It's funny to hear you praise that wheel, because internally (in the cloud software division, not hardware) everyone pretty regularly derides it. Of course our only interactions with the hardware are disembodied head units that we're paying 100% attention to, not trying to use out of the corner of our eye while driving.
This is one advantage of smaller teams -- the hardware and software people can communicate needs more effectively, like the importance of tactile controls. From threads like this I think the mistake the industry has made is prioritizing "hands-free" (and mechanical parts reduction) when what we really need is "eyes-free".
