Hi Shane,
Some zones are watered multiple times a day, you probably selected clay, clay loam or loam as the soil type which accepts water slowly, often as little as 1/4 inch per hour and that is why we break the watering into many pieces to avoid water runoff.
Netro's algorithm is based on expert gardening knowledge, one of which is to avoid watering equally everyday and instead to water less frequently but deeply. Netro waters your garden only when the soil is dry enough in order to draw more oxygen into the roots, leading to a lusher landscape. By default, we allow the moisture level to deplete to a low level (recommended by EPA) before next watering and that is why you might see longer watering duration than the original settings on your old controller.
Thanks,
Netro Support