Adjusting the air conditioning or rearview mirrors requires a lot of searching on the screen; a sudden blackout or system crash while driving on the highway is quite frightening; and occasional push notifications from the car's infotainment system are annoying… The trend of intelligent technology has brought about a revolution in car cabin design, with increasingly larger intelligent screens being installed in vehicles. While these large intelligent screens offer a cool, high-tech feel, they also bring some safety concerns, leading many car owners to wonder: Is a bigger and more integrated screen always better?

Using the air conditioning on a large screen is quite inconvenient.

Ms. Liu recently bought a new energy vehicle from a certain brand. The interior of the new car emphasizes a minimalist, high-tech style, with almost no physical buttons in the front cabin. Instead, most functions are integrated into a large 15-inch central control screen. Operating the air conditioning, adjusting the rearview mirrors, opening the sunroof, opening the glove box, and defogging the windows are all done via touchscreen.

Initially, Ms. Liu thought the large screen was quite advanced, but after using it for a while, she also experienced its inconveniences. "The most inconvenient thing in summer is turning on the air conditioning!" Ms. Liu said. In the past, she could easily turn on the air conditioning while starting the car. But now, with the physical buttons replaced by a screen, she needs to precisely tap a small temperature area at the bottom of the screen before entering the air conditioning adjustment interface. Once inside, setting the temperature requires swiping the screen, setting the fan speed requires tapping repeatedly, and adjusting the airflow direction is even more cumbersome, requiring swiping up, down, left, or right on the virtual airflow indicator.

"These operations are difficult to perform while driving in the blind spot, because it's easy to accidentally touch things without looking at the screen," Ms. Liu admitted. Sometimes, when she needs to adjust the fan speed or direction while driving, it's particularly frustrating. What's most frustrating is that

after a month, just when she finally got used to the air conditioning screen operation, the car's system was updated, and the location of the control interface changed again. "So, I have to readjust again."

If screen operation is inconvenient, can voice control be more convenient? Ms. Liu told reporters that voice control also can't solve all the problems. "For example, adjusting the temperature and fan speed can be done by voice, but adjusting the airflow direction is difficult to control precisely with voice." Moreover, voice interaction sometimes makes recognition errors. “My dad has a heavy accent, so he often misjudges things while driving and has to adjust manually.”

Besides the air conditioning, many car owners have complained about the inconvenience of adjusting the rearview mirror and opening the sunroof on the large screen. “Before, when I drove, there was usually a knob for adjusting the rearview mirror on the handle next to the driver’s seat, and the sunroof button was basically located on the ceiling above the cabin. It was simple and clear, and I could sometimes do it while driving.” Mr. Zhang switched to a new energy vehicle last year, and these functions are integrated into a large screen. Just finding the buttons for the rearview mirror and sunroof takes some effort. “Many functions require navigating through several levels of menus to find, and it’s quite dangerous to operate them while driving.”

The reporter tested the system to address Mr. Zhang’s concerns. Taking adjusting the rearview mirror as an example, you first need to click a small car-shaped icon in the lower left corner of the central control screen, enter the menu, select “Control,” open the secondary menu, select “Rearview Mirror” from multiple options, and then click the “Adjust Rearview Mirror” option to activate a button on the steering wheel. This button allows you to adjust the direction of the rearview mirror. Because of unfamiliarity with the vehicle, it took the reporter almost a minute to find the functions on the menu and adjust the direction.

Sudden Blackout on the Highway Inside Lane is Terrifying

Compared to the inconvenience of operating some functions, the occasional lag, crashes, or even blackouts of the in-car system after the smart screen replaces the dashboard and integrates most control functions are even more frightening for consumers.

In April of this year, Ms. Wang was driving on the highway when several interconnected screens in her car suddenly went black, and for a moment, basic information such as vehicle speed and status was lost. "I was driving in the inner lane of the highway, and it was inconvenient to stop urgently, so I could only drive like that 'in the dark' for a while before finding an opportunity to merge and stop in the emergency lane." After stopping, Ms. Wang, experiencing her car's system crash for the first time, called the vehicle's customer service. Following the customer service's instructions, she pressed and held the button on the steering wheel to restart the system. "Although the process was safe, suddenly going blackout while driving on the highway is still quite frightening," Ms. Wang said, still somewhat shaken.

Ms. Wang's experience is not an isolated case. A reporter's investigation revealed that many car owners reported experiencing occasional glitches and crashes with their car's infotainment system.

Two months ago, Mr. He, a car owner, encountered such a situation. While driving normally, the central control screen suddenly went black, forcing him to pull over. However, because his vehicle's gear shifting function was integrated into the screen controls, Mr. He found he couldn't shift into Park (P) to park. "Even for an experienced driver like myself, this situation is still quite perplexing," Mr. He said. He called customer service, and after some guidance, he located and activated the temporary gear shift button above the driver's seat, finally managing to shift gears. He then restarted the infotainment system by pressing and holding the relevant button. "That experience made me quite nostalgic for the traditional physical gear shifter."

5-Second Unclosable Splash Screen Ad is Unreasonable

"Are car infotainment screens going to follow the trend of smartphones and smart TVs, pushing ads now?" Recently, Mr. Bai, the owner of a new energy vehicle brand, encountered a "splash screen ad" in his car for the first time. The ad, a large image filling the entire screen, promoted a new car model exclusive purchase voucher event for first-time car owners. The ad lasted about 5 seconds and could not be closed early. "Are we now forced to watch ads before driving?" In Mr. Bai's view, the practice of car companies forcefully pushing ads through in-car screens seriously affects consumer experience and usage rights.

A reporter's investigation found that in recent years, with the trend of in-car screens, many car companies have tried to push splash screen ads or pop-up ads from time to time, exploring the possibility of increasing brand promotion and even opening up new revenue channels through in-car advertising.

Recently, Mr. Zhao was driving when an ad suddenly popped up at the top of his car screen, offering a limited-time 35% discount voucher for the brand's VIP car. "This message was at the very top of the screen. Although it only obscured the top part of the navigation map and automatically closed after about 5 seconds, I was still distracted and glanced at it a few times because of the notification sound. Pushing such ads while driving is a complete disregard for safety."

Mr. Jiang also encountered pop-up ads while driving. While using the car's navigation system, an ad for a "limited-time car purchase gift" suddenly popped up on his screen. The ad covered about one-third of the navigation interface, and there were "view" and "cancel" options below it; he had to manually select "cancel" to close the ad. "Having to manually close ads while driving—who will be responsible if an accident happens?" Mr. Jiang asked.

Large Screens in Cars: Don't Ignore Safety

Larger and more numerous, intelligent screens in cars have become a trend. A recent visit to the car market revealed that whether it's a gasoline car or a new energy vehicle, equipping them with larger central control screens, or more screens in the front and rear seats, has become a major selling point for many new models.

"Our model has the largest front-row screen on the market right now!" a salesperson at a new energy vehicle brand dealership introduced. The reporter observed that this model features a massive 45-inch screen in the front. While the screen's width is similar to a small tablet, its length reaches 1.13 meters, spanning the entire driver and passenger cabin.

Although the large screen looks impressive, some consumers are not impressed. "Such a large screen looks cool, but it takes up so much space, with few physical buttons, that it can be inconvenient sometimes," expressed one customer who came to look at the car. "And I don't think the screen in the passenger seat is very practical. Although you can watch videos and play games, I generally don't use it, afraid it will distract the driver."

Besides feeling that the excessively large and numerous screens with their crammed entertainment functions are impractical, the over-integration of in-car controls into the screen also raises safety concerns. Research has shown that when operating a touchscreen, drivers are distracted by an average of 57% more time than when using physical buttons, and voice control takes an average of 30% longer.

In response to this concern, Europe has taken the lead in introducing new regulations. According to the European New Car Assessment Programme (E-NCAP), starting in 2026, all critical driving functions (such as turn signals, horns, and windshield wipers) must be operated via physical levers or buttons; otherwise, the vehicle will not receive the highest five-star safety rating. To comply with the new regulations, Tesla has redesigned its new vehicles in Europe, reinstating the previously removed physical gear selector. Some European automakers are also making changes; Volkswagen's new models retain a row of physical buttons below the center console screen, specifically for controlling the air conditioning and driving modes.

Wang Meng, an expert from the China Automobile Dealers Association, stated that integrating more physical buttons into screen controls is not only more concise and technologically advanced, but more importantly, it reduces costs. Meanwhile, many automakers are currently tentatively pushing in-car advertisements intermittently, hoping to replicate the profit models of smartphones and televisions and open up new avenues for revenue generation. However, in-car screens are fundamentally different from smartphones and other smart terminals; their essence is a safety component, and their core function is to serve driving. Therefore, automakers' efforts to increase revenue and reduce costs cannot come at the expense of driving safety.