A closer look at Mercedes-Benz Hyperscreen

Rather than having a big tablet screen in the center, the Hyperscreen tries to turn the entire dashboard into a screen. It's made up of what seems to be three individual displays under one curved panel measuring 56 inches wide and powered by an eight-core CPU with 24 gigabytes of RAM. The screens themselves are OLED units like what you'll find in the Cadillac Escalade, and they have haptic feedback actuators. In front of the driver is the instrument display, the main infotainment is in the center, and there's a third display in front of the passenger, not unlike the layout shown in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer concept. This third display can either be a design accent or provide entertainment for the passenger.

Transcript

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GREG MIGLIORE: Welcome back to our live coverage of CES 2021. I'm Greg Migliore, editor in chief of "Autoblog." We're here to talk some cars. Joining me right now is Terrence O'Brien, the managing editor of "Engadget."

We just saw a pretty big reveal there, the Hyperscreen. I almost want to call it the Hypescreen because it's such a big deal, I think, for Mercedes-Benz. This is the latest evolution of their very sophisticated infotainment system. It's going to stretch all across the dashboard-- all across the cabin, really-- 56 inches. It's one of the biggest, I think, dashboards and electronic infotainment systems we've ever seen. Everything is integrated into it, except the vents, which are functional, and even they look pretty good, I think.

So Terrence, when you look at this, I mean, do you think this does enough for them? Is this enough-- big enough of a step forward? I'm pretty excited, just watching the reveal today. As we know, Mercedes always has a very big presence at CES. But I'm curious your take. Do you think this really lets them compete with Tesla and some of the other infotainment systems out there?

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: I mean, I think so. I'm going to be frank here, not going to pretend to be an expert on infotainment systems, necessarily. But you know, I've been covering CES for-- I've lost track of how many years. I think this is year 12 now.

This is easily the most futuristic-looking infotainment system I've seen in a car that will actually come to market-- they said soon during the press event, but they didn't give a specific date. But we are expecting sometime in 2021 that the Hyperscreen is going to end up in the EQS luxury EV. So that's pretty exciting, especially a guy like me, who's primarily used to dealing with, like, 7-inch resistive touchscreens in his dashboard.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I think that's a great point. The EQS is going to be Mercedes's top-of-the-line electric sedan. The S in sort of the naming scheme coincides with S-Class, which is, of course, their big luxury liner. It's always been the flagship Mercedes sedan. So the EQS going to be the flagship electric sedan for them. And I think that's entirely logical to launch something like this in a vehicle that is so critically important.

You know, this is really becoming a trend in the industry. Cadillac, which I think we're going to hear a bit more from tomorrow, is going to launch, you know, another sophisticated screen in the Lyric. They've also rolled up several screens in the current Escalade, which you can actually buy now.

The screens kind of vary a little bit in application and the different technologies they use. The Cadillac one, for example, has several OLED screens, which is what we're going to see here in the Mercedes application. And I think it's really-- it's an interesting way to sort of bridge what we're seeing in, like, TVs, laptops, just the general consumer electronics industry, and bring it into, you know, the inside of your car. And I really think that's the way the future is going to be here, at this point.

You know, Tesla was one of the pioneers by basically putting, you know, this, like, screen in the middle of the Model S that really looked like-- at the time, we just called it, like, an iPad. But it wasn't really well placed. It did feel a little kind of, like, clunky.

And for a while, that was almost the way car companies were doing it. They were like, hey, let's take this touchscreen-- you know, whack-- put it right there in the middle and, you know, add all that functionality. What I think is cool about the EQS application and the Cadillac and a few other ones is it is so well positioned and integrated to really be part of that experience.

So I'm pretty excited about it. It's a curved dash, which it's interesting, you know, when you look at that panel, that's a really old term in the car business. It goes back to, like, the '40s or '50s. Oldsmobiles used to have curved dashes for entirely different reasons. But it's interesting just to see that sort of shape kind of is, you know, sort of repeating itself in a far different application here in 2021.

You know, it's also a good way, I think, to rethink the interior. Traditionally, even the dashboard-- like, above the instrument panel, above the controls, you had a lot of leather. You had stitching and, frankly, a lot of just empty space. By making this stretch all the way out, you're making it feel more, like, organic and, I think, connected to the car, which is kind of a cool thing.

You know, we'll see. The way these things usually work is they're available on, like, the top-end trims. So you do have to pay a good deal more to make sure that you get this, which is always tricky. Otherwise, like, the base EQS, if you will, would probably have a more simpler system. That's what, I think, Cadillac is going to do as well. So I mean, I'm excited to see this type of technology grow in the auto industry. I think we'll see it more in the luxury sector, too.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: I mean, that's one of the big--

GREG MIGLIORE: I'm curious, too--

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: --questions for me is do we have any idea how much the EQS is going to cost and how much this is going to add to the price of the vehicle? You know, a 56-inch OLED screen in your car, it can't be cheap. There's a reason why most people don't have 60-inch OLED screens in their living room right now so wondering how much that's going to add. But I assume the EQS is aimed at people for whom price is no object, right?

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you would sort of, again, make that sort of parallel that the S-Class Mercedes's most expensive sedan and that car is that cheap, then if you had some electrification to it with the EQS-- I don't-- I think if you could afford the EQS, you can certainly afford the-- you know, the screen, the Hyperscreen, if you will.

I think, you know, what's kind of cool, too, is just how colorful and futuristic it looks. Because sometimes, when you're in the market for an electric vehicle, you, I think, by nature-- maybe not at this point, but just in general-- electric vehicle buyers are early adopters. You know, they're people who want to try a different technology. They want to get away from filling up at the pump, and they want something that's new and different.

And sometimes you would get into hybrids or even full electric vehicles, and it often seemed like the dashboard didn't match, like, the under-the-hood battery technology. And I think that's really cool here, that, you know, with the EQS and some other vehicles, it seems like the inside is catching up to the outside.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: Yeah, and I think, just going back to the point you made earlier about Tesla being one of the first to integrate this-- and I think Mercedes's current MBUX system is still that-- sort of, like, seems like an iPad slapped in the middle of the seat style, right?

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Yeah, that's right. I-- I've tested a number of Mercedes--

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: [INAUDIBLE]

GREG MIGLIORE: --vehicles over the years, and it does have that kind of almost, like, Garmin feel, like hey, you know, you bought this thing at Costco, and you're going to slap it in the middle of your car. Mercedes has some of the nicest interiors, I think, in the business.

So you know, the way I look, you know, maybe five, 10 years out of the future, you'll be able to get a sophisticated, like, all, you know, digital screen like this if you want, or maybe you'll be able to get one that's, like, halfway screen and then halfway more structural with, like, leather and stitching and more hard points like that.

I think they're going to play to a number of different markets. And you know, that makes sense, you know? That's how Mercedes has been in business since, like, 1886 or something is they know their customer. They're not afraid to take risks and try new things.

And you know, especially for a brand like them, there is always that risk of, you know, having a luxury car that does seem a little, like, you know, stuck up or something. I think the EQS is going to be a vehicle that's legitimately cool. And you know, as we look at, like, electrification, as it becomes more broadly, you know, available-- not just Tesla not just, like, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf and things like that-- you know, you're going to see, like, electric vehicles just become cooler, become the norm. And you know, I, for one, am excited about that.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: Yeah, I mean, I'm excited about that, too. You know, I-- I'm the kind of guy who's normally a relatively early adopter. I am not when it comes to automobiles, though, for a number of different reasons. But I'm definitely excited to see electric vehicles pick up a more, like you said, cool vibe, try to put out a little bit of a less granola image to themselves.

I am wondering, though, you know, is this going to be the way forward, as well, for lower-level vehicles? Do you see this, like, wraparound screen technology coming to more mainstream sedans, or is this going to be the sort of thing that is primarily relegated to the high-end stuff for the foreseeable future?

GREG MIGLIORE: You know, I would probably put that at maybe six, seven years out before we start to see, like, even mid-level applications of these. But you never know. Like, Ford rolled out Sync, which was actually kind of roundly criticized because it didn't work very well, about 10 years ago. And they put that in everything, from, like, the Fusion to the Taurus and the Explorer. And that was certainly a risk, you know, going down that road with, like, mainstream vehicles.

I think right now, what you're going to see is maybe these really high-end curved dash, curved glass panels is sort of like the add-on. So you want to get the tech package? OK, that's an extra couple thousand dollars. You go with that. But then if you're willing to pay maybe even more, hey, you could get this really sophisticated dashboard. And I think that's usually how pricing strategies break down, even for luxury automakers.

The trick, too, will be how much this development cost, and how much does that become, you know, democratized? How much to do suppliers sort of learn how to make the stuff maybe cheaper? And that's when, suddenly, you'll start seeing this, you know, more commonly on, like, Chevys and Nissans and more mainstream vehicles.

Ultimately, that's usually how the industry goes is these really sophisticated, expensive technologies start with the luxury brands because that's really where you can charge more money. Nobody would question saying, oh hey, the Mercedes electric vehicle cost this much. People might question if you were trying to charge that much for a Chevy or a Toyota. So like you, I'm really curious to see what the pricing is going to be.

But you know, at the end of the day, we already have a lot of this stuff in cars right now, you know? It's just bigger, and you can do more stuff with it. So we'll see. I mean, artificial intelligence, stuff like that, you know, that's something Mercedes touched on today, that will sort of learn as you, like, do certain things, make certain calls at certain times. I think that's cool. And I think people are going to start demanding that, too, so you know, we'll see.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: Yeah, and I'm interested to see how that works out in, you know, practicality, how that shapes up in day-to-day life. That's one of the things I'm more interested to see come to the consumer level, as well. You know, I don't personally need a 56-inch wraparound screen in my car. But if my car knows the moment I get in it on, like, Sunday afternoon I'm going to the supermarket and pulls up directions and maybe my shopping list and has it ready to go for me, that's something I'd be kind of into.

But I will admit that I am slightly skeptical of that promise. You know, Google and Apple have been talking about putting that sort of stuff in your hand on your phone for years, and it works OK, I think. It's a little hit and miss at times.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, you know what's interesting about that, I think this is perhaps the challenge for car companies as well as tech companies, is where do people want this type of service? Do you want it on your phone? Do you want it on your car? What works better for you? I mean, I don't know about you, but whenever I go somewhere, I still, more often than not, just throw the address in my-- like, in my phone and roll from there.

You know, I love testing cars. I love testing out infotainment systems, but it's tricky sometimes to figure out how to use them, you know? Sometimes I forget how to use the infotainment system in my own car.

So I think, a lot of times, what, you know, we'll see-- and I think that will help determine where the market goes-- is how does the consumer want this. You know, I mean, barely 10 years ago, people were still printing maps from MapQuest because that's what the easiest thing to do was at your office. You know, and everything literally changed overnight with Apple Maps, Google Maps, things like that. It became just so much easier to do it on your phone and keep things-- you know, just taking you where you want to go.

And there's certainly a big market out there for, you know, other companies. You know, can you partner with, you know, like, a grocery store that will already have, you know, your list curated for you and ready to go? Can you partner with, you know, like, a headphone company that might want to sell you some advertising? You know, it's, like, you know, pre-rolled before you even get in the car, you hear your directions.

So to me, the car could become, like, the next frontier of advertising, you know? I hope it doesn't look like, you know, some of those, like, soccer jerseys you see on European teams. But I mean, honestly, it could be the next frontier. And when you see technology like the Hyperscreen offering all sorts of possibilities, to me, it becomes more of a question of not if, but when.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: And I guess, I want to-- I do want to take one big step back, just because this is actually something I've worried about-- I've wondered about, as a more casual car driver, car owner. What is the market like still for these customized, you know, infotainment systems? I'm a guy who gets into his car, plugs his phone in, and just uses his Android Auto. And I don't think I've ever actually interacted with the, like, built-in Subaru infotainment system, whatever it's called these days.

GREG MIGLIORE: So it really is sort of, like, you know, a case-by-case basis. I mean, some people, I think if you own the car and maybe the infotainment system is why you purchased it in the first place or one of the, like, key considerations, that you do learn to adopt and use it and probably enjoy it. But I would venture to guess, most people get in cars, even cars they own, and still just throw up their phone.

Because usually, when you're, like-- before you even make the decision to leave your house, you know, especially in this, like, pandemic environment we live in, you're probably figuring out, what route do I want to take? Is it busy at that point? Should I go right now? Should I maybe wait a couple hours? People are already making those decisions on their phones.

So I think, really, the automakers that can win and the electronics companies that can win are the ones that find that middle ground in how you smooth the transition into your car. And that's why I think Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were, you know, really successful, especially when they launched.

They still are successful because what they did is they just made the solution simpler. They didn't invent a new solution. They just made it easier. They made your life easier. That's all part of it.

So I mean, the Hyperscreen, to me, is sort of like-- it's almost like the highest evolution of the dashboard. We'll see if that, frankly, is what people want. It might also become, like-- you know, I mean, BMW rolled out a thing where you could, like, sort of twirl your fingers, and that would change the radio or turn the-- your audio up on your-- you know, in your radio. And it's still in cars. I test drove a BMW a couple of weeks ago, and it was there. And I thought to myself, I don't think people really want this. It's easier just to turn the knob.

So you know, part of the Hyperscreen, too, though is aesthetics. It really looks awesome. I mean, I'm sure you've watched the video a couple of times, like I have. I think it looks great. It's the kind of thing that even if-- like, I think a lot of it's going to be, like, dead space, too. Like, it's not 100%, like, every inch of it is you, you know, hit something and it does something. But you know, aesthetically, it's going to look beautiful.

You know, the other thing, too, is, like, will it be distracting? I don't think so. Automakers have generally found a way to make it so these things aren't, especially, when they're saying that they're going to go into production. But you know, we'll see.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: Yeah, that's always my big question, too, with these things. Having a giant screen in my face seems like it might be a little bit problematic when I'm trying to keep my eyes on the road. It seems like they're putting a lot of thought into how to minimize the distraction, but some of the graphics they showed, especially the one that appeared to be, like, a UFO flying down, trying to destroy the Death Star or something, I was confused as to what that visualization was all about and why it would be front and center in your dashboard.

GREG MIGLIORE: So yeah, I'm right there with you. I don't have the faintest idea what they were going for with that. But one thing I did like, and this is pretty common right now on a number of luxury vehicles or even many cars in general, is, like, the dual gauges right in front, where it's, like, you see the tachometer, the speedometer, and you customize it.

I think that's a really good feature because it's just like-- it's right in front of your face. It's circular. It does look, like, traditional, if you will. And I think that's really just, you know, a nice experiment or a nice sort of experiment in this, like, you know, pretty groundbreaking, you know, play for them. So you know, we'll see.

I think, you know, sometimes when you take steps like this where you really advanced technology, you want to go, like, give people something that's comforting but also, you know, put the big screen with the UFO landing over here. And then right in front of you, be like, hey, here's the speedometer, that sort of thing.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: Yeah, I'm interested to see, again, what it actually will look like. I agree that, like, dual-meter thing, like being able to customize that and have that information right in front of you, seems super useful. You know, I'm, again, a guy who's only recently upgraded to, like, a modern vehicle. I was driving, like, a 2006 Scion until, like, about two years ago.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: So this is-- a lot of this is all fairly new to me. But it is very exciting to see how quickly it's advanced. And yeah, I do want to see, like, the actual production, like, get behind a wheel, be able to dial up what I, personally, want to be able to keep my eye on, and then put it where it would make the most sense. I think that's the, like, selling point to me is the customizability of it.

I-- one of the things, like, if on my old Scion, the speedometer was, like, in the middle of the dashboard. It wasn't behind the steering wheel. And that was, like, a thing that was distracting. I didn't know why it was there. It meant I had to take my eyes off of it. Whereas in my new car, there's limited customizability, but there is a screen, and I can choose what that screen behind the steering wheel displays. And this is clearly, like, even far more advanced than that. So that's, like, the thing that gets me, as a more casual driver.

GREG MIGLIORE: It's interesting because car companies, especially in the luxury space-- like, when I think of Mercedes, I tend to think of what are, you know, BMW and Audi doing. And Audi rolled out a digital cockpit that was-- jeez, this was probably five, six years ago at least-- seven years ago, even. And it's slowly roll out across their lineup.

And it's the same idea. It's just not quite as extravagant, not quite as functional as this, although it can be when you, like, really add in all the different options and different things. And that-- to your point, Terrence, is it's configurable. If you want certain things to be here, you can. If you want certain things to be over there-- or in the case of the Audi, you could turn things off, which I think is kind of a nice feature as well.

It originally rolled out on the Audi TT, I want to say, which is a sports car, which they actually no longer make, which shows you how long this technology has been around, in some cases. And the idea was, if you wanted to have a really simple experience in your sports car, you could do that.

And I think, you know, in certain cars, like, you know, say, a Ford Mustang, even the new Tesla Roadster, you're going to want a very minimalist experience. You're just going to want to be able to have, like, the-- like, the performance metrics in front of you and maybe the nav screen and that's it.

And I think when you look at vehicles like the EQS, which-- you know, as I was looking at some of the electric vehicles they're planning to roll out, like, the E-line, if you will, we know about at least three of them, and the S is going to be by far the most expensive. And we expect the Hyperscreen is going to be sort of, like, an option on top of that. So you're really talking about the top of the food chain here.

We've heard about an EQA, an EQE, which sort of, like, you know, stretches the line up of Mercedes, like, traditional cars. They just have, like, the EQ designation at the front of it.

So you know, again, I think it's good to point out that a lot of the Hyperscreen is, you know, really at the top of-- like, the tip of the spear, to use that cliche, if you will. It's something that you're not going to see on every Mercedes electric vehicle. But after a couple of years, they're going to start to use that technology roll it out across more of the EQ line-up. And then, you know, who knows? Maybe we'll even see it in some of the regular-- the regular-- Mercedes, if you will.

So you know, I'm excited to see what direction it goes. I think-- you know, again, they really put a lot into this that I think takes Mercedes to a place that's a little bit farther than they've traditionally gone. And I think that's really smart right now, as an automaker. You don't want to just look at, like, even just traditional applications, like electrification and infotainment system and how can you optimize your fuel economy and your traditional, like, internal combustion engines and then just design.

You want to think, what's next? What else? And for me, that means taking places like the interior, the infotainment system, the dashboard and completely reinventing it and making it something that really just is special, different, and even a reason you might want to buy the car.

I don't-- you know, interior is definitely-- it should be a strong purchase consideration for people. And I think it is because it's where you spend all your time. But I would venture to guess, most people buy a car-- or many people buy a car simply because of how it looks when you're sort of making that calculus. So we'll see.

I mean, I think-- Mercedes, you know, the press conference was pretty short. I mean, it's a virtual show this year, so that's OK. I feel like maybe if the show was in person, they might have drawn it out a little bit more, and that's OK. You know, it's 2021.

But they have-- they've invested in CES, you know? They showed that avatar concept a year or two ago. They, traditionally, have just brought something to CES to let the world know that they're there. Not every automaker has done that and I think that's smart. They are getting their brand, the idea of what a Mercedes can be in front of, you know, all sorts of different customers, you know? And I think that's a really smart move, so--

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: And I mean, forgive me, but I'm not 100% up on this. But usually, Detroit Auto Show shortly follows CES, right?

GREG MIGLIORE: That's right. I think, you know, usually, it's right now, in fact. I was just thinking to myself, it's a little odd not to be getting ready for the-- you know, the Detroit Auto Show. And it's, obviously, not going to take place this year until, I think, the fall.

As a journalist, I've actually enjoyed being able to focus just on CES this year, as opposed to, like, essentially watching, monitoring two shows. And I'm sure, probably, the automakers and tech companies feel the same way, actually. It's kind of good to have that more precise focus, if you will.

So yeah, I mean, and a lot of times, what we've seen in the last couple of years is car companies would sort of have to make a call. What do you want to show at CES? What do you want to show at Detroit? What do you want to show at New York, which is only a couple of months away traditionally? Usually it's in March or even early April. The Los Angeles Auto Show, oftentimes, was in late November, early December.

So there really was this just like back-to-back-to-back, like, cadence of auto shows. And then with the pandemic, they've all sort of paused, if you will, until, you know, at least probably the summer or fall. The Detroit show didn't move first to the summer, I think, and now they've moved to the fall again. So I mean, I guess that's kind of life right now in 2020, 2021 is all plans are pending.

But one thing I think automakers always did a good job of doing with CES is they would take something that maybe might not play at a traditional auto show, like something that wasn't a working car with four wheels and, like, an engine, and then they would roll it out at CES and say, well, check this out here.

It was a great place to gauge reaction, a great place to try and get people to think differently about their brand. And I think it's always a good thing to do. You want to have a philosophy where you're bring in new customers, attracting new types of people to think about your car company in a different way.

So from that standpoint, you know, CES seems relatively quiet this year, from an automaker perspective. So from that standpoint, I actually kind of applaud Mercedes for having something and showing it and having us talk about it. I mean, that's a good thing. I think they're raising the conversation.

TERRENCE O'BRIEN: Yeah, I mean, that was one thing that I did notice going into the CES. Over the last couple of years, CES has kind of morphed into an auto show in a lot of ways. A lot of companies rolling in with, like you said, these high-concept, maybe not going to be available immediately or ever things, and then this year, a little bit quieter. They stepped back, which, I guess, isn't terribly surprising, seeing as how we can't all be there to test drive their weird concepts in person.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I think it's-- my-- as just an auto journalist, I think I kind of enjoy that they're pulling back a little bit from CES to give it-- I mean, to give us a breather. But I think it also made it a little easier to sort of differentiate, like, what they're trying to do, what their mission was.

But I will say this, a few years ago, there were multiple, like, crazy, far-out things, like Faraday Future and NIO, a lot of companies that-- have some fun, you know, googling and seeing what they're up to right now. And a few years ago, it seemed like all that stuff was going to happen at CES, and then it hasn't. So I think, you know, obviously, some of that's economic. Some of it's market driven.

But that was something I always really liked about CES is you would see these, like, you know, companies that really weren't on most people's radar. And then they'd pop up, and they had some good ideas. And they might go somewhere, but they might not. So to me, it was really a nice, like, incubator, if you will, for technology. All right.

Well, I think we've covered the Hyperscreen pretty well. I think we hit it pretty hard. I had fun talking with you, Terrence. I'm excited to see what Mercedes does next. We can leave it right there.

The next segment, we're going to see what Intel is doing at 1 o'clock Eastern time. Stay tuned for the official Best of CES Awards. Those are coming up on Wednesday at 4:30 PM Eastern. It's been fun being with you guys. We'll see you later.