Varia Radar -- Disappointing design choices - visual vs mute, toggle tap target issues

The Varia Radar user interface choices on the Karoo2 are maddening (for me.)

Most of my riding is in pretty big and pretty fast group rides. Like silencing your cell phone from every notification, everyone silences their head units. It just understood. It's polite.

Muting Radar turns off the visual radar. But visual radar is why I own it! The radar visual shows the number, spacing, and distance of cars behind me. It's quite amazing that it works so well.

(UPDATE --Turning the radar audio alerts off and keeping the radar visual is possible. From the Setting menu, or mid-ride from the Audio Alerts Icon (long press) in the dropdown panel is accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen (twice, to get the extended panel.)

Toggling the radar icon mute/unmute is very challenging with gloves on. For three to four months of the year (in the Washington DC area) we have to wear gloves. Often thicker winter gloves. The touch target for this feature is tiny -- likely, only the size of the radar icon in the status bar. Using this icon as an "indicator" was clever but only usable under very ideal conditions.

Usability - barely usable under ideal conditions. Impossible to use if the screen is wet, the road is bumpy, or the user is wearing gloves.

• If an onscreen toggle is used for radar control, please look for a solution that works under common riding conditions. (The entire rest of the screen does NOTHING on press events, only swipe events. (yes event bubbling for registered listeners can get tricky in android) 

Supports multiple customer needs. I suspect no actual riders were consulted in this feature design. Design spec made sense in a vacuum.

• Please allow Visual radar to be used with or without audio alerts

✅ - marketing feature specs - meets marketing claims and feature comparisons lists

• I understand that even tiny features can become very complicated. But they are not complex.

Please ask your designers to perform functional tests under real-world conditions while designing these features. This is one of many, based on customer profiles... (this one is mine)

• Leave for the group ride a bit too late and ride 3-5 miles solo on busy streets to get to meet up point:
  -- turn the Karoo2 on while clipping in, or maybe 500m into the ride
  -- desired setup -- radar visual on, audio on, tail light in a high visibility state, connect to phone while riding to see last-minute excuses from people asking to wait 5 extra minutes
• Roll out with the group and then realize you need to be group ride configuration
  -- Karoo2 is auto-paused and needs to be woken up 
  -- desired setup - shut off radar alerts (keep others), set tail light to low/steady, load the route even though you know it -- the profile is always nice to see.
• Avoid all potholes, and your buddy's back wheel. Don't crash. 
• While wearing gloves.
• While it's raining.
• While it's windy and you have deep rim wheels today.
• While you're 45+ and ride with cycling glasses with readers in them
• While you're wearing glasses you tried wiping the sweat off of using a sweaty jersey and just smeared everything around a bit.
• Stretch Goals - Load route from the Strava link your buddy just texted you (or the route you created last night but didn't sync while at home) -- while riding.
• While riding back home, you are now "off-route" and Karoo2 lets you know. Cancel the map routing.

Do this 2 - 4 days a week.

Come ride with me anytime!