The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is famous for its luxurious interiors, has made countless young ladies shout that it is hot when they get in the car. Because of this joke, many young people secretly vowed to sell a Mercedes-Benz S-Class in their lives.
So, is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class really invincible in creating a luxurious atmosphere in its interiors at the same level? Yes. At least in the past history, it has won everyone's recognition. But with the global debut of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the term "luxury interior" has been put into question.
On September 2, the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class made its global debut in multiple places simultaneously. As the fastest experience officer of the smart cockpit, I went to the Beijing Exhibition Center immediately.
Design:
From the overall layout, the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class completely abandons the previous dual-screen design and instead adopts an independent central large-screen layout. Of course, I think this design inspiration is borrowed from the layout of Roewe Marvel?
Because in most people’s minds, borrowing has always meant the latter plagiarizing the former’s successful cases in order to achieve quick results. As a century-old veteran of the automobile industry, Mercedes-Benz has no need to copy others. Homework for juniors. But you may not know that younger generations also have a good side, especially in the area of ??large car screens and smart cockpits.
In 2012, Tesla Model S taught traditional car manufacturers a lesson with its 17-inch large screen (cars can still be made like this), and it also allowed all consumers to successfully remember this New power enterprise. At that time, China on the other side of the ocean was studying how to achieve brand improvement in the automotive field. The technologically-rich cockpit brought by the large screen gave them some new ideas.
Some time after this, traditional car companies joined forces with BAT to officially compete in the market in the field of Internet of Vehicles. First, Roewe launched the world's largest 19.4-inch screen (with built-in Zebra system), GAC New Energy Aion LX launched a dual 12.3-inch cold-formed screen (with built-in Tencent Ai?in?car), and BYD came up with a 14-inch rotatable large screen (built-in BYD's self-developed Dilink system), Li Auto's 4-connected large screen (self-developed system), new power car manufacturer Byton even launched a 48-inch ultra-large screen, etc.
In short, no matter how strong the traditional hardware technologies of major European, American and Japanese manufacturers are, Chinese car companies will be as good at smart cockpits and Internet of Vehicles software ecology.
From a market perspective, this sci-fi-like large-screen interior and large-screen-based intelligent connected cockpit have indeed boosted the competitiveness of Chinese cars in the market.
On this basis, although emotions tell us that Mercedes-Benz is very good, from a rational point of view, China, as the largest market for Mercedes-Benz, caters to Chinese consumers and can learn from the innovative achievements of Chinese car companies in the field of smart cockpits. It's understandable.
Okay, I’ve talked a lot about the interior design. Next, let’s talk about the hardware solution behind the screen.
Hardware:
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class system uses 16GB of RAM and a 320GB solid-state drive, and the processor is unknown.
According to the official website, its storage bandwidth reaches 41790MB/S, and its GPU floating-point computing power reaches 691 gigaflops, which is overall at a first-class level. The powerful hardware solution ensures that this car system can still run quickly and smoothly in the background and with high cache, which is very consistent with the hardware level of million-dollar models (not bad for money).
In terms of display, there are 5 screens in the cockpit, including a 12/3-inch naked-eye 3D instrument screen, a 12.8-inch OLED central control large screen, a 10-inch rear left and right infotainment screen, and an 8-inch screen. inch rear center armrest simple control screen.
Let’s talk about the large central control screen first: First of all, 12.8 inches is not too big, and secondly, the processing of the black border is really average. In terms of display, it uses OLED material with a resolution of 1888*1700, and the display effect is sufficient. exquisite. At the same time, this screen has touch vibration feedback, which is convenient for blind operation and is practical.
Based on this, I can’t understand those people who get in the car and exclaim that Mercedes-Benz has a large and luxurious screen. Where is the luxury? First of all, the size is comparable to that of a self-owned brand A-class sedan. Secondly, there are already examples in the styling design industry, and the black frame treatment is really average.
If you insist on saying this is amazing, then Xiaomi’s transparent TV and XPS13’s 4K overload bezel display can be amazing.
Software:
If hardware is the hard power of a car, then software is the soft power of the car. Hard power determines whether the machine can be used, and soft power determines whether the machine is easy to use and whether it is satisfactory or not.
I think the soft power of a car can be evaluated from two aspects: the first is the UI design and interaction logic of the operating system, and the second is the richness and scalability of the software ecosystem.
UI design and interaction logic of the operating system
The new generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class still uses the second-generation MBUX infotainment system. ?The biggest feature of the UI design is that the option buttons are maximized and highlighted on the screen, so that each page can only accommodate three option buttons. The screen background uses a virtual map, and there are three shortcut lines designed at the top of the screen. The left is IP login, the middle is search, and the far right is split-screen delivery.
The touch interaction logic adopts a very traditional full-screen drawer style, which is very inconvenient to operate.
Let me give you an example. If I am now on the navigation page and I need to adjust the driving mode, I need to: exit the navigation, slide the page left and right to find the driving mode option, find the corresponding option, return to the desktop, and click navigation again, step 5.
Obviously, Mercedes-Benz S did not put too much imagination into the touch interaction logic. Regarding this aspect, my suggestion is that the Mercedes-Benz S-Class can also copy the Fun-life system on the domestic model Haval F5.
The Fun-Life system adopts a scene-as-desktop design (similar to a split-screen design). The left third is a customizable, unchangeable small scene, and the right three-quarters of the page are Use to display details.
Similarly, we are currently on the navigation page and need to adjust the driving mode as an example. Users only need to click on the vehicle settings directly in the small scene, find the relevant options, and then click on the small scene navigation bar for step 3. Of course, this operation can be completed in two steps, because the UI design of the scene, which is the desktop, will not be covered by the full screen when another function is opened. While operating other functions, the navigation will be reduced to a small scene window and continue to provide on-duty information.
Similarly, most functions on the Fun-Life system can be completed within two steps, while on the MBUX infotainment system, you must complete five steps step by step.
The interaction logic of the car operating system is very different from that of mobile phones. The original intention of mobile phone design is to create an immersive experience for users. The car machine is just the opposite, pursuing the ultimate simplicity. From this perspective, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the second-generation MBUX infotainment system have fallen behind compared to self-owned brand models worth 100,000 yuan.
Finally, let me mention the interaction logic between the central control screen of the Mercedes-Benz S, the two rear screens and the portable invitation screen in the central armrest.
Without any restrictions, each screen can share its own content and can also see the content displayed on the other party's screen. If you want to share the same content as the computer's split screen, just You only need to drag the content of the current screen to the location of the other party's screen to share.
At the same time, for safety reasons, the owner of the central control screen has parental rights and can turn off the two rear screens separately to prevent children from accidentally touching the driving settings while riding in the car. The two boss screens in the back row have boss permissions and can turn on privacy mode. In this case, your screen is independent, and other screens cannot share content with you, nor can you see what you are browsing at this time.
The screen in the rear center armrest can be seen as a remote control based on an Android tablet. Its main function is to facilitate rear passengers to remotely control the two screens in the rear row when they are lying down.
A rich software ecosystem can create a pleasant travel experience:
In terms of functionality, the second-generation MBUX infotainment system integrates very complex content. Swipe from left to right to view media. , APPS, store, comfort, navigation, phone, media, settings, information, etc.
Under subdivision, these functions can be classified into two categories: the first is local functions that can be used without being connected to the Internet, and the other is ecological expansion functions.
For example, functions such as radios, radio broadcasts, headlight delay shutdown, seat massage, and ambient lights are developed based on the vehicle's local hardware configuration, are built in before leaving the factory, and can be used without the need for an Internet connection. Local functions; listening to music, watching videos, playing games, chatting on WeChat and other ecological expansion functions that require real-time network to complete.
Thanks to the luxurious configuration, the local functions of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class are achieved to the extreme, and this extreme can be generally thought of as having all the local functions you can see in other cars.
In the networking function module, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class has three built-in APPs: Ximalaya Listen, Browser and Tencent Video. However, after actual experience, only Ximalaya Listen can be used, and neither Browser nor Tencent Video can be used. beat.
In terms of ecological expansion, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has an app store, but after opening it, there is no content available online.
Therefore, the functional layout of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicle system has shown serious polarization. First, the traditional functions have become more powerful than before. However, the Internet-based infotainment system and scalable ecosystem are still at the level of domestically produced cars many years ago.
In terms of ecological expansion, Mercedes-Benz S-Class staff said in an interview with niuche.com: "What we are currently showing you is not our mass production form. At the same time, our cars and machines support OYA upgrades. We will follow-up More functions will be added.”
But at the current level, apart from the driver’s pleasure, it is difficult for the Mercedes-Benz S to provide happiness to the boss in the back seat. This kind of Internet entertainment information experience. It’s not even as good as a domestic A-class sedan priced at 100,000 yuan.
New technology:
The last thing I want to introduce is the 12.3-inch naked-eye 3D instrument screen that revolutionizes the user experience brought by the new Mercedes-Benz S and the industry's largest front-mounted mass-produced HUD display .
Naked-eye 3D technology uses parallax barrier technology and certain techniques to achieve the effect of 3D images when viewing text and pictures without using special glasses. The experience is great.
It uses diffraction light field backlight (DLB?) technology. The diffraction grating and nanostructured optical waveguide device placed under the display panel achieve naked-eye 3D effects by emitting light at different angles.
From an experience perspective, this naked-eye 3D screen can create a powerful sense of spatial dimension and an immersive visual experience, which is definitely an innovative experience.
However, the naked-eye 3D display screen also has some shortcomings of its own, and its viewing angle has certain limitations. The 3D effect needs to be seen at some fixed points.
It is reported that the system uses a camera integrated in the screen to capture the position and distance of the passengers' eyes when viewing the screen, and analyzes the position of the viewer. Different perspective effects in different positions.
But the car dashboard is not like watching TV. The driver's seat is fixed, so it will not have any impact in actual use.
Finally, from the perspective of functional requirements, I think the instrument panel is not the place that most needs 3D naked-eye display.
The main job of the instrument is to provide vehicle information and assist the driver in safer driving. 3D naked-eye instruments are cool, but will the immersive experience cause safety risks due to excessive cheapness?
In contrast, I think if this 3D naked-eye display technology is used in the infotainment screen in the back seat, so that the boss in the back seat can enjoy a 3D movie during the journey, the salary increase will basically be It's stable.
In addition to naked-eye 3D display, another cool technology of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is AR-HUD (head-up display) technology.
Before talking about Mercedes-Benz AR-HUD, we must be clear that Mercedes-Benz S is not the first company to mass-produce HUD on the automotive side. Car-mounted HUD has been mass-produced on the BMW X3 before, but due to technical issues , the HUD of the BMW X3 can only be regarded as average in terms of size and richness of functions.
But from the perspective of user experience, HUD has completely solved the problem of users' sight deviation while driving, and is a major direction for the next development of the industry.
The augmented reality head-up display (AR-HUD) system on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It is reported that the new HUD display can allow auxiliary images to be displayed up to 10 meters away, and combined with driving assistance systems and navigation information, it can provide a large amount of augmented reality content.
For the driver, more displayed information blends in with the surroundings in front of the vehicle, thus helping to reduce further driving distractions. The image forming unit consists of a 1.3mm high-resolution matrix. In addition, independent reflectors and efficient light sources are based on the same technical principles as cinema projectors.
Written at the end:
We have become accustomed to using the fancy functions of new forces to complain about the conservatism of traditional car companies, but using technology to define luxury is by no means a patent of this era. Because no one would have imagined that more than 20 years ago, when people wanted their cars to have a more comfortable driving quality, Mercedes-Benz used air suspension. When people wanted a touch screen, Mercedes-Benz was in the S-class. A semiconductor LCD screen was installed on the car. When humans began to yearn for autonomous driving, Mercedes-Benz was the first car company in the world to mass-produce cars with ACC function. Which of the above was not a luxurious configuration full of technology at the time? Woolen cloth?
Today’s Mercedes-Benz S-Class uses a large screen. This is not because everyone uses a large screen, but because the large screen conforms to Mercedes-Benz’s own concept of luxury technology.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.