Huawei’s legal trouble in the United States and elsewhere has forced the company to increase its focus on an in-house operating system and apps supposed to pave the way for a world without Google.
Due to the sanctions announced by the U.S. government, Huawei is no longer allowed to use software and hardware developed by American companies, and these include both Android and Google apps.
In other words, its smartphones can no longer come pre-loaded with Google goodies, so Huawei’s best option was to invest in alternative solutions that would be bundled with its devices.
Huawei Petal Maps is the Chinese tech giant’s response to Google Maps, and the application was finally launched earlier this month not only on the domestic market but also in over 140 countries across the world. Huawei originally announced Petal Maps in October and the app is now available for download from the Huawei AppGallery today.
However, Petal Maps isn’t yet offered as a stable product, but only in the form of a beta compatible with the P40, Mate 30, and Mate 40 smartphones models running EMUI 11.
Petal Maps comes with a feature arsenal that’s clearly supposed to compete against Google Maps.
First and foremost, Petal Maps serves as a navigation app, so it provides you with directions to go from point A to point B in a more convenient manner. And the app also offers a pack of extra capabilities for this purpose, including real-time traffic conditions, something that’s available in Google Maps as well.
Overall, the experience with Petal Maps feels very familiar, and it’s because the app was built from the very beginning to become a fully featured replacement for Google Maps.
While having another advanced navigation app on the market is certainly good news for everybody, it remains to be seen how many people actually give it a try, especially since right now, it’s limited to Huawei devices.
Due to the sanctions announced by the U.S. government, Huawei is no longer allowed to use software and hardware developed by American companies, and these include both Android and Google apps.
In other words, its smartphones can no longer come pre-loaded with Google goodies, so Huawei’s best option was to invest in alternative solutions that would be bundled with its devices.
Huawei Petal Maps is the Chinese tech giant’s response to Google Maps, and the application was finally launched earlier this month not only on the domestic market but also in over 140 countries across the world. Huawei originally announced Petal Maps in October and the app is now available for download from the Huawei AppGallery today.
However, Petal Maps isn’t yet offered as a stable product, but only in the form of a beta compatible with the P40, Mate 30, and Mate 40 smartphones models running EMUI 11.
Petal Maps comes with a feature arsenal that’s clearly supposed to compete against Google Maps.
First and foremost, Petal Maps serves as a navigation app, so it provides you with directions to go from point A to point B in a more convenient manner. And the app also offers a pack of extra capabilities for this purpose, including real-time traffic conditions, something that’s available in Google Maps as well.
Overall, the experience with Petal Maps feels very familiar, and it’s because the app was built from the very beginning to become a fully featured replacement for Google Maps.
While having another advanced navigation app on the market is certainly good news for everybody, it remains to be seen how many people actually give it a try, especially since right now, it’s limited to Huawei devices.