Is the Model S dashboard display distracting at night?

[BenTesla]

I remember in older reviews one of the major grips about the center 17" touch screen was that it got really distracting at night.

Well I have a solution! If Tesla used an AMOLED display, they wouldn't have to light up the entire screen at night. From my understanding, that technology allows all sorts of phones (I think Samsung is the biggest user) to not have to wake up all the pixels just to do simple on screen actions. Thus saving battery and not being so bright. I think it's more expensive but I think the screen would be even more of a selling point to techy people. I like this solution because it allows some innovative solutions and combined with Tesla's current system of over the air updates, they can change mid stream.

EXAMPLE: On the new Moto X smartphone, Motorola and Google built in a feature were the time or notifications could show up on the phone even if it was off. I think that's something the Model S could look to replicate. Or maybe instead of utilizing the entire 17" screen for to "apps"/programs simultaneously, they could run just one in "Night Mode". Imagine that!:love:

Now as always when I post on these forums, I'm just curious as to how effective a solution this could be for Tesla and would love to here your response.

 

[Twiddler]

Possibly, although with with right scroll wheel set as the dimmer, I never have a problem with brightness at night. The 0% setting has always been too dim, but 15-30% juuuust right. I was concerned about the brightness issue before owning one, but much like many other of my initial concerns, it seems silly now.

 

[Blurry_Eyed]

I have also found that by accessing the brightness control through the right scroll wheel, the screen brightness is not an issue for me. As the daylight fades, I just dim the screen as necessary and at night if I want a darker cabin, I can quickly dial it down to 0% and then quickly ramp it back up to something higher if I need to see a display a bit more brightly. I usually have it between 15%-45%, depending on the level of light outside the car at night.

Also if you want to have a fairly dark center screen you can go to this website (bookmark it as a favorite on the web browser):

Darkness at Anytime

It is just a black webpage. You can expand your web browser to full screen and that helps. If Tesla used an AMOLED screen, it would be totally black and even darker and that would be awesome, but I find that even with the screen they use now, it is dark enough for my satisfaction. It's not completely dark, but having a black webpage in full screen mode is helpful.

 

[neroden]

Is the Model S dashboard display distracting at night?

The short answer is "no".

It can get distracting when certain lighting conditions (near dusk, going past hills) cause the display to flash from day mode to night mode and back.

Everything else, I've been able to adjust perfectly by setting the "day" and "night" screen brightnesses to my favorite settings. The "night mode" works fine in all the apps.

 

[AMPd]

AMOLED screens would be more expensive, and I think the biggest reason is there are none being mass produced in such large size.
However, I would love an AMOLED display in the future!

 

[jerry33]

Not distracting at all. Just turn the display brightness down to 5 in the city or 0 in the country.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Only Distraction in the S is the other cars that are noisy and smelly :wink: (+ the bad drivers trying to figure out what it is )

but that type of a screen idea will be neat if it makes it into the X or later S' even

 

[gmontem]

Another vote for 'no', although I would not mind if Tesla replaced my center console with one that used an AMOLED display. :biggrin:

 

[ToddRLockwood]

I remember in older reviews one of the major grips about the center 17" touch screen was that it got really distracting at night.

Well I have a solution! If Tesla used an AMOLED display, they wouldn't have to light up the entire screen at night. From my understanding, that technology allows all sorts of phones (I think Samsung is the biggest user) to not have to wake up all the pixels just to do simple on screen actions. Thus saving battery and not being so bright. I think it's more expensive but I think the screen would be even more of a selling point to techy people. I like this solution because it allows some innovative solutions and combined with Tesla's current system of over the air updates, they can change mid stream.

EXAMPLE: On the new Moto X smartphone, Motorola and Google built in a feature were the time or notifications could show up on the phone even if it was off. I think that's something the Model S could look to replicate. Or maybe instead of utilizing the entire 17" screen for to "apps"/programs simultaneously, they could run just one in "Night Mode". Imagine that!:love:

Now as always when I post on these forums, I'm just curious as to how effective a solution this could be for Tesla and would love to here your response.

There's an easier fix: program the right-hand thumb wheel on the steering wheel to control screen brightness. That puts the control right where you need it. Additionally, I recommend keeping the screen in Night Mode all the time.

 

[Vger]

Not distracting at all. Just turn the display brightness down to 5 in the city or 0 in the country.

Exactly. +1

 

[Doug_G]

Is the Model S dashboard display distracting at night?

No.