Remember when the only screens you’d see in a car were little dot-matrix screens that sat in between your analog gauges? They’d display really complex information to the driver such as… the time. In recent years, infotainment screens have become so massive and complex that cars are more rolling computers than they are transportation devices. This has become a point of frustration for enthusiasts. If you’re one such enthusiast, you’re going to hate the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS because it’s entire dashboard is a screen. However, if you have an open mind toward tech, you’ll see it could change the game.
It’s called the Hyperscreen and it’s the new infotainment screen for the upcoming all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS. In a nutshell, it’s one giant touchscreen that acts as the entire dashboard panel. The panel consists of three different screen sections; one for the driver’s instruments, one for the infotainment and one screen even for the front passenger. In addition to the screens, there are even two gorgeous aircraft turbine-looking air vents built into the sides of the panel.
As much as we prefer analog gauges and old-school car tech, this is actually a beautiful piece of tech. It’s sculpted to look like a traditional dashboard panel, so it doesn’t change the dashboard look we’ve become accustomed to over the past 100 years. The screens built into it also follow the contours of the panel, making them seem more cohesive and organic. And the physical air vents integrated into the panel give it depth.
Automotive purists are likely going to hate this design and BMW die-hards are going to want to crucify me for praising a Mercedes-Benz design but this Hyperscreen is as important as it is impressive. Not only does it look fantastic but it’s also the future. Hate it all you want but the Hyperscreen is likely going to be mimicked in some form or another by virtually every premium automotive brand in the world in a few years.
Most brands seem to be following Tesla’s approach to infotainment in electric cars, which is to slap a massive iPad-esque screen to the center of the dashboard. It’s cumbersome, looks awful and also seems a bit lazy, especially after seeing the Hyperscreen. What Mercedes-Benz has done is not only offer just as much technological ability as Tesla’s massive screen but done so in a great looking, far more cohesive way. It also lowers the scuttle, as there’s no screen above the dashboard. So it allows drivers and passengers to have all of the information they need, all of the slick tech they want and the classic look and visibility of an older car. It’s literally giving customers their cake and letting them eat it, too.
If having three screens built into the dashboard sounds overwhelming, fret not. Mercedes-Benz has created a rather brilliant user interface (UI) that requires almost no sub-menus. With touchscreen systems, sub-menus are often their greatest downfalls, as finding even the simplest of functions can be buried in several different sub-menu screens. However, Mercedes thought of this and created a main screen UI that houses all of the information and functions you’ll need on a regular basis, without having to dig into a single different menu. Mercedes calls it zero-layer and it’s rather slick.
Mercedes did some research and the main screen users keep up in their infotainment systems is the nav screen. So navigation is always up. However, fixed climate controls are also displayed underneath it and media, phone and car settings functions are overlayed onto the nav screen in really simple and clever ways. It all looks very intuitive and easy to use, even while driving.
This might be BMWBLOG and we’re BMW enthusiasts here but we’re also objective car enthusiasts and credit goes to where credit’s due. Mercedes-Benz deserves some credit because the Hyperscreen looks fantastic and could genuinely change the future of automotive infotainment.
