Touch screens started to lose popularity - users prefer push-button gadgets

By Alimat Aliyeva

Push-button devices can displace touchscreens, which are no longer as popular as they used to be. Experts say that touchscreens have begun to lose popularity in the world, as users prefer push-button gadgets, Azernews reports.

This phenomenon has been called re-buttonization (return to buttons). This trend affects not only smartphones, as touch buttons complicate the process of using various equipment. For example, the driver of a modern car sometimes needs more time and actions with a touch screen to launch a certain function, when it used to be responsible for one physical button.

As a first example, the WSJ edition cites the appearance of a new Camera Control button to control the camera in the iPhone 16. The device also has a customizable touch Action Button, which was already available on the iPhone 15 Pro. "As Apple's experience shows, companies are not just rediscovering buttons, they are rethinking them," profile experts told the media.
Touch control panels in Tesla electric vehicles are starting to seem outdated against the background of buttons, knobs and switches in new Kia, Mini BMW and Volkswagen models, according to the WSJ.

"To ensure that drivers never have to take their eyes off the road, Mini designers have implemented a customizable display in their cars that drivers can control using buttons and a scroll wheel on the steering wheel," Patrick McKenna, head of product and marketing at Mini USA, told the media.

The journalists recalled that now more and more devices are being produced with buttons, for example, handles on induction stoves that allow you to understand the heating level of the burners, buttons for turning pages in Kobo, Nook and Boox e-books, as well as a handle on the side of the Playdate portable game console. Users choose such gadgets because it is clear and convenient for them to work with buttons, toggle switches or wheels, rather than digging into the touch screen settings to access a simple option.

Earlier, Volkswagen decided to return physical buttons to new cars after customer complaints. This happened after the automaker abandoned physical buttons in favor of a touchscreen with controls.