Jony Ive, the former Apple design chief behind products like the iPhone, iPad, iMac, and Apple Watch, has a surprisingly strong opinion about one of the biggest trends in modern automotive interiors.
He doesn’t like most interior touchscreens.
“Practically and functionally, a large touchscreen doesn’t work in a car,” Ive recently told Top Gear.
It’s an interesting perspective coming from someone who helped define modern consumer technology. But Ive is also a longtime car enthusiast and currently collaborates with Ferrari through his design company, LoveFrom. The company recently worked with Ferrari on the design of its first electric vehicle, the Luce.
According to Ive, the issue isn’t digital screens themselves. It’s how they’re being used.
When designing the Luce, one of his priorities was avoiding the trap of having one giant screen that controls everything.
“Getting into a car and seeing one big display [and no buttons], well, it sucks the life out of me,” Ive said. “I find it easy and lazy.”
Instead of relying on one touchscreen filled with menus and settings, Ive wanted an interface that felt more natural and connected to the driving experience. His solution was to keep controls physical and mechanical while using digital screens to support them.
“We wanted to explore an interface that was physical and engaging and to take the most powerful parts of an analogue display and combine them with a digital display,” Ive said.
That approach was also driven by concerns about usability.
“I do think it would be good if people stopped accepting stuff that’s almost unusable and, I would argue, dangerous,” Ive said. “When you look at our central screen, you’re not wondering, ‘how many layers deep am I going to have to go to do something simple?'”
It’s a criticism that’s becoming more common as automakers move everything from climate controls to seat functions into touchscreen menus. While large displays may look modern, many drivers have complained that basic tasks can become more distracting than they need to be.
For Ive, good design isn’t about adding more technology. It’s about making technology easier to use.
“To make something simple and intuitive is really difficult,” he said.
He also believes vehicle controls should reinforce the fact that you’re interacting with a machine, not just another screen.
“Everything [in the Luce] is founded on being functional,” Ive explained. “It’s not styled, it’s not garnish, because that’s a distraction and it doesn’t last well.”
That philosophy extends to the relationship between the steering wheel and instrument cluster.
“The binnacle and steering wheel are intimately connected, and this is about driving,” Ive said. “Everything else augments that experience. The binnacle is about output and the steering wheel is about input. All the controls are physical and mechanical.”
As automakers continue to add larger screens to vehicle interiors, Ive’s comments offer a different perspective. Rather than asking how much technology can be added to the cabin, he seems more interested in how technology can support the driving experience without getting in the way.
It’s a debate that’s likely to continue as designers try to balance digital convenience with the tactile controls many drivers still prefer.
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