I'm the farthest thing from an expert....or even knowledgeable on this unit. My guess is Garmin targets this unit at people who either don't carry a phone, or mostly don't have a need/desire to work with 2 powered units at the same time. I also don't see much potential for an InReach (with its PLB/SOS function) to utilize a full color touchscreen. Just too much battery demand I believe. This unit seems to have a greater emphasis on GPS/Mapping functionality versus the Explorer or Mini, and adds InReach communications as a benefit. For those who don't want or need to text frequently, the scroll-and-select keyboard....although cumbersome....is no doubt sufficient.