4000 words of speculation on Apple's car cockpit interaction design

I don’t know when it started, but whenever we talk about smart cockpits, there are always friends who express similar views to us in the backstage comments:

Since you always think that Apple’s car will be a big hit as soon as it comes out, why not come with us to see what kind of surprises Apple’s cockpit design language can bring to the world.

We have to say that we are not advocating for any side, nor will we show off concepts or be mysterious. We hope to share not only rational analysis based on our understanding of Apple, but also our expectations that can give us a glimpse of the future.

After reading today’s text, you can share your insights in the comments section below.

We all know that Apple recently updated iOS 15, presenting a new way of interaction to us. The advent of Tesla Model S Plaid also shows us Tesla's new exploration in car interaction.

So, what’s special about Apple’s in-car system?

We believe that Apple's positioning of the car system will be completely different from any traditional car manufacturer or new energy brand we know. Apple will emphasize its tool-like nature rather than its intelligence. In the introduction of previous generations of products, Apple has used extremely short titles to highlight the product features, rather than lengthily listing various performances, so that the product has a clear "tool-like" feel.

We will use several key words to explain the concept.

Coherence

Apple’s former chief design officer Jony Ive has mentioned the word Coherence many times. This is also the most intuitive experience that Apple has strived to convey to consumers over the years.

Apple's "consistency" is reflected in several aspects:

Consistency of appearance

Since the iPhone, everything about Apple has been closely centered around the screen, and this trend is becoming more and more obvious. Apple, through its strong control and pursuit of details, spares no effort to present unique industrial design and graphic design to users, even though these cannot be particularly clearly perceived by most consumers.

It is for this reason that when consumers see Apple products, they can recognize, “Oh, this is an Apple product” even without seeing the logo.

Consistency of chamfers on iPhone/iOS & Android

This consistency does not arise from the pure pursuit of consistency; in fact, it is based on mathematical consciousness.

At the same time, this also explains why even on the same road, Volkswagen gives people a sense of homogeneity, while Porsche conveys classicism and heritage to people.

Volkswagen & Porsche

Consistency across devices

From iPhone to iMac, from iPad to Apple Watch, Apple has maintained good consistency among different screen sizes. This consistency also means that even on the large screen of the car, Apple CarPlay can look coordinated and not abrupt in the cockpit screens of major car brands.

CarPlay adaption for different screen sizes

Apple's consistency is intuitive and concrete. We have every reason to believe that Apple Car will maintain good consistency from appearance to interior to interface, even to an amazing degree.

Apple's leading position in cross-device capabilities is obvious to all. As long as you copy a piece of content on a mobile device under the same Apple ID, other running devices can directly "paste" it. The synchronization of personal data such as music and photo albums is even easier.

Copy text from iMac and paste it on iPhone

As one of the representative capabilities of Apple devices, there is no reason for Apple not to apply it to its own cars.

As long as you have the same Apple ID, you can unlock the vehicle with Face ID, or use the keychain as a launcher to unlock the entire Apple HomeKit IoT ecosystem including the vehicle. Siri will also be like a housekeeper, ready to wake up and control your home devices at any time. Apple Wallet will support driver's licenses, ID cards, and various NFC door cards in iOS 15.

Don’t underestimate these details. It is these little changes that accumulate and converge to form experiences that change our living habits today. Just like people no longer regard the monthly pass for public transportation as an object with tool attributes, but more like a collection that carries years and memories.

Having said that, we can ask again: Will owners of Apple cars still need a car key in their hands?

HomeKit in iOS 15

On the other hand, Apple Music streaming media can be played seamlessly between HomePod smart speakers/AirPods/Apple cars, etc. For example, an exciting online podcast radio program can accompany you from home to car, and then from car to mobile phone, "sharing" the same playback progress bar.

Not only that, the car itself, as an independent enclosed space, provides a better playback environment for the Dolby Atmos sound effects supported since iOS 14.6.

iOS 15 adds independent control buttons for video and microphone modes, which can be used for global control of video and audio. Users can choose whether to turn on portrait mode and whether to use microphone noise reduction, which will be further optimized in cars.

Dolby Atmos Music on Apple Music

Audio and video controls in iOS 15

Inevitable & Affordance

Necessity and direct perception

Inevitable & Affordance (necessity and direct perception) are two relatively boring concepts in design psychology, so I will not elaborate on them here.

We all know that Apple has been committed to creating "instinctive" interactive operations to form a simple muscle memory effect, so that every new user can master the interaction "quickly and magically".

This quick and easy operation will give users a sense of trust, which will then form a habit and dependence. It will make people feel that "this thing should be like this", and even feel accustomed to it when playing for the first time.

If you have any objections, you might as well recall that the earliest unlocking action of the iPhone is the best interpretation of this concept.

At this point, let's try to summarize the understanding of this concept among traditional OEMs, Tesla, and Apple:

From keyboard to mouse to touch, Apple gradually transformed the originally difficult input actions into simple and easy-to-use interactive operations. This is the simulation from mechanical control to the perception of the physical world.

At this point, Mr. Yu recalled that more than one colleague who used a MacBook, when asked why they didn't use a mouse, almost all of them answered with a puzzled look on their faces: Because the touchpad is more convenient.

Apple's control logic does not simulate the feedback of real things, but rather the feedback of operations. Apple's operation methods are different between different devices: iPhone focuses on one-handed operation, iPad focuses on two-handed multitasking operation, and iMac and MacBook focus on multi-gesture operation centered on the trackpad.

Multitasking of PadOS

While all devices are operated by hand, Apple still designed interactive operations based on different screen sizes and device functions, and it all seems natural.

Apple's interaction is based on the stimulation of human perception, especially after the linear vibration motor was put into use. The mechanical feeling (vibration + sound) when adjusting the alarm, the damped vibration after long pressing, the tapping feeling when the Apple Watch receives a call... all make people feel "unfeeling", and everything is so natural that it seems like a feature that should exist.

WatchOS 8 adds "system haptic feedback"

The new AR walking navigation feature in Maps in iOS 15 made me slap my thigh and exclaim: "This is what navigation should be like!"

iOS 15 Maps AR Navigation

Imagine that when you are in an unfamiliar street environment, your Apple car scans the surrounding environment and generates three-dimensional navigation, rather than the traditional plane-based pseudo-3D navigation. Wouldn’t the driver’s perception experience of the map be more friendly?

When you are confused at a three-way intersection and can't tell the directions, or you have taken the wrong road and don't know which lane to drive in, and the cars behind you keep flashing their high beams and honking, making you increasingly nervous and irritated, will these designs that enhance your sense of space give you a sense of relief?

It is conceivable that we will feel the continuation of this affordance design in Apple cars, such as the new gear shifting and parking method, which will be more "natural". Another example is that the mobile phone will have a more reasonable placement, rather than a variety of mobile phone holders or so-called wireless chargers. Another example is more natural touch feedback, which will be involved in other areas besides clicking the screen.

Qualisign

Traditional product design is almost always based on function. It must have some use or value before it can be designed into a new product.

In the process of social development, many functional products have been symbolized, such as bags. Now, many mini bags and even pendant bags have emerged that have no practical significance. At this point, even the "bag" itself as a container has become an accessory.

These are the strong impressions that the physical simulation world leaves on everyone.

In the digital age, people need to change their original cognition. For example, from the coachman driving the carriage, to the driver driving the car, to the pilot flying the plane. It seems that people are operating the forward and steering movements, but in fact, the mechanical transmission structure is constantly abstracted and gradually developed into simple instructions.

On the road to gradually realizing autonomous driving and even unmanned driving, humans will slowly get rid of the inertia of driving control. As the slowest evolving consumer goods industry, a considerable part of the design of automobiles is the result of inertia accumulation over the past 200 years. For example, steering wheels and instruments occupy space and form a system with other components.