According to a report by state-run news Huawei is currently working on a new mapping service this is expected to challenge Google Maps. Apps that offer various navigation services can use Huawei mapping technology instead of creating their own.
According to ChinaDaily, Huawei is partnering with Yandex a Russian internet service giant to connect the Map Kit with local mapping services. Huawei is expected to partner with Booking Holdings as well. The Telecom base stations of Huawei can display information to satellite positioning data.
Google Maps were launched in 2005 and it is one of the largest product spread all over the world. So, to compete with Google Huawei needs to invest a heavy amount of money in its maps.
US government put trade restrictions on Huawei which caused the company to develop its hardware and software to stop using US-made tech and this new mapping service comes in the wake of that event. In May, Huawei was given a license by US government expiring on August 19th that allows US tech companies to continue working with Huawei but it’s still not confirmed whether Huawei will ever continue to work with Android on its smartphones or not.
Although Huawei states that the company is planning to work with Android for the long term but also at the same time it reveals HarmonyOS, a new operating system developed only for Huawei devices. According to Huawei, HarmonyOS will only run on smartphones but it is expected that the company might also switch its Android phones with HarmonyOS in the day when the company no longer uses Android anymore.
The augmented-reality feature Map Kit is expected to be launched in October and it will cover 150 countries and regions and will also be available in 40 different languages.
Photo: WANG ZHAO / AFP / Getty Images
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Huawei’s new mapping service soon to be launched
This new mapping service by Huawei is called Map Kit and it will offer different developers a street navigation system that can be used in the various apps and it can also display real-time traffic situations of the surrounding as well. This Map Kit distinguishes from other mapping services due to its augmented-reality mapping. Google recently launched AR walking directions and we think this augmented-reality mapping is similar to that.According to ChinaDaily, Huawei is partnering with Yandex a Russian internet service giant to connect the Map Kit with local mapping services. Huawei is expected to partner with Booking Holdings as well. The Telecom base stations of Huawei can display information to satellite positioning data.
Google Maps were launched in 2005 and it is one of the largest product spread all over the world. So, to compete with Google Huawei needs to invest a heavy amount of money in its maps.
Mapping services provided by other companies
Apple also launched its map services back in 2012 and since then it has been trying to catch-up with Google mapping services. In the beginning, Apple tried different sort of mapping data ranging from pastiche from TomTom to OpenStreetMap. Apple is slowly rolling out its mapping data since last year. Nokia also tried to offer some map services but eventually failed and sold it to a consortium of German car companies for $3 billion in 2015.US government put trade restrictions on Huawei which caused the company to develop its hardware and software to stop using US-made tech and this new mapping service comes in the wake of that event. In May, Huawei was given a license by US government expiring on August 19th that allows US tech companies to continue working with Huawei but it’s still not confirmed whether Huawei will ever continue to work with Android on its smartphones or not.
Although Huawei states that the company is planning to work with Android for the long term but also at the same time it reveals HarmonyOS, a new operating system developed only for Huawei devices. According to Huawei, HarmonyOS will only run on smartphones but it is expected that the company might also switch its Android phones with HarmonyOS in the day when the company no longer uses Android anymore.
The augmented-reality feature Map Kit is expected to be launched in October and it will cover 150 countries and regions and will also be available in 40 different languages.
Bottom Line
After getting revoked by the US government’s new trading policies all the new mapping services and HarmonyOS are meant to help Huawei work even without US-tech. We are looking forward to the launched of this new mapping service and how it will challenge Google Maps.
Photo: WANG ZHAO / AFP / Getty Images
Read next: Samsung Beats Apple and Huawei in Fastest Download Speed Globally, Revealed OpenSource Study
