I have indeed contacted the supplier, both their NY HQ and their Shenzhen based online and customer support. I’m still awaiting answers from each of them. Apparently “it’s a very new product”. Which does give me hope a firmware update would solve it.
Regarding the stills, we’ll not only would it automate panos and other types of still shots but it would simply replace the smaller tripod (in addition to the larger tripod I take) when travelling. Also positioning the camera when mounted instead of fiddling with levers and knobs is quite a joy.
Overall the thing is amazing, and small, I just need to iron out these kinks and they seem they might be reasonably easy fixes.