WEBVTT 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:08.320 Apple recently added a new action button to the iPhone and it made news not only 00:00:05.560 --> 00:00:12.400 because oh look Apple did something but because it marked a departure from the 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:18.199 trend toward having as few physical buttons on phones as possible but why 00:00:15.360 --> 00:00:22.240 exactly have phone and car manufacturers been trying to get away from buttons in 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:26.720 favor of doing everything through a touchscreen is it just a desire to have 00:00:24.439 --> 00:00:30.679 our products be as sleek and sexy as possible or is there more to it than 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:35.800 that well it's true true that there is indeed a perception that having fewer 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:37.399 buttons is a more slick design Choice 00:00:35.800 --> 00:00:42.719 the bigger consideration for phone makers is actually the old adage that 00:00:40.360 --> 00:00:47.879 form follows function regardless of whether this means more or fewer buttons 00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:51.440 for example power and volume buttons have stuck around on phones because 00:00:49.559 --> 00:00:56.359 consumers expect them to be there and they serve commonly used essential 00:00:53.440 --> 00:01:00.840 functions Apple's action button as well as a new camera control button are also 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:05.280 changes that are reflective of how most people use phones the camera is now a 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:09.640 core selling point and there are a huge number of functions people might want to 00:01:07.080 --> 00:01:13.960 access quickly with a dedicated button everything from the flashlight to silent 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:17.799 mode to song recognition now of course we went a long time without having 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:22.280 dedicated buttons for features like these so they're not strictly necessary 00:01:20.360 --> 00:01:26.520 I mean even the screen unlock button probably isn't necessary but because we 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:30.200 use some of these functions so frequently an easy to access button 00:01:28.600 --> 00:01:33.680 makes some sense on the on the other hand there is clearly a limit with how 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:38.079 many buttons you can put on what's supposed to be a very general purpose 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:41.840 device without complicating the user experience not only that but having more 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:46.560 buttons is actually technically challenging perhaps surprisingly the 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:50.880 cutouts for the buttons in the frame of the phone can interfere with the phone's 00:01:48.759 --> 00:01:54.719 antenna metal buttons can actually weaken your signal and although this 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:59.159 problem can be somewhat alleviated by using plastic buttons some phone makers 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:04.200 will insist on using metal buttons in order to deliver for a more premium 00:02:02.039 --> 00:02:08.200 product now this doesn't mean there are no phones out there with additional 00:02:05.960 --> 00:02:11.920 buttons think trigger buttons on gaming phones or rugged phones on construction 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:15.959 sites with dedicated buttons for the infrared camera but for Consumer grade 00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:19.800 phones even though Apple just added a couple of new buttons people in the 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:24.360 industry expect the trend to continue to be towards a limited number of buttons 00:02:22.760 --> 00:02:28.319 especially as touchscreen and voice recognition technology continue to 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:32.120 improve so don't expect phones of the future to once again look like 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:36.840 blackberries okay but what about the other prominent space that the 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:37.959 touchscreen has invaded the car we'll 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:41.720 tell you whether buttons are going to keep disappearing in vehicles right 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:45.560 after we think the sponsor of this video delete me there are few things more 00:02:43.760 --> 00:02:49.640 valuable especially in this day and age than your own personal information so 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:55.440 why are you standing by while data Brokers hand it out left and 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:57.640 right come and get it instead seek help 00:02:55.440 --> 00:03:01.560 from the folks that delete me simply let them know the data you want removed such 00:02:59.519 --> 00:03:06.319 as emails and phone numbers and they'll scour the web to see to it that your 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:09.560 info only ends up where you want it to and don't just think about yourself 00:03:07.799 --> 00:03:13.920 their family plans let you protect your loved ones too with a single admin 00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:17.920 dashboard and personalized data sheets so click our Link in the description and 00:03:15.440 --> 00:03:22.760 get 20% off a delete me data removal plan today similarly to phones there's 00:03:20.440 --> 00:03:27.000 definitely design pressure on cars to look Sleek especially if we're talking 00:03:25.040 --> 00:03:30.560 about electric vehicles even though EVS are pretty much just normal cars that 00:03:28.760 --> 00:03:35.360 run on batteries and instead of gas there's a consumer perception of EVS as 00:03:32.920 --> 00:03:40.040 a tech platform that needs to look Advanced due in large part to companies 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:43.360 like Tesla and rivan but even with this design pressure there have been plenty 00:03:41.799 --> 00:03:48.000 of complaints from drivers about how touch controls are harder to navigate 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:51.680 without taking their eyes off the road you can always reach down and feel a 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:55.840 physical button or dial without looking at it but how exactly are you supposed 00:03:53.760 --> 00:04:00.439 to do that with a big flat touch screen where every part of it feels the same 00:03:58.079 --> 00:04:04.760 calling Dave no don't call no I wanted the wipers this is partly why some 00:04:02.640 --> 00:04:08.360 automakers like Toyota have kept multimedia and climate controls as 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:12.200 physical buttons as they're two of the things we interact with most while 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:16.720 driving in fact there's a conception among some in the Auto industry that the 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:21.799 likes of Tesla and rivan have overshot The Sweet Spot of looking sleek and have 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:26.320 moved into intimidating territory where the inside of the car is so minimalist 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:30.560 with so few buttons that drivers may not want to deal with the learning curve so 00:04:28.520 --> 00:04:34.759 for now many car makers appear to be adopting a middle ground approach with 00:04:32.440 --> 00:04:39.680 keeping frequently touched controls as physical switches while continuing to 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:43.639 move other functionality onto screens think for example about how radio preset 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:48.280 buttons aren't much of a thing anymore because of how popular streaming music 00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:52.919 has become but do keep in mind there is actually a cultural element in play when 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:56.600 it comes to design expectations for example there's actually less of an 00:04:54.360 --> 00:05:01.360 emphasis on physical switches in China which for a long time did not have much 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:05.120 of a car buying middle class now they do and since many are buying cars for the 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:09.479 first time in the smartphone era they're more amable to having controls on a 00:05:07.280 --> 00:05:13.039 phone like interface but regardless of exactly where you are in the world and 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:18.000 what you're driving keep your eyes on the road I want you to live to tune into 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:21.280 the next episode of Techquickie hey thanks for watching if you like this 00:05:19.479 --> 00:05:26.199 video check out our other video on how they make smartphone glass tougher than 00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:30.319 ordinary glass lots of punching I assume