General Motors is betting that the next frontier in vehicle interiors is not bigger screens but smarter ones. The automaker has revealed a redesigned in-cabin user interface for its full-size trucks that deliberately pairs expansive digital displays with a thin row of analog buttons and knobs, an approach it plans to roll out across its portfolio.
The new interface will debut on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2027 GMC Sierra 1500 when they begin rolling off production lines later this year. It arrives at a moment when many automakers have spent the past decade replacing physical controls with ever-larger touchscreens, a trend that has drawn complaints from drivers and safety advocates alike.
At the center of the redesign is Sebastian Bauer, GM's head of human interface design, who joined the company in June 2025 after 15 years working on human interface design at Apple and Google. Bauer, a self-described car enthusiast born and raised in Munich and based in the U.S. for more than three decades, spent two years shepherding the project. He says the same design principles that govern consumer technology apply in the automotive world.
«At Apple, I really learned about rigor,» Bauer said. «You may think people don't notice, but they do. And even if they can't point it out, it's a feeling. And so that emotionality, that connection that you have, it really comes from the attention to detail. It comes from rigor, and that's something that I've very much taken away from that experience and brought here.»
The result is an interface that spreads across more than 60 inches of screen space in three separate displays, yet none of them overwhelms the driver's view. The screens blend into the dashboard rather than jutting out, and a thin line of analog controls handles common tasks such as adjusting volume or temperature. An infotainment screen positioned directly in front of the passenger seat is filtered to be completely invisible to the driver.
More important than the amount of screen space, according to Bauer, is what appears on it. His team spent considerable time winnowing down what needs to be displayed and how quickly drivers can reach the features they use most. The main instrument cluster shows primarily the speedometer and tachometer, with secondary information like time and temperature rendered much smaller. The larger center screen has been pared back to two of the most commonly used programs: navigation and, in a smaller side section, music controls.
Mike Wahlstrom, executive director of vehicle product engineering, demonstrated the system at GM's Technical Center outside Detroit. He flipped through features ranging from taking a phone call to using Google Gemini's voice-controlled AI to finding directions for setting up the truck to trailer a boat. He said paring down the center screen's default display marked a significant departure from past interfaces, most of which have been flooded with an iPhone-like grid of apps.
«We're trying to get you the information you need or the experiences you need without having to feel like you need to go find something,» Wahlstrom said. «We talk about it like rooms in a house where you don't want to feel like you're going into one room and then the next room and the next room, but more like an open concept where you can see everything and get to everything as quickly as you can.»
Bauer acknowledged that simplifying the interface required balancing new approaches with familiar standards. He was careful not to eliminate too much or replace too many common elements with novel treatments, warning that doing so «creates cognitive load.»
«I want to make sure that there is a connection point and that we make use of those neurological pathways and the muscle memory that people already have,» he said. «Why rip them out of that?»
GM took a calculated risk by building the new interface first for its full-size truck category, which represents about a third of all GM sales annually. But Bauer said the wide variety of uses among truck customers — from hauling boats to pushing snow plows to truck cabins serving as offices on construction sites — meant the interface had to be ready for almost anything. That flexibility also makes it scalable and adaptive for other vehicles across GM's portfolio, whether a performance vehicle, a utility vehicle, or a luxury model.
«It is scalable, it is adaptive, it allows us to make sure whether it's going to be a performance vehicle or a utility vehicle or a luxury vehicle, that the experience really suits the context of the car,» Bauer said.