of that decision. It still seems like the switches here are pretty minimal and might be annoying - do you have to go through the screen when your windshield starts to fog?
these links are ok:
https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/1r04f0x/official_ferr...
This is something that we need to read slowly.
The "ferraristas" have been the most ardent sect on the cult of the internal combustion engine.
If these guys can be converted, then, probably, the last holdout in veneration of oil will probably be the government of the United States.
It’s a mess. Disparate palettes even in grey is a serious WTF accomplishment. The ring over the Launch button is absolutely superfluous and idiotic at the same time. No function and even worse form.
Ugh. Enzo at least can power the first charge from the output of him spinning in his grave. Yes, I could do better.
Brajeshwar•1h ago
DrScientist•37m ago
Then I would have managed to avoid the touch screen stupidity entirely.