Skunkworks

Sorry for you to hear that.  I use Android and very much like that feature when using my GMRS Pro.  I can set it up on a high shelf and use my phone to talk.  It is also handy when in the car with a mag-mount.  I can leave the radio in the cup holder and use my phone mounted on the dash.
Perhaps they will make an upgrade to the app?

When conditions are good, I've checked into the Taylor County (Florida) repeater net from Brandon, FL - repeater is 170 miles north of me and talked with a guy in Quincy, FL that is 68 miles northwest of the repeater. 230 miles as the crow flies. 
On the daily, 71 miles as the crow flies. 45 Miles to the Sarasota repeater south of me and 35 miles further south talking to folks in Port Charlotte.

160 miles from phelan ca. to the Las Vegas 700 spring mountain repeater for 2 weekly nets.  From a 20w base station with a comet 712 antenna.  

WOW! I never gat anywhere near these kinds of distance. Perhaps it's all the buildings, chemical plants, trees, and houses full of fffff...FURNITURE! 🤣

I am curious how far people have made contacts. 
I recently received transmissions from (what seemed to me) a very long distance away.   I was on a high hill on the dunes of Lake Michigan near Muskegon, Michigan and was able to clearly listen to the Racine, Wisconsin repeater 85 miles away on the other side of the lake purely accidentally. Guys were mainly talking about fishing and the upcoming salmon and steelhead runs. I also heard traffic from Ohio and Indiana.  I was on a hand-held GMRS Pro and also used a Baofeng UV-17 Pro GPS while employing a N9TAX Labs Slim-Jim GMRS antenna.  Of course with only 5 Watts I wasn't able to make contacts, but it got me thinking.  Just how far have people actually made contacts?  I imagine mountain top to mountain top could be quite far.

Thanks. I did read through the manual, but somehow missed that.  I was able to program it to my liking using Chirp.

Thanks. I did read through the manual, but somehow missed that.  I was able to program it to my liking using Chirp.

The UHF band is line of sight. So, the further you can see, the further you can talk. I lost track of my longest GMRS contact, but I have talked to astronauts on the ISS at 250 miles above the Earth with only 5w on VHF/UHF.  I think my longest GMRS contact was about 170 miles while on a mountain over 4,500' MSL.

I hit 2 repeaters at 34 miles and 55 miles that were both south of me using a n9tax slim jim antenna hung 30-40 feet up a tree a few years back. I’ve since moved a few miles west of where i was and can no longer hit them unfortunately.

One will definitely get farther range in the open desert or across lakes. And of course the higher both stations antennas are the better for line of sight. 
Here in mid Missouri, 30-35 miles is about the max to reach the local repeater with it's antennas at 400 feet above ground when using a mobile radio.

93 miles from Palm Springs, CA to our old "Delta" repeater, using the XTL5000 in my jeep with the Midland MXTA26 antenna mounted on the rear tail-light, where all of the "experts" still proclaim that the antenna will not work because it is below the roofline and due to the poor ground plane at that mounting location.
Initially started using the repeater with my radio transmitting at 40W, and when I switched to 110W nobody could hear any difference.
I have heard people in their mobile radios hitting that same repeater from 40 miles further away at Chiriaco Summit for a total of 133 miles, but I cant do it - probably because my antenna wont work where it's mounted.
 

approx 150 miles,  Above Palmdale Ca to Lone Pine via the El Paso Peak Repeater.     Awesome Repeater, folks have talked San Berdino to Lone Pine, that's near 185 miles, through that Repeater.   

It does, but in most cases most normal people would not notice.. It is MUCH better at filtering out noise/static/bleed-over though, which you WILL notice.