The good, the bad, and the ugly of V11

[fiacobelli]

The good: customization, side cameras on turn signal, auto seat heaters, climate interface.
The bad: UX principles are violated left and right. The person designing this did not drive the car outside of a trial track to test it.
1. The profile name has disappeared from main screen. So, when adjusting the seat, you may accidentally press save on your partners profile
2. Notifications (garage, save profile, side cameras on turn signal, etc) appear at the bottom left. Ann area usually covered by driving hands)
3. Many voice commands are gone
4. Two ways to get to home link. Just keep one at the top of the screen.
5. No way to quickly save camera feeds to USB, or too know if USB stick is recording or not.
6. Defrost and seat warmers are hidden.
The ugly: functions should be where they are expected consistently. For example,
1. side cameras should show up where they always show up when backing up, covering the inferior portion of the map.
2. Cards should be back (maybe change the style)
3. Home link should also be in only one place

 

[HankLloydRight]

The bad: UX principles are violated left and right. The person designing this did not drive the car outside of a trial track to test it.

This has been the case going back to Version 7. The Tesla UI developers think they're developing for a phone or tablet. When are they going to hire competent developers that actually understand UX -- especially when DRIVING A CAR!?!?!

 

[moa999]

We are all suffering from Change Syndrome.
From a UI design perspective it is far more consistent.

Excluding voice.

All HVAC settings are in the HVAC screen which can be accessed by tapping on the temperature, or dragging up anywhere from the bottom. Previously you had defrost buttons on the top bar, and everything else in the HVAC settings, and no split for front/rear

All Control Settings are in the Control/Car menu with many frequently used ones on the main screen with large boxed targets, and others in a sub menu.
Previously you had WiFi, Bluetooth, some lights on the top, trip meter and tyres in the cards which was an untargeted swipe, and others in the Control menu, both on main screen and sub menu.

I think the icons just need more options (and space for more favourites) -
If you rarely have passengers have the option of getting rid of passenger temp ( they can always swipe up)
If it's winter have the option of adding back defrost buttons or seat heaters (or automate defrost like seat heaters)
Have buttons for tyre pressure, trip meter and profile settings.

Living in mild weather year round I've never used defrost or seat heaters for example.. they are wasted space for me but I appreciate they were pretty useful for others.

 

[HankLloydRight]

We are all suffering from Change Syndrome.

Absolutely not. When change is good, I'm more than happy to embrace it. Most of the changes Apple makes to iOS are positive changes, and I update my phones frequently (settle down, I said "most"). The changes that Tesla makes, release after release, year after year, only make the software and UX worse. This is simply because the developers do not understand what it means to use the UI while driving.

From a UI design perspective it is far more consistent.

For a phone or tablet, that makes sense, but not for driving a car where you have to take your eyes off the road to access the "more consistent" options that are no longer a single tap.

From a UI design perspective it is far more consistent.

Except for all these things (and many others) that make it inconsistent for DRIVING A FREAKING CAR:

I think the icons just need more options (and space for more favourites) -
If you rarely have passengers have the option of getting rid of passenger temp ( they can always swipe up)
If it's winter have the option of adding back defrost buttons or seat heaters (or automate defrost like seat heaters)
Have buttons for tyre pressure, trip meter and profile settings.

 

[moa999]

Except for all these things (and many others) that make it inconsistent for DRIVING A FREAKING CAR:

How often do you ACTUALLY change the defrost or heat seater settings while driving. Think most would do it at the start of the drive while still in Park.

Compared to say selecting a new artist or mood station in Spotify and your favourite track, which many would do multiple times a journey - and requires far more swipes and touches.

It's not that difficult.

 

[Brescia]

How often do you ACTUALLY change the defrost or heat seater settings while driving. At the start of the drive while still in Park.

Compared to say selecting a new artist or mood station in Spotify and your favourite track, which many would do multiple times a journeStrong words from someone living next to an ocean that moderates their climate extremes year-round.

How often do you ACTUALLY change the defrost or heat seater settings while driving. Think most would do it at the start of the drive while still in Park.

Compared to say selecting a new artist or mood station in Spotify and your favourite track, which many would do multiple times a journey - and requires far more swipes and touches.

It's not that difficult.

Strong words from someone living next to an ocean that moderates their climate extremes year-round

 

[HankLloydRight]

How often do you ACTUALLY change the defrost or heat seater settings while driving. T

Does it really matter? It only takes ONCE while driving and not looking at the road to fumble for the defrost, seat heater, or all the other functions now hidden under a sub-menu -- it only takes ONCE to kill people when looking at the screen for a split-second too long.

And YES, I do change the defrost frequently while driving, especially in the winter when having the defrost is no longer needed and I want to heat or cool the rest of the car instead of the windshield... until such point the glass starts to fog up again, then I'll be looking to turn it on. And YES, if the seat heater is on for a while and my bum is sufficiently warmed up, I'd like to turn it off without fumbling in the menus and submenus.

 

[Sporty]

How often do you ACTUALLY change the defrost or heat seater settings while driving. Think most would do it at the start of the drive while still in Park.

Compared to say selecting a new artist or mood station in Spotify and your favourite track, which many would do multiple times a journey - and requires far more swipes and touches.

It's not that difficult.

People have different usage patterns. For me this changes based on weather & length of trip. In the current weather I’m much more likely to be messing with the screen for hvac (temp, seats, defrost) then the audio gui. On a nice summer day I might not even touch the hvac.

I do use the audio controls on the steering wheel while driving. The control knob on the steering wheel is great. I appreciate the simplicity and functionality of what they did there.

 

[moa999]

Does it really matter? It only takes ONCE while driving and not looking

I'd strongly suggest you never use Spotify stations, podcasts or anything that requires more than one touch then.

 

[redmunds]

The issue with the seat heaters and window defog/defrost buttons is that these buttons not only control those features, they also serve as state indicators (e.g. off vs low vs medium vs high) similar to physical controls. This is nice because you can do a quick glance to see if they're on or not. In addition to the benefits of easy access and safety, not having these on the primary screen could also cause unnecessary battery drain when you're heating something that doesn't need it.

I would be happy with v11 if these controls were available as favorites so I can choose to add them to the primary screen. More than 4 favorites would also be nice!

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'd strongly suggest you never use Spotify stations, podcasts or anything that requires more than one touch then.

That’s not the point at all. The point is, why increase complexity for things that were previously very simple?

 

[moa999]

That’s not the point at all. The point is, why increase complexity for things that were previously very simple?

But why not put a glovebox icon, or a cheetah stance icon, or buttons for each of the three drive modes.. or a button for each of the 100 or so functions on the main screen.

Who needs to see the map. Why bother with a menu system at all.

The new UI puts all Settings in either the Controls or HVAC menu - far easier to explain to any new user.

You are only seeing the change from your personal point of view, not the view of someone new to a Tesla.

I've suggested above that if Defrost or Tyre pressures are such an important function for an individual then make an icon for that and allow the user to customise.

 

[HankLloydRight]

But why not put a glovebox icon, or a cheetah stance icon, or buttons for each of the three drive modes.. or a button for each of the 100 or so functions on the main screen.

Because none of those things were previously on the main screen. Thanks for the goal-post move, and again, that's NOT THE POINT.

The new UI puts all Settings in either the Controls or HVAC menu - far easier to explain to any new user.

I'm not concerned about "new users". I'm concerned about "people who drive". New users or not, it's still additional steps, clicks, taps, and submenus to access dozens of features that were, up until v11, just a single tap or quick glance away without any taps or menus. I'm talking about SAFETY, not new users or my perspective. Clearly this is not a concept you can grasp. I'm done here.

 

[damonbrodie]

I think it is hard for people who don't drive in cold climates to understand how quickly things can change while driving in winter conditions. Hitting a snow squall that quickly starts icing up your windshield within a minute or two can be extremely unnerving for some drivers. There is a reason that almost every single car out there has a dedicated defrost button. Hunting in menus for something that you may have never used before, or maybe a year ago or even just a few months can be catastrophic when you're hurtling down the highway.

I love my Tesla, but they need to be less cavalier about their UI changes as it pertains to the safety controls.

I know they are going to make it right and make some updates. That still leaves weeks or months where we have a less than ideal situation. I'd suggest that updates like this need to be vetted for a lot longer across a wider test audience across all seasons, and maybe focus less on timing the release to be cute about offering a "Holiday Release".

 

[Boza]

I think it is hard for people who don't drive in cold climates to understand how quickly things can change while driving in winter conditions. Hitting a snow squall that quickly starts icing up your windshield within a minute or two can be extremely unnerving for some drivers. There is a reason that almost every single car out there has a dedicated defrost button. Hunting in menus for something that you may have never used before, or maybe a year ago or even just a few months can be catastrophic when you're hurtling down the highway.

I love my Tesla, but they need to be less cavalier about their UI changes as it pertains to the safety controls.

I know they are going to make it right and make some updates. That still leaves weeks or months where we have a less than ideal situation. I'd suggest that updates like this need to be vetted for a lot longer across a wider test audience across all seasons, and maybe focus less on timing the release to be cute about offering a "Holiday Release".

So, you are suggesting that they follow standard software development practices for critical components? E.g. small changes, QA, focus groups, UT, baking n the field before mass release, feedback capturing and analysts…
What really bugs me is that the field of ergonomics is very well developed (more than 70 years of research) and they could afford to get the best UI experts from automotive/aerospace industry to develop the _best_ interface. But no, we have the religious belief that we could automate everything and there will be no need for a human driver. Hence, we need a laptop, not a car interface. (Even then, V11 is a lousy entertainment interface)

 

[HankLloydRight]

So, you are suggesting that they follow standard software development practices for critical components? E.g. small changes, QA, focus groups, UT, baking n the field before mass release, feedback capturing and analysts…

Tesla should start doing at least 10% of that. Better than the zero% we have now.

 

[ZOEs_EndGame]

Agree that interface is dangerous. I liked the car and interface when I bought it in 2018 - one reason why I liked it was the large map, and condensed car graphic area - with all the pertinent controls visible and within reach. Now it's a battle to find things, and yes - usually when rolling down the road.
Almost ready to sell it and get a gas burner at this point.