Map Kit is the new map service that Huawei is developing. Here are the main functions and when it will be available for users
Huawei wasn't enough to present its first operating system (HarmonyOS) and the first smart TV (Honor Vision), now the Chinese company also wants to make its own map service as an alternative to Google Maps. Although the possibility of doing business with U.S. companies is increasing more and more, Huawei does not want to be found unprepared in case Donald Trump decides to continue the trade block imposed last May and immediately suspended (until August 19).
The name of the new service should be Map Kit and initially it will not be intended for users, but for developers who are starting to work on the first applications for HarmonyOS. In case a software house needs to integrate a map service within the app, it will be able to use Map Kit without having to ask Google Maps for help. To make Map Kit, Huawei has partnered with Russian company Yandex and Booking, which will provide the Chinese company with support for technical architecture and maps.
Map Kit's functionality
Map Kit will be very similar to Google Maps. According to rumors that have come out so far, there will be a feature that shows traffic conditions in real time, a system that makes navigation easier and also a service similar to Google's Street View. In addition, Huawei would also be developing a feature to integrate augmented reality to help users follow directions.
When Map Kit arrives
The alternative to Google Maps is expected to debut as early as the end of October and will enhance the tools that developers can use in making applications for the HarmonyOS operating system.
Huawei finds allies in Russia
Huawei's top management has categorically denied that in the coming months or years they will leave the Android world to embrace HarmonyOS. But the decision to make Map Kit, allying with Russian company Yandex, is very interesting, especially on a geo-political level. Could it be a warning to Trump? We'll see in the coming weeks how the situation will evolve and if the President of the United States will decide to lift the ban on Huawei.