BYD Atto 1 Drops Its Standout Feature

Fixed screens are in and the famous rotating display is bowing out. For years, BYD models have been easy to spot thanks to one quirky feature you did not see anywhere else. A centre screen that physically spins from landscape to portrait at the tap of a button. It looked fun. It felt futuristic. It made passengers ask, wait, did your screen just move.

But the upcoming BYD Atto 1 will arrive in Australia without it. That makes it one of the first local BYD models to ditch the rotating display entirely, signalling a major shift in the brand’s approach to in-car tech.

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Why BYD Is Moving Away From Rotating Screens

Globally, the company is stepping into deeper integration with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a growing list of embedded apps. While the spinning screen was once pitched as a way to optimise different use cases, it turns out the modern software ecosystem is much more demanding.

According to BYD executive Stella Li, the rotating mechanism has become more of a limitation than a benefit. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto only work properly in landscape mode, which means portrait rotation adds little real-world usability. As the brand pushes into full Google integration in markets like Europe, the hardware complication makes even less sense.

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Li also pointed out that BYD’s customer research shows many owners barely use the rotation function at all, despite loving the novelty. The brand now wants its platforms to be more universal as it prepares for more advanced autonomous driving features.

What This Means For Australia

Although BYD’s global leadership seems ready to retire the rotating display, BYD Australia says the decision for the Atto 1 is specifically driven by what local buyers prefer. That feedback suggests Australians want larger fixed screens rather than smaller screens that rotate, even if the overall size is technically the same.

Interestingly, in the UK, the same vehicle known as the Dolphin Surf still gets the rotating 10.1 inch display. Australia is going in a different direction, opting for a more conventional layout.

And the Atto 1 is not alone. Two future SUVs destined for local showrooms, the Sealion 5 and seven seat Sealion 8, will also use fixed displays. Even Denza models, the luxury sub brand launched here this month, previously featured rotating screens overseas but are shifting toward static setups as well.