{"id":83627,"date":"2025-09-13T11:58:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T15:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=83627"},"modified":"2025-09-13T11:58:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T15:58:23","slug":"bmw-buttons-never-disappear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=83627","title":{"rendered":"BMW Explains Why Some Buttons Will Never Disappear From Its Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many automakers are racing to strip away physical controls in favor of all-digital interiors, BMW says its approach is guided by real-world usage data collected from millions of vehicles. That data, according to the company, decides which functions deserve a permanent physical button \u2014 and which can safely live on a touchscreen or be handled by voice. In words to the press, Stephan Durach, BMW\u2019s Senior Vice President UI\/UX Development, gave us a little bit more insight into how the brand is paring down buttons the smart way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have ten million cars out there,\u201d Durach starts. He says the automaker gets a \u201cpretty detailed\u201d look at what consumers are using \u2014 and, perhaps more importantly, when and how. As a direct result, things like the once pioneering iDrive controller have seen usage decline dramatically as drivers migrate to touch and voice inputs. For functions like navigation, media browsing, or personalization, BMW\u2019s research shows customers now prefer more familiar interaction methods. \u201cWe really did this on statistical data on what kind of element we use,\u201d says Durach. \u201cThe decision of \u2018what we we\u2019re taking out, what we\u2019re keeping,\u2019 was based on statistical user data.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statistics and data are also why you\u2019ll find the most frequently used functions within a second\u2019s glance in the cabin. For example, controls assigned to the steering wheel are only the ones customers use nearly every journey. On one side, volume and media controls. On the other, ADAS and driving assistance features. Placing these controls front and center ensure a few things. Chiefly, it puts driver distraction at a minimum. Secondly, it\u2019s intuitive. Front and center is likely the first place you\u2019ll look for those features.<\/p>\n

Not All Buttons Will Disappear<\/h3>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea to remove every remove every button,\u201d says Durach. Some features are non-negotiable. The steering wheel, seat, hazard light, mirror, and window controls remain physical, because BMW\u2019s analytics show they\u2019re used constantly and instinctively. The volume dial<\/a> is another fixture that BMW claims simply doesn\u2019t have a replacement in sight. That\u2019s even more surprising when you consider it\u2019s one of few functions with three<\/em> redundancies built into it. (Steering wheel, physical dial, touch \u2014 possibly even voice?)<\/p>\n

All the same, Durach admits that losing buttons does affect usability for some drivers. When asked whether its \u201cmostly nostalgia\u201d or an actual loss of functionality that leads to complaints about buttons disappearing from the cabin, he says \u201cit\u2019s a mixture. At the end of the day, we always try to do it based on data.\u201d More vocal critics have decried the removal of buttons. But, BMW thinks its data-driven approach will, ultimately, pay dividends. The brand says this approach, combined with its Panoramic Vision display<\/a>, is the best route to preserve driver engagement. Time will tell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While many automakers are racing to strip away physical controls in favor of all-digital interiors, BMW says its approach is guided by real-world usage data collected from millions of vehicles. That data, according to the company, decides which functions deserve a permanent physical button \u2014 and which can safely live on a touchscreen or be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}