Chinese startup Byton is moving the touchscreen to where you least expect it

Byton, a relatively unknown Chinese startup, introduced its first concept car during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2018. It’s returning to CES in 2019 to display a new version of the all

-electric design study that’s closer to production, and, surprisingly, some of the key features that made the concept stand out from the pack haven’t drastically changed.

The company published a dark teaser image on its official Twitter account that shows the yet-unnamed model’s interior. The color touchscreen normally found in or on the dashboard sits right in the middle of the steering wheel, right above a pad that presumably contains an airbag. It’s a horizontal, high-resolution iPad-like unit with eight color tiles. There are hard buttons on either side of it used to skip tracks or radio stations, set driving aids like cruise control, or return to the home menu.

Look closely and you’ll notice the screen has gotten smaller since CES 2018. We don’t know precisely how it works yet, or whether it’s a solution that will pass an American crash test, but we’re looking forward to learning more about it at CES.

Another feature that has jumped straight from concept car to near-production is the wide screen that stretches across the entire dashboard. It gives the driver information about the car and its surroundings (like navigation directions, and the amount of range left in the battery pack), displays the infotainment system, and gives the front passenger access to entertainment like movies and television shows. Byton developed the concept with level four autonomous driving in mind, so the driver will be able to ditch the navigation menu and watch Netflix sooner or later.

Technical specifications remain under wraps. To add context, the concept Byton unveiled at CES 2018 was built around a lithium-ion battery pack big enough to deliver up to 328 miles of range. Two electric motors made 523 pound-feet of torque in the SUV’s quickest configuration, and a quick-charging system delivered an 80-percent charge in 30 minutes, which is fast but not exceptionally so. Less powerful variants of the car with less driving range were expected to appear in the firm’s catalog shortly into the production run.

Launch plans — like much else — are still up in the air. In 2018, Byton promised to deliver its first series-produced car in 2019 on the Chinese market and start selling cars in America the following year. Pricing was set to start at about $45,000. Stay tuned, more concrete details about the brand’s first car will emerge in the coming days.

Source: Digitaltrends