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Mercedes' Gigantic "Hyperscreen" Takes Up the Entire Dashboard

The screen is so big, it integrates the air vents

By Rain Noe - January 12, 2021

in Cars

Mercedes-Benz has joined the dashboard screen wars. Ram Trucks has their 12-inch display, Tesla has their 17-incher, and now MB has unveiled their Hyperscreen, which essentially takes up the entire dashboard.

Ram Trucks

Tesla

Mercedes-Benz Hyperscreen

The screen is so big, the air vents had to be integrated.

The Hyperscreen is actually three separate displays stitched together behind a single piece of Gorilla Glass. MB's designers reckon the increased real estate will lead to less confusion; their "zero layer" interface concept is intended to do away with scrolling, clicking and sub-menus. "To access the most important applications, the user scrolls through 0 menu levels," the company writes. "This is why Mercedes-Benz calls this the zero-layer."

"The user no longer has to scroll through sub-menus or give voice commands, as the most important applications are always available in a situational and contextual way at the top of the driver's field of vision."

As for how it will work in practice, at press time there were no posted demonstrations. Instead we've got Vera Schmidt, MB's Head of Advanced Digital Design and Sajjad Khan, CTO, describing how the screen works and what they're going for with the UI:

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The Hyperscreen will appear as an option in MB's forthcoming EQS, the electric counterpart to the S-class. The car is expected to have a sticker price in the six figures.

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tj ward

3 years ago

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Am I the only one out there who thinks that replacing tactile controls with touch screens in cars is one of the worst design trends of all time? In my 2011 Honda CRV I can reach over and find the control I wanted by feel. In my wife's 2020 Outback I have to literally look down at screen to target even the most accessible controls. I understand the MB "hyperscreen" aims to keep controls readily accessible, but you still have to look at the damn thing to find it.

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- Anthony Locascio
  
  tj ward
  
  3 years ago
  
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  I completely agree with you. Not to mention the greasy finger paintings that will be left all over the dash.
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- Juan Cano
  
  tj ward
  
  3 years ago
  
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  I am with you. We never had a car with a screen until recently, a 2020 Kia Sportage. It's super distracting trying to navigate the screens while driving. most of the time I just shut it off in frustration.
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- Zach W
  
  tj ward
  
  3 years ago
  
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  I agree. You also can't leave your finger on a button and press it several times with a touch-screen like you can a tactile control.... even the slightest touch on the screen will "press" the button. I hate the touchscreen controls in many situations.
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T Anon

3 years ago

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100% agreed. I am sure these screens work beautifully when you're stationary in a car showroom, fine for info display, and they're so pretty I'm sure the execs go OOOH YEAH, but I can't imagine trying to control anything while driving - good luck hitting the right part of the screen and not bouncing off something else due to car movement. I use my phone for navigation (secure in holder) and nothing else while driving - I can't even reliably hit the "answer call" button which is huge. Talk about user-hostile.

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Ray Jepson

3 years ago

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New problems everyday. The NHTSA is forcing a recall on Tesla because the touchscreen is not reliable enough and if it fails, the defroster is not operable.

*slow clap*

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/tesla-balks-at-touch-screen-recall-u-s-agency-takes-action-1.5266129

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Ray Jepson

3 years ago

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You are not alone TJ...Many of us on the C77 boards say the same thing.

Analysis: Car makers face screen test to judge safety | Autocar

Quote: "I was surprised by the extent," he told Autocar. "Items such as choosing a music track, for example, on Spotify took up to 20 seconds. We just don't have any way of understanding the impact of that on safety in the real world."

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