advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

Without Google, it appears Huawei has turned to TomTom for maps

The future of Huawei is still a question that keeps us up at night but it appears the firm is making moves to deal with life after Google.

Part of those moves include dealing with the navigation needs of Huawei users.

According to a report by Reuters, TomTom has signed an agreement Huawei. That agreement will see TomTom provide maps and services included in Huawei smartphones.

While confusing at first, it’s important to remember that Huawei may no longer make use of Google’s official Android operating system and, by extension, official Android apps such as Google Maps.

TomTom has shifted its business from creating navigation devices to software development. The firm’s navigation software is used for in-dash navigation for Fiat, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and most recently, Subaru.

A deal with Huawei will likely be profitably for Huawei but that depends on whether Huawei can deal with its Android woes.

While the firm is still successful in China, being blacklisted by the US in 2019 has put a dent in Huawei’s international business. Without Android the firm can’t really release a smartphone outside of China, with confidence it will perform well.

Users expect a degree of functionality from a smartphone including being able to log into apps such as Gmail and make use of the Google Play Store. Buying a Huawei would complicate that process and is more than likely why we never saw the Mate 30 in South Africa.

There’s no word on how much this Huawei agreement with TomTom was worth but spokesperson for TomTom, Remco Meerstra, told Reuters the deal was closed some time ago and was only recently announced publicly.

Now all Huawei has to do is create an operating system that users can trust, set up an app store that users can download popular apps from and of course, get people to adapt to all of these changes willingly.

This year sure is going to be tough for Huawei but at least it has maps sorted.

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

advertisement