Multimedia System

[Philliphs]

Is it me or the multimedia system (and Nav) in Lexus cars are behind in the market?
I played with BMW, Mercedez, Audi, heck even Mazda bet Lexus system by miles.

I also played with Toyota's most recent multimedia system, exactly the same as Lexus just with different skins. The only difference is toyota still utilize touch screen and lexus is using either mouse or touchpad.

Makes me wonder why Lexus did not develop its own system rather than reskinning Toyota's system.
I know Lexus belongs to toyota, but with its scale Lexus should be able to afford its own system. I think the current system is very old and laggy.
It's like using Windows XP with skins compared to windows 8 or MacOSX.

 

[mikeavelli]

I guess it depends. I've done more than played with each system, I use them all quite frequently and they all have pros and cons but overall I think today's systems from all brands are pretty good. The biggest thing is familiarity. I do have to admit compared to Lexus for example, getting an iPhone to sync is easier in the BMW. Contrarily I prefer the Lexus screens inside an actual dash compared to these stacked screens in German cars. I do wish Lexus resolution and views were better compared to some of the Germans as well. I have to admit there are so many options I rarely use them all. I like the gas price/location feature for example but don't use it much. I rarely used Bing. In the S class, you could spend a day trying to figure out what all you want to be used before driving off lol, there are that many options.

I have to admit overall I am happy with all of them whereas in the past, I found faults pretty glaring. The industry leaders have done a great job with their multi-media systems. I am curious to try the new Audi TT/R8 with the screen in the dash.

 

[krew]

I'm not impressed with any of these multimedia systems, to be honest -- I prefer using Siri on my iPhone. The news that Lexus & Toyota have no plans to introduce Apple Airplay has me disappointed, but then I wonder if I would even use it.

 

[mikeavelli]

Siri is great, my wife has a 2013 GS so no SIRI integration and she loves using her Mobile Home.

http://www.beancotech.com/mobilehome/whatitis/

Honestly though I am super used to the knobs and buttons now. They are much better than those dual screens I've tried which are laggy, repetitive and seem like something from the 2000s.

 

[Nozomi]

Don't get me started (I may get myself banned if I speak my mind). IMHO, there are many improvements to be made to the Lexus system.

The remote touch (whether it's the track pad or the mouse) requires the driver to physically take their eyes off the road and look / hunt for the "cursor" before selecting the option. This takes time. At least with the older touch screen, the mind / eye will focus on what it wants and your finger will basically go to it (think about you walking up to a computer and grabbing the mouse - it'll take you a second or two to figure out where you're at and then "guide" the cursor to your desired option vs the iPad where your eyes / finger will be in sync). This point has been proven by many independent UI / UX designing firms.

Next would be screen layout. The great thing about MMI and other more "Germanic" systems is that their screens are somewhat consistent. Using the MMI as an example, that same turning knob / multi-directional toggle can basically perform all tasks by doing the same thing (i.e. turn left, right, push up, down, etc.) The screens (HVAC, media, navigation entry) basically work off of that premise so it's much easier to use and to be honest, much safer when you're driving.

Navigation - it sucks that there is no good way to scroll around on the map. You have to go to the edge of the screen and tap, tap, tap. Half the time, the cursor "pops" onto a command instead of staying on the map for me to tap / move the view. Again, other systems out there really excel in ease of use in this area.

Voice recognition - even with the expanded command set, it doesn't understand me half the time. Maybe it's my voice. But then again, Siri gets it spot on almost every time. So it's crazy to think that a $250 iPhone has more processing power than a $50k car (granted the DENSO supplied head unit is not $50k but a fraction of that).

There is no perfect system. I know that. All I ask is give me the option to use "traditional" dials and knobs. Do not force me to use the screen. For example, did you know that there is no fan / blower control in the LFA? Well, it's accessible via the climate control screen which requires 1 click of the MENU button, a move of the remote touch joystick until it highlights Climate, a press of the side button to enter the Climate screen, a move of the remote touch joystick to hover over the fan speed selection, and a final press of the side button to lower the fan speed. Guess what, if there was a button for fan up/down - it would be 1 button push. Yes, yes, yes. The LFA is a poor example because it was not designed with those things in mind. But it's just an example of trying to stuff everything inside a screen.

 

[Onelog]

I'm a technology specialist for the Lexus dealer here and I will be the first to say that I think our nav system is mediocre... but improving. I started in 2010, and the Gen 8 nav we have now is just leaps and bounds above the Gen 6 nav from back then.
Touching on a couple of Nozomi's points, most of which are definitely valid...
-I hate the way I have to move around the map itself in pretty much all generations of our cars too! With the NX and RC touchpad though, you do get a swipe motion which isn't the best, but it's an improvement.
-Voice recognition has also improved lots, but with people being used to SIRI, it's just not nearly there. One of the cool additions to 2015 though is the voice training which has you repeat 10 random phrases that it uses to learn accents a bit better, and I've seen it help.
-hah, I've never actually been in an LFA so I can't speak for how the climate works on it, but it seems like at least most of the consumer level vehicles have physical fan speed controls, and those that don't(I believe GX/LX), when I asked some corporate contacts, they basically said that most all customers just use the "auto" button that modulates fan speed automatically and when they want a change they just bump the temp controls, and they were eliminated to create a cleaner look on the center display area.

Being a technology specialist, a good part of my job is talking through points like these and giving any workarounds I have. I get annoyed that we don't have some of the simple user-centered controls and interfaces that other companies have, but I have to help them get the most out of what we do have and what we can actually do

 

[Nozomi]

Not a huge fan (no pun intended) of "Auto". I guess I'm just a control freak

 

[flipside909]

I want our touchscreen nav screens back. Cut out the hurdle and give us back our direct sense of control.

 

[krew]

Not a huge fan (no pun intended) of "Auto". I guess I'm just a control freak

You and my wife! I have to set it back to Auto every time I get in the CT (24° C, 75° F).

 

[mikeavelli]

Well is it the consumer's fault? People ask for bigger screens and bigger interiors and more options and it seems the only way to keep the dashboard from clutter is a knob or mouse. Clearly BMW was way ahead of its time with iDrive in the 7 series over 10 years ago. I've used the dual touchscreen on the new Acura's and Infiniti's and they are horrible, laggy, confusing and I much prefer remote touch, or Command etc....

 

[krew]

The remote touch (whether it's the track pad or the mouse) requires the driver to physically take their eyes off the road and look / hunt for the "cursor" before selecting the option. This takes time. At least with the older touch screen, the mind / eye will focus on what it wants and your finger will basically go to it (think about you walking up to a computer and grabbing the mouse - it'll take you a second or two to figure out where you're at and then "guide" the cursor to your desired option vs the iPad where your eyes / finger will be in sync). This point has been proven by many independent UI / UX designing firms.

Of all the Lexus infotainment control systems, I like the Display Audio controller the best:



Dead simple to navigate, no fumbling, no sensitivity adjustments -- it just works. I like the Remote Touch controllers, but do feel like they're trying to be too clever with the interaction. Would rather just have something that just works.