It may not seem like it, but car interiors once had plenty of analog controls for owners to use. The various buttons and switches were easy to use and allowed owners to quickly adapt to the features of their car.

In recent years, buttons have given way to large screens that bury once analog functions into layers of software and taps. More customers have spoken out about how frustrating this new reality has become, and the CEO of Mercedes-Benz has admitted that attempting to eliminate buttons was a huge mistake.

Admitting what many long suspected

This surprising admission came from Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius during a recent interview with the folks at Autocar. He revealed that “the industry as a whole might have gone alittle bit too far” towards digital controls.

Mercedes-Benz is a prominent offender in this regard, with the firm’s MBUX Hyperscreen being a very prominent example of how the drive towards less buttons and bigger screen size has created a bottleneck of consumer resentment. The company was also an early adopter of voice control technology which is still in its infancy, and has also created its own form of headaches for buyers.

“Sometimes you get a bit ahead of yourself and do technology for the sake of technology and maybe forget a little bit about the customer. So from now on, you will see us reintroduce the most sensible buttons.”

Which buttons could come back?

While in-vehicle screens themselves are not going away anytime soon, the renewed push towards analog does raise some questions about what controls should be brought back?

In our opinion, essential controls should always be analog versus being buried in a screen. For example, climate controls should always be among the first buttons to bring back. These controls are prominent touch points in any car, and they also help customers tailor the comfort of their vehicle (a key selling point for any offering) to suit their tastes.

Other key touchpoints include the audio controls, as well as the hazard button (the latter being very useful if your car is breaking down on the road).

When asked if voice control could still succeed, the CEO delivered a brief reply stating, “I spend hours every year discussing this with our engineers, and we joke it needs to be so easy that either a five-year-old kid or a Mercedes board member can use it. That is the hurdle, and once you familiarize yourself with it, it becomes second nature.” He also revealed, “We spend countless hours on UI.”

So while things will most likely not change in the near future, Benz is committed to reintroducing some buttons back into its interiors, and this admission from one of the most tech-driven luxury car companies on the planet could prompt others into similar actions.