Knobs and dials have been in decline for years now. And that’s a pity because for me they are an almost perfect UI tool.

Volume knob

  1. Knobs allow the rate of change to be chosen. You ram the volume up by quickly twisting a knob, or you can turn it slowly. Digital alternatives don’t even come close to this.

  2. A knob shows its value, permanently. A knob with an indicator shows at a glance what its current position is. We don’t need on-screen indicators. Many digital up/down buttons must be pressed for us to see what they are set to.

  3. Hands free. Once you know where a knob is, you can use it without even looking. Some buttons are like this but knobs are easier to work, and there’s only one of them to find, while buttons that replace knobs have to come in pairs.

  4. There’s just something cool about a whole range of knobs to be twisted and fiddled.

Knobs do not work digitally. Sliders are the way to go on touch screen devices. And the iPhone combines a slider with up/down buttons brilliantly. Though I wish a double-tap on the volume buttons would skip tracks like my Blackberry used to do - I guess this is a patent situation.