We recently reported about the operating system launched by Huawei named as HarmonyOS. This operating system is currently just available from Huawei on smart devices such as televisions.
However, it was earlier rumored that HarmonyOS will be an Android replacement. This could still be possible as the relations between China and the US are not great due to the trade war. This means that Huawei currently has restricted access to Google’s Android which could be banned as well.
Talking about the Huawei development plans, we have just come to know that the company is also working on its own Google Maps. This, however, is known to be a service for developers rather than consumers. Basically, Huawei’s service for Maps named as Maps Kit will be developer-facing rather than user-facing. This is similar to Apple’s MapKit which lets developers integrate this service inside their apps or websites.
According to reports, Russia’s Yandex and Booking.com parent Booking Holdings are partnering with Huawei on the service. Talking about Maps Kit from Huawei, it will be a mapping service. This service will reportedly be scattered across 150 countries and regions, and be available in 40 languages, and also connect to local mapping services.
While this is not a Google Maps replacement at the moment, Huawei might be planning for its future. Because we know that apart from Android, Huawei also uses Google services on its Android device. Therefore, if Android access to Huawei is banned then so will be the Google services.
Basically, HarmonyOS was just the start of Huawei making its replacement for Google services available. And we could see a whole suite of services apart from Maps Kit from Huawei. For instance, we can see a replacement for Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos as well as many services that Google currently offers. Huawei’s idea here is to decrease its dependence on Google and the US