Auto-zoom could still use some love.

[Paul Steinberg]

Great work on v5 everyone. As a lifetime member it's encouraging to see the app evolving.

One feature that both Google Maps and Garmin handle quite well is auto-zoom. The map scales back to show the road ahead until your next turn and gradually zooms in as you approach the turn. If the next turn is a long distance, they tend to show the next 10-15 min up the road.

MRA on the other hand tends to stay zoomed in too close for you to have an idea of what is coming up ahead. I have tested out changing the default zoom to, say, -1.4...but that adjustment is applied to even the turns which makes it harder to make sure you're turning on the right road.

Here are some examples comparing Google Maps in 'direction up' view against MRA in 'dynamic camera' (all other settings default). The snow is on the ground here in Toronto so I'm using the Android Auto link to my Ford F150 screen instead of my 1250GS+Chigee. I've set a Gopro to record the same drive to the grocery store.

Could the autozoom feature get a little more polish to closer match the display of Google Maps or Garmin while navigating?

[Brian McG]

Hi @Paul-Steinberg could you please advise if your issue is solely with Android Auto?

The map scales back to show the road ahead until your next turn and gradually zooms in as you approach the turn. If the next turn is a long distance, they tend to show the next 10-15 min up the road.

What you describe above is exactly how MRA works in dynamic mode as I explained here in another thread when the app is run directly on a phone & not via android auto

As your screen shots are android auto I cant tell what compass mode the app is in, it looks like it is "heads up" which as explained in the other thread does not have any auto zoom

[Paul Steinberg]

hey @Brian-McG ,

Yes the MRA compass mode is in dynamic mode (I did try all modes and dynamic was the best results but still not very good). When I get close to a turn it does zoom in similar to Google Maps (see screen shot of a corner), the issue is that after the turn it doesn't zoom out far enough when you're driving down a road. I can manually decrease the zoom (in the in the options) but that zoom is then applied to the turns as well. This is leaving you to decide to see down the road or see the turns when it should be doing both.

I didn't test it on the phone-only as I'm always using MRA with Android Auto, whether with the Chigee AIO6 on my bike or with native screen in the truck. I'll try it on the phone tomorrow an report back.

Google Maps has an effective auto-zoom in AA. It tilts back and zooms out to let you see the road ahead until the next turn. As you get to a turn it is continually zooming in until it's it top down and the turn fills the screen, then it zooms back out. Would make for an easier to read while riding, more relaxed navigation experience if MRA could get similar auto-zoom in AA or Carplay.

[RetiredWingMan]

I agree that the auto zoom can be improved to be smoother and provide more assistance to the rider.

[Paul Steinberg]

I did try a test with just the phone as a display and found the auto zoom as bad, if not worse, than on Android Auto.

[M. Schrijver]

Define "just as bad". In Android Auto the Autozoom is not good. Totally agree.
On the smartphone self it is better. You have more settings to use. I tried HereWeGo also. If you do this. You'll see similarities
How HereWeGo use the autozoom is not my preference. But that is not the same as a bad autozoom.

[Brian McG]

Hi @Paul-Steinberg as I mention in the other thread it is possible using MRA directly on the phone in dynamic mode to have the auto zoom pan out to over 15 miles & zoom into just a few hundred meters as you approach a junction

The first picture below shows the dynamic zoom set at -1.0 which shows over 15 miles of route ahead when the next turning is >3 miles & the speed is high
As the junction approaches you can clearly see in dynamic mode the map is zooming in as the mileage to point 2 decreases

This second picture shows the same route with dynamic zoom set at -0.2 which shows over 5 miles of route ahead when the next turning is >3 miles & the speed is high

In an ideal world some might prefer a different gradient of zoom levels so you get the far range of -1.0 & the closeup zoom of -0.2
(but why anyone needs to see as far ahead as -1.0 allows is beyond me )

Frankly I think the zoom function works pretty well, as least as good as Google where you don't get any option on how much it zooms
I would certainly not say it is "bad", is it perfect, no, could it be better, maybe yes, but how it could be better I am not so sure I could define,
what I prefer as a zoom gradient is going to differ to what others would like, its always going to be a personal preference, as we all ride at different speeds & some prefer to see further others not so much, so I think the zoom slider with its different ranges is quite a good comprise

If on your phone you are unable to get the zoom function correctly as above, I doubt you have any chance of seeing it work right with android auto