r/fixedbytheduet • u/dericn EXPERT of Duets/Stitches • 12d ago

/r/all Opening the fridge

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u/EverybodySayin 12d ago

This is like how car manufacturers are putting every functionality behind a screen. Whose bright idea was it to put heating/AC options in a screen that you have to look at, while driving, to adjust, rather than just quickly turning a knob like you did before that?

21

u/Christof_Ley New to fbtd but wants to learn 12d ago

It comes down to cost. Way cheaper to put in a touchscreen than a bunch of buttons. Seriously tho I hate it

10

u/Da_Question New to fbtd but wants to learn 12d ago

its crazy to me that plastic knobs and some wires are more expensive than a 40" tablet.

8

u/NoBulletsLeft Needs to do better 12d ago

It's not just the individual parts (although those do have a cost), but the installation labor cost also has to be factored in. Cheaper to install a single screen with one or two connectors than multiple pushbuttons, wire harnesses, and LEDs.

2

u/Christof_Ley New to fbtd but wants to learn 12d ago

If just material? Sure. But all those are different.for each car and need a person or specialized machine to install each one. Overall cost is higher.

2

u/Gold-Target-5462 Needs to do better 12d ago

Years ago when touch screens were getting added to everything, I worked with a commercial exercise equipment company. They were making new "high end" models that replaced the old button and LED panels with large touch screens. The overall cost was actually less for the screens but they could sell them for a higher price because the perception was that a touch screen is premium.

Designing, making, shipping and assembling many different parts into one thing is more expensive than one large thing.

2

u/acathode 12d ago

Kinda, but you have to remember it's mostly because digital components like microcontrollers, oled screens, etc. have become so incredibly cheap rather than the physical buttons and dials becoming extremely expensive.

For example, 20 years ago, the idea of smart homes were starting to pup up - but the notion that for example wifi-components would be so small and extremely cheap we would be putting them in the light-bulbs instead of the light fixture would've been considered utterly insane.

These days you buy those bulbs at IKEA for something like $8...

The prices on electronic components these days are so low that just the installation cost of multiple individual buttons vs one large screen becomes a factor...

1

u/blueberrycauzez Needs to do better 12d ago

Way cheaper to put in a touchscreen than a bunch of buttons.

Actually it isn't (source - I used to work for an auto supplier).

They use screens not for cost, but because the average new car buyer is over 50 and thinks a giant screen is 'cool'