I recently realized that my + and - zoom buttons disappeared after a recent Earthmate update -- can anyone else confirm that they're seeing the same thing? I have three different Android phones and it happened on all of them in the last few weeks. I really depend on those buttons, since multi-touch doesn't really work at all when I'm wearing gloves, but I can usually manage single screen taps.
Depending on the resolution and screen orientation of the device, those two buttons could crowd other buttons, but it seems like they could solve that issue without removing them altogether. Or how about giving us an option to show or hide the zoom buttons? I think they're still developing the app and working on improvements, but going backwards and losing functionality is no good.
It was just as I thought -- the Garmin people decided the zoom buttons were in the way and not needed. I finally got a reply from Garmin support:
"I checked with some Android users and they have experienced the same thing. We checked and it was an intentional change. They felt the zoom buttons were not needed (actually were in the way) since the screen will operate with a two finger "pinch" to expand or compress. I understand the glove issue and apologize the option has gone."
It's a real shame when an app you've depended on for so many years has a developer who sees value in removing features rather than adding them. This issue is forcing me into switching to a different app for back country navigation. Locus Map Pro is a vastly more capable app that does everything Earthmate does and much much more. Except, of course, pairing with my Inreach for messaging.
In case anyone hasn't noticed, zoom buttons have become available again in Earthmate! There's a new checkbox in options. Now if we could just get the route colors in Earthmate to match the route colors on the inreach.garmin.com/map page...
