Huawei's most recent releases lack a huge selling point -- Google apps and services. That's because China and the US have issues not related to COVID-19, which is yet to come into conclusion, although we don't really know for sure when. But the Chinese tech giant won't let anything stop its plans of rebuilding its names -- there's a new addition to the AppGallery store that's meant to fill the place of Google Maps.
Google Maps is by far the most popular mapping product there is; Apple comes close, but there's also HERE, which not many people may know about. HERE has actually existed for quite a while and is actually the second-largest mapping product on the planet.
Now HERE's navigation map called WeGo somehow made its way to the AppGallery, Huawei's version of Google Play. The addition of the app makes an excellent alternative to Google Maps, which new Huawei phones don't have.
WeGo is a city-first mapping app, offering turn-by-turn directions using various forms of transit, including walking, cars, bikes, and more. The app also has information on public transit in over 1300 cities, including some of the biggest in the US (NYC, San Francisco, etc.). Offline maps are also available in over 100 countries.
Counterpoint Research earlier this month named HERE as its number one choice for location services -- ahead of Google. According to Neil Shah, HERE offers the "most comprehensive location platform in our evaluation.
This is good news for those still doubting whether to buy a Mate 30 or one of the P40 models. Still, the software difficulties on those devices don't end at just lacking Google apps, so filling out the AppGallery is only a small part of the bigger solution that's needed.
Before the Trump administration blacklisted Huawei last year, the company was on an absolute tear. Its smartphone business had come from way back in the field to threaten the Samsung and Apple duopoly at the top of the tree. If not for the blacklist, the company would've easily dethroned Samsung.
What's next for Huawei remains to be seen. As for HERE, the potential to become huge is there, but the real prize lies within its ability to move beyond its mapping app to a range of services that will fill in the hole that Google left.
As of the moment, the extent of any collaboration between Huawei and HERE is unclear. But if this is to become the best alternative to Google Maps, then the partnership needs to be more than just that.
