According to China Daily, Huawei is working on a new mapping technology that can challenge Google Maps. However, it is hardly something you get direct access to. Rumor has it that it is a service and technology aimed at software developers, i.e. apps that use navigation to some extent.
To China Daily, a Huawei spokesman says the new technology is called Map Kit and that it will offer a navigation system that can be used in apps and provide users with real-time traffic information.
Map Look should also support augmented reality mapping, whatever that means, but maybe it’s something like Google’s recently launched AR navigation.
There are many rumors about Map Kit, some of them saying that Huawei will work with a Russian Internet service that already provides maps and APIs for navigation services. Others will have it that Map Kit will be connected to local map services.
One thing is certain though. Huawei will need to invest massively to become a real competitor to Google, which has both their own Google Maps and the increasingly popular free navigation app Waze.
Google spends millions of dollars driving around and mapping roads around the world, which is what Huawei is up against. But the Chinese have shown before that when they want something, they do it and throw money after it as needed.
Maybe it’s a reaction to the ban the US has against Huawei, which still hangs like a Damocless sword over their heads. Even though they have so far been granted dispensation to buy and sell technology in the US.
China Daily writes that Map Kit will be unveiled in October in over 150 countries and regions and that it will be available in 40 languages.
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