Taycan PCM is an embarrassment

[RRVV17]

Hmmm .... don't see that option in my settings. Where/how did you activate this?

you will find those symbols on the left side of screen when camera is activated

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[evanevery]

I have a new BMW X5 and that has the new idrive7 which is in a different league to the Taycan PCM , i have said in other comments that i have no idea why Porsche felt the need to have a completely different infotainment system just because its an EV !
Who at Porshe Used the infotainment and thought yeah that’s great we will put that In every car, it just doesn’t make sense

The iDrive in all my BMW's is much more useable and intuitive. This includes not only a newer 2019 i8 but also my older 2016 M4.

The problem, I think, is that Porsche put design before function when they built the PCM for the Taycan. They really didn't want any physical buttons, knobs, or wheels on the console. They apparently took this as a design imperative, but they sacrificed a great deal of usability when they did this.

Want to browse your music? Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, oops a select by mistake, start again!

A wheel selector (like iDrive) could have solved this nonsense. However, even if they really wanted that "clean" design, they could have still put a "Scroll Control" (and/or a PgUp PgDn buttons) on the screen(s). When I say a "Scroll Control", I mean a vertical bar which causes the screen contents to smoothly scroll up/dn faster or slower depending on your touch distance from the vertical center of the bar. PgUp/PgDn buttons wouldn't offer a smooth scroll (which I think is much better), just jump a screen at a time. It still wouldn't have to be a physical controller...

So, the common complain is that car manufacturers rarely deliver a vehicle that looks just like the prototype at some auto show. The reason is, that very often, some aspects of the prototype design are ultimately determined to be impractical. It seems we are now victims of the opposite problem. We got a car very close to the prototype and very little was done to address various aspects of practicality and usability.

This puts the "Porsche Design" slogan in a whole new perspective for me...

 

[Dee]

The iDrive in all my BMW's is much more useable and intuitive. This includes not only a newer 2019 i8 but also my older 2016 M4.

The problem, I think, is that Porsche put design before function when they built the PCM for the Taycan. They really didn't want any physical buttons, knobs, or wheels on the console. They apparently took this as a design imperative, but they sacrificed a great deal of usability when they did this.

Want to browse your music? Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, oops a select by mistake, start again!

A wheel selector (like iDrive) could have solved this nonsense. However, even if they really wanted that "clean" design, they could have still put a "Scroll Control" (and/or a PgUp PgDn buttons) on the screen(s). When I say a "Scroll Control", I mean a vertical bar which causes the screen contents to smoothly scroll up/dn faster or slower depending on your touch distance from the vertical center of the bar. PgUp/PgDn buttons wouldn't offer a smooth scroll (which I think is much better), just jump a screen at a time. It still wouldn't have to be a physical controller...

So, the common complain is that car manufacturers rarely deliver a vehicle that looks just like the prototype at some auto show. The reason is, that very often, some aspects of the prototype design are ultimately determined to be impractical. It seems we are now victims of the opposite problem. We got a car very close to the prototype and very little was done to address various aspects of practicality and usability.

This puts the "Porsche Design" slogan in a whole new perspective for me...

You can set the touchpad just like you want it to be.
It's like the dail of idrive on my previous i8/i3 but more agile.
It's just something you have to get used to.
I think the idrive left/right/up/down and then press is actually annoying so I guess it's just a personal thing.
With a touchpad it goes a lot smoother and quicker imho.

 

[Lfcdan]

The iDrive in all my BMW's is much more useable and intuitive. This includes not only a newer 2019 i8 but also my older 2016 M4.

The problem, I think, is that Porsche put design before function when they built the PCM for the Taycan. They really didn't want any physical buttons, knobs, or wheels on the console. They apparently took this as a design imperative, but they sacrificed a great deal of usability when they did this.

Want to browse your music? Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, oops a select by mistake, start again!

A wheel selector (like iDrive) could have solved this nonsense. However, even if they really wanted that "clean" design, they could have still put a "Scroll Control" (and/or a PgUp PgDn buttons) on the screen(s). When I say a "Scroll Control", I mean a vertical bar which causes the screen contents to smoothly scroll up/dn faster or slower depending on your touch distance from the vertical center of the bar. PgUp/PgDn buttons wouldn't offer a smooth scroll (which I think is much better), just jump a screen at a time. It still wouldn't have to be a physical controller...

So, the common complain is that car manufacturers rarely deliver a vehicle that looks just like the prototype at some auto show. The reason is, that very often, some aspects of the prototype design are ultimately determined to be impractical. It seems we are now victims of the opposite problem. We got a car very close to the prototype and very little was done to address various aspects of practicality and usability.

This puts the "Porsche Design" slogan in a whole new perspective for me...

you have 100% hit the nail on the head

 

[Lfcdan]

You can set the touchpad just like you want it to be.
It's like the dail of idrive on my previous i8/i3 but more agile.
It's just something you have to get used to.
I think the idrive left/right/up/down and then press is actually annoying so I guess it's just a personal thing.
With a touchpad it goes a lot smoother and quicker imho.

not while driving!!!!

 

[evanevery]

You can set the touchpad just like you want it to be.

Great! So please tell me how I can set up a Vertical Scroll Control or PgUp/PgDn buttons on my touchpad!

It's just something you have to get used to.

You seem to misunderstand the goal of a User Interface. The INTERFACE is supposed to work for the USER. The user shouldn't have to work for the interface.

This is "GUI Design 101" stuff...

 

[Dee]

Great! So please tell me how I can set up a Vertical Scroll Control or PgUp/PgDn buttons on my touchpad!



You seem to misunderstand the goal of a User Interface. The INTERFACE is supposed to work for the USER. The user shouldn't have to be a slave to the interface.

This is "GUI Design 101" stuff...

Maybe I'm just better in adapting to a new situation.
I'm used to the menu structure (I come from BMW i8/i3) and I made the touchpad work for me.
But then again, it's a personal thing.
I'm sorry if you can't follow my kind of thinking and I don't expect you to.

 

[evanevery]

Maybe I'm just better in adapting to a new situation.

Lots of us are "adapting to a new situation". That doesn't make it a GOOD situation...

I made the touchpad work for me.

So, once again, how did you make the "Touchpad work for you"? I don't see any way to add any functionality or change the behavior of the Touchpad.

...or do you mean you just got used to it? Cause if that's what you are saying then the "touchpad made you work for it"...

 

[Dee]

Lots of us are "adapting to a new situation". That doesn't make it a GOOD situation...



So, once again, how did you make the "Touchpad work for you"? I don't see any way to add any functionality or change the behavior of the Touchpad.

...or do you mean you just got used to it? Cause if that's what you are saying then the "touchpad made you work for it"...

First of all, I really don't like the aggressive tone in your msg.
Second, you don't seem to understand the word "personal thing".
Still, I'll enlighten you cuz I think other people may find it's useful info:
Settings ->Display settings->Operating middle console->Speed of focus (set to fast).
Cuz my system is Dutch it may use different words in English but you'll get the idea:

Touchpad use:
"Previous" is just the arrow, just like the button on BMW idrive:

Or you can swipe to the top of the center display and go back just like the way you would press it with your finger.
I hope it's a bit more clear what I mean.
It really takes no effort to get used to this touchpad and I think it works great.
Again, this is my opinion, it's not a fact.

It's just like controlling your laptop, nothing hard to adapt to.

 

[evanevery]

First of all, I really don't like the aggressive tone in your msg.
Second, you don't seem to understand the word "personal thing".
Still, I'll enlighten you cuz I think other people may find it's useful info:
Settings ->Display settings->Operating middle console->Speed of focus (set to fast).
Cuz my system is Dutch it may use different words in English but you'll get the idea:

Touchpad use:
"Previous" is just the arrow, just like the button on BMW idrive:

Or you can swipe to the top of the center display and go back just like the way you would press it with your finger.
Hope it's a bit more clear what I mean.
It really takes no effort to get used to this touchpad and I think it works great.
Again, this is my opinion, it's not a fact.

Speed of Focus is interesting, but it doesn't change HOW the user interface works. It doesn't offer a more usable alternative for scrolling.

Yes, I know about the "Back Button". Unfortunately, that doesn't have anything to do with scrolling up/down. (It also brings you back to the TOP of the previous page in some instances instead of returning you to where you were when you transitioned deeper into the menus. That's a bad implementation as well...)

Yes, we have a back button. We still don't have positive scrolling control like you do with iDrive.

I'm glad you are happy with the interface. MANY of us aren't.

 

[PanameraFrank]

Like @Dee I use the touchpad all the time and it works brilliantly for me. The first person I had in the car, who's terrible with tech, started using it perfectly without prompting so apparently it's fairly intuitive.

To each their own. You can go to any car's forum and see people that hate the infotainment and find it buggy. I personally wrote off an i8 a while ago because the infotainment & buttons look terrible and cheap. But sure, if you remove aesthetics, it sure does give you leeway in making a "nicer" system.

 

[Dee]

Yes, we have a back button. We still don't have positive scrolling control like you do with iDrive.

So a touchpad doesn't have fwd scrolling?
Maybe we don't speak the same language but a touchpad is scrolling in ANY direction you want, UNLIKE BMW idrive.

 

[Gwaihir]

Like @Dee I use the touchpad all the time and it works brilliantly for me. The first person I had in the car, who's terrible with tech, started using it perfectly without prompting so apparently it's fairly intuitive.

To each their own. You can go to any car's forum and see people that hate the infotainment and find it buggy. I personally wrote off an i8 a while ago because the infotainment & buttons look terrible and cheap. But sure, if you remove aesthetics, it sure does give you leeway in making a "nicer" system.

I also like the touchpad. It’s the easiest way to move around a menu.

 

[evanevery]

So a touchpad doesn't have fwd scrolling?
Maybe we don't speak the same language but a touchpad is scrolling in ANY direction you want, UNLIKE BMW idrive.

Sure, you can SWIPE, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe,... and HOPE you don't accidentally trigger a "select". But that's not the most efficient way to do it. There is also no "inertia" in the swiping like you typically find in a tablet/phone interface.

I can also drive a nail with a pair of pliers. In fact, I can become an EXPERT at driving nails with a pair of pliers, but that doesn't make it a particularly good way to drive nails. A hammer would be a much better choice...

 

[Dee]

Sure, you can SWIPE, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe,... and HOPE you don't accidentally trigger a "select". But that's not the most efficient way to do it. There is also no "inertia" in the swiping like you typically find in a tablet/phone interface.

I can also drive a nail with a pair of pliers. In fact, I can become an EXPERT at driving nails with a pair of pliers, but that doesn't make it a particularly good way to drive nails. A hammer would be a much better choice...

Still, my reply was more constructive than yours.
Now your are heading into a direction I don't want to go in, I'm sorry.
I consider my points being explained.
It's up to you what you are going to do with it.
Nothing, apparently.
That's ok too.
I just hope I made myself clear in my points, that's all.
Have a nice day Evan.

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