GM Refuses The Urge To Go Vertical With Its Screens
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At least thus far, GM has continued to eschew vertically-oriented infotainment screens for both its ICE-powered vehicles and its growing cache of EV models. The vertical implementation of center stack infotainment screens of the Ram 1500 and F-150 Lightning give us an opportunity to address the very design direction that started with Tesla cars.
When the current-gen Ram 1500 – a chief competitor to GM’s Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra – launched for the 2019 model year, it offered a large vertical 12-inch infotainment screen dominating the center stack and lighting up the automotive world.
Large, vertically-oriented screen in 2019-present Ram 1500
At that time, various folks reviewed the truck and opined on the screen, with some liking it, while also taking issue with its vertical orientation. MacRumors writer Eric Slivka perhaps said it most eloquently: “I do also still have some concerns about the shift toward increasingly large touchscreens in vehicles, which can make it harder to make changes by feel and end up taking your eyes off the road for longer. A portrait display magnifies these issues by bringing significant portions of the display lower on the center stack and away from the driver’s line of sight. I would have appreciated it if the display could have been moved all the way to the top of the stack to minimize this issue as much as possible.”
Our thoughts exactly. By comparison, General Motors has elected to use a horizontal orientation of its screens, enabling drivers to quickly gather information via an “eye sweep” across the dash, reducing distractions by minimizing time away from watching the road. This horizontally-oriented approach makes even more sense when we consider that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both display information in a horizontal rectangle format, and Tesla – known for its large, vertically-oriented screens, doesn’t support either of the two technologies.
Large, vertically-oriented screen in 2022 Ram 1500 running Apple CarPlay
Interestingly, Ram has announced that its Uconnect 5 infotainment system will allow Apple CarPlay to “occupy the entire space” of the pickup truck’s 12-inch vertical screen for the 2022 model year. That’s seems puzzling, as it brings a driver’s eyes down and away from the road, especially the recently-used app icons, which are small and near the bottom of the screen, making them difficult to find and tap. This new, one-off iteration seems like more of a concession for Ram to fill its (not ideally-oriented) vertical screen that it’s so proud of rather than honoring Apple’s stringent design ethos and declaration that “CarPlay is a smarter, safer way to use your iPhone while you drive.” But wait, there’s more.
Large, vertically-oriented screen in 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
The all-electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning – a rival to GM’s GMC Hummer EV Pickup and upcoming Silverado E – has followed Ram’s suit with a large, vertical center stack screen. Meanwhile, Tesla – the company that pioneered vertical screens with the debut of the Model S back in 2012 – has shifted to horizontal screens for all of its models. GM seems to agree with that direction, as it has continued to go horizontal, and in a big way – literally.
For example, the all-new 2021 Cadillac Escalade features an impressive, industry-first 38-inch curved screen that includes infotainment, a driver control panel, and the instrument cluster, all in a horizontally-oriented configuration.
2021 Cadillac Escalade features an industry-first 38-inch curved screen, including digital gauge cluster and infotainment screen
The upcoming GMC Hummer EV Pickup and SUV will feature a 13.4-inch infotainment display and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster as standard. The horizontally-oriented infotainment screen is identical in both vehicles.
13.4-inch center infotainment display in GMC Hummer EV Pickup and SUV
Similarly, the upcoming all-electric 2023 Cadillac Lyriq features an enormous 33-inch display, which – similar to the unit in the aforementioned 2021 Escalade – provides readouts for the instrumentation and infotainment, as well as various onboard controls, all in a – you guessed it – horizontally-oriented fashion.
2023 Cadillac Lyriq features a 33-inch display comprised of the digital gauge cluster and center infotainment screen
The refreshed 2022 Silverado continues the horizontal trend, offering the same screens sizes of the GMC Hummer EV modes on mid- to high-end trim levels. That gives the refreshed 2022 Silverado 1500 one of the biggest infotainment touchscreens in its class at 13.4 inches. the center infotainment screen is complemented by a 12.3-inch, all-digital instrument cluster.
Refreshed 2022 Silverado 1500 offers a horizontally-oriented 13.4-inch display
It even appears that the upcoming, all-electric Silverado E will have a huge, curved, horizontal screen similar to the units used in the Lyriq and Escalade. The new electric truck will be unveiled during the opening ceremony of the 2022 CES show via a keynote delivered by General Motors CEO Mary Barra on Wednesday, January 5th, 2022.
A teaser of the upcoming all-electric Silverado E seems to feature a huge, horizontally-oriented display
And, last but not least, there’s the refreshed 2022 GMC Sierra 1500. Like the 2022 Silverado 1500, it also gets a new, 13.4-inch center infotainment screen that is very much horizontally-oriented. Chalk one up for the wide screen camp.
Refreshed 2022 Sierra 1500 offers a horizontally-oriented 13.4-inch display
GM’s approach also speaks to its desire to go way beyond screen size as a critical measure, and instead focus on how well the complete package of screen design works to fulfill the goal of quickly providing critical and important information and controls to drivers. The solution involves a large, fully configurable digital information cluster (digital gauge cluster) plus a large infotainment screen with a logical orientation, along with an intuitive user interface.
Available 13.4-inch center display in the refreshed 2022 Silverado 1500
As GM puts it regarding the refreshed 2022 Silverado, “Silverado’s new infotainment screen is the centerpiece of the more intuitive technology and is paired with a new digital, configurable instrument cluster. Together, they provide customers with a bold, panoramic, and at-a-glance view of the important vehicle feature readouts and infotainment settings.
“The configurable cluster and infotainment display are designed to engage customers with new levels of personalization and intuitive interaction. It starts the moment the driver slides behind the wheel and the driver information center comes to life. The available Rear Camera Mirror and Head-Up Display take the total to four technologically advanced screens, each helping provide an engaging and comprehensive driving experience.”
Refreshed 2022 Silverado 1500 offers this 12.3-inch, all-digital instrument cluster
So while the Ram and F-150 Lightning both offer large vertical screens, Chevy’s refreshed 2022 Silverado 1500 and 2022 Sierra 1500 deliver large screens that are elegantly integrated into the cockpit, delivering effortless scanning and control to the ever-increasing amounts of data and information available in a modern motorized vehicle.
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The GMC Sierra has the most “built-in” design. Chevrolet looks a little added on, with the cubby hole behind it, but still looks nice. The vertical screen vehicles all look as if they were added as an afterthought. GMC by far the best!
Not a fan of the Ford screen, but I have to say, gluing a dial with a capacitive stylus to it for volume control is a great hack.
Keep the screen, I don’t want it or need it.
When is the 2022-2023 chevy avalanche going to come to 2022-2023