15.5" infotainment screen vs. 12" screen

[FordLightning]

My main concern is “light bleed”. I made the mistake of buying a 2015 base Infiniti QX60 (which is a decent vehicle for the price), but I didn’t want to pay for any upgrades (at the time, the AV was very outdated).

The most hated item on my QX60 is the screen. The light bleed is terrible with no way to turn off. I have brightness and contrast turned down almost all the way.

Question: Does anyone know if these screens can be turned off at night? I wish these were OLED for the blackness in the unlit areas. Anyone have experience with the 12” on the F-150 or 15” on the Mach-e care to share their feedback?

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[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

I currently drive a Mach-e, which has the same 15" screen. I like the interface as a whole, and it keeps getting better with each update.

In fact, just a few days ago, the CarPlay experience changed completely. It's no longer a rectangle with the same look and feel as prior versions. It looks like it grew about 50% taller, allowing the menu to move to the bottom instead of the left.

That said, I would much rather have buttons for the seat temperature, fan, heat & A/C, defrost, and especially opening the back door. I don't like tapping, then dragging things that could be done with a button or dial.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

I know as soon as I can get one I’ll be trying to put it in my truck. I dig the large screen and layout.

 

[FordLightningMan]

A few random thoughts:

1) When using the 360 camera, the 15 inch screen will be amazing. Extra screen room for navigation will also consistently be nice.
2) I don't personally like the vertical layout. I watch YouTube in my Tesla often, if the screen was flipped vertically the experience wouldn't be nearly as good.
3) How many static controls will be on the 15 inch screen at all times? The volume knob takes a lot of screen too, what percentage of the 15 inch is wasted? If it's roughly the same amount of space as the physical buttons, don't you largely end up in the same place?

I think Ford's software will ultimately decide what screen is better. If the larger screen has the software that maximizes its space, there's no doubt it will be the premium option. This will mean the software smartly removes screen clutter, while simultaneously not requiring multiple button presses for basic features. But if there's a lot of static info, volume knob taking space, and black bars on media to get proper aspect ratio; then I'd rather have the 12 inch. We'll have a better idea in about 6 months!

 

[LightningShow]

I really wanted the 12" with solid buttons for the HVAC but it wasn't enough of a dealbreaker to skip the other upgrades that come with the Lariat. I'll learn to live with it just fine, I'm sure.

EDIT: My Bolt has the seat heater buttons on the screen (other HVAC are hard buttons). It's not too bad because they are always on the screen, which I think is how the Ford system works. I've driven Teslas where you have to dig into multiple levels to get some of the HVAC stuff. That is unbelievably annoying.

 

[sotek2345]

I really wanted the 12" with solid buttons for the HVAC but it wasn't enough of a dealbreaker to skip the other upgrades that come with the Lariat. I'll learn to live with it just fine, I'm sure.

EDIT: My Bolt has the seat heater buttons on the screen (other HVAC are hard buttons). It's not too bad because they are always on the screen, which I think is how the Ford system works. I've driven Teslas where you have to dig into multiple levels to get some of the HVAC stuff. That is unbelievably annoying.

Same boat. Though I was far less concerned about the larger screen and lack of physical buttons after my wife got her Mach-e. It just works great!

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

A few random thoughts:

1) When using the 360 camera, the 15 inch screen will be amazing. Extra screen room for navigation will also consistently be nice.
2) I don't personally like the vertical layout. I watch YouTube in my Tesla often, if the screen was flipped vertically the experience wouldn't be nearly as good.
3) How many static controls will be on the 15 inch screen at all times? The volume knob takes a lot of screen too, what percentage of the 15 inch is wasted? If it's roughly the same amount of space as the physical buttons, don't you largely end up in the same place?

I think Ford's software will ultimately decide what screen is better. If the larger screen has the software that maximizes its space, there's no doubt it will be the premium option. This will mean the software smartly removes screen clutter, while simultaneously not requiring multiple button presses for basic features. But if there's a lot of static info, volume knob taking space, and black bars on media to get proper aspect ratio; then I'd rather have the 12 inch. We'll have a better idea in about 6 months!

The 15" screen on my Mach-E truly is wonderful and Ford is DEFINITELY going to eventually make that the standard.

Some of the static controls are somewhat dynamic. Sometimes the controls are large, and sometimes they shrink, and other times they vanish entirely unless you scroll or drill down to find them.

The main screen also anticipates the features it *thinks* you want to use at that moment. For example, when I'm at a job site, I tend to check my tire pressure just in case I picked up a nail and spring a leak, so the tire pressure will be visible all the time until it's pushed away by something else like Navigation, or even one of the games.

If you follow Sandy Munro's channel, the strange thing about larger screens is that they're actually a cost SAVINGS to manufacture. It's far cheaper to put as many features into software than it is to manufacture physical buttons and dials, not to mention all those wiring harnesses behind each one. Tesla's cars have virtually zero buttons. Just one big screen.

The strange paradox is Ford is saving money in parts with the top of the line models, yet the Pro and XLT models have a ton of extra buttons and dials that actually cost them more in the end. The only savings is from the fact that they've got a bunch of those parts on hand from the ICE models.

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