The all-new fourth generation of the crossover, which includes fresh exterior and interior styling, makes its crossover premiere in 2025 with the Chevy Equinox. Larger screens have been added to the cabin, such as a new 11.3-inch diagonal infotainment screen and an 11-inch diagonal driver information centre. Crucially, the crossover has completely abandoned physical headlamp controls in favour of these screens, which now contain the Equinox’s headlight controls.
Naturally, the 2025 Chevy Equinox is not the first vehicle to do away with physical headlamp controls; the 2023 GMC Canyon, 2024 Chevy Traverse, and 2023 Chevy Colorado all follow suit. In the meantime, it appears that the larger auto industry is taking a similar approach by doing away with real hard buttons and switches in favour of more infotainment screen settings and controls.
Currently, the infotainment screen is the only means to operate the headlights on the 2025 Chevy Equinox. Even though automatic headlamps are standard, buyers who prefer a physical control scheme may find it aggravating as the headlight controls have been moved to a screen.
Pressure to lessen reliance on microchips is one of the factors driving the transition from physical controls to digital controls displayed on a screen. when a result of the worldwide microprocessor scarcity that followed the COVID-19 epidemic, GM and the larger automotive sector suffered greatly from production halts and delays when chip supplies ran out.
It should therefore come as no surprise that The General is looking at new ways to cut the amount of chips in each car it manufactures. With the growing popularity of Tesla, which almost entirely uses a tablet-style screen in the centre stack for controls, it appears that the use of conventional controls will continue to decline.
Having said that, it’s important to note that the 2025 Chevy Tahoe and 2025 Chevy Suburban still have physical light controls. This suggests that GM’s full-size trucks and SUVs won’t be switching to digital screens for these features, at least not in the coming years.
