It had nothing to do with being a good idea. It was just the more profitable idea. Tactile controls cost more to install than a cheap touchscreen with a dogshit GUI. Bonus being you have a proprietary part, the consumer can’t easily swap out later if they want. So you’ve baked in some nice obsolescence to boot.
Ain’t capitalism great? Race to the bottom.
Agreed. When I said “install,” I meant everything, really. R&D, design, manufacturing, installation, etc. Even so, touchscreens are not a suitable replacement and never will be.