what has and what is missing from the Huawei map application

Huawei took advantage of the launch of its Huawei Mate 40 series to show us its operational version of your Maps app: Petal Maps or just Maps. The application is now available in the App Gallery in beta version, it can be downloaded on other Huawei terminals via its APK and we have tested it.

The Comparisons of Petal Maps and Google Maps are inevitableEspecially considering that in many ways Petal Maps seems to be inspired by Google maps. In this post we will compare Google Maps with newly arrived Huawei maps, seeing what it has and what is missing.

Layout and maps

The comparisons are hateful and in the case of Petal Maps versus Google Maps, the biggest problem is that an app has just been born, while Google Maps celebrated its fifteenth anniversary this year. Perhaps to shorten distances, perhaps to facilitate the use of those coming from Google Maps, Huawei has decided clone much of the Google Maps interface for your maps.

The style of Petal Maps is pretty much the same as Google Maps, including colors, styles, and even icons. It’s not an exact copy and there are minor variations, but, if it weren’t for the search bar, you would be at the top in Google Maps and at the bottom in Petal Maps, it would be quite difficult to differentiate between both maps with the naked eye.

The maps are quite similar, although as you would expect from your greater experience, Google maps show with more in detail green areas or commercial areasAlthough it is noteworthy that Huawei’s maps, which have been released in 140 countries and regions, include the geometry of buildings (not in 3D like in Google Maps, yes).

Cases

Google Maps started with the standard layer and satellite view layer, and over time it has acquired all kinds of additional map details, to the point that it even has a layer to display COVID-19 data. Petal Maps, as you might expect, starts with the basics: a standard level with the extension map display and traffic overlay.

In contrast, today Google Maps has a standard, satellite or embossed view, overlaying layers of public transport, bicycle, 3D view, Street View, COVID data and traffic data.

Both coincide in the traffic display, although the crowdsourcing Google Maps allows approx latest data in real time. At the same time, Petal Maps shows traffic on the same street as completely green, while there are sections in orange or red on Google Maps.

Information about places

Taking into account that Petal Maps is just born, as they say, it’s appreciated that its database of places doesn’t start out completely empty. To have a good number of points of interest incorporated, including some information about it.

The information of points of interest, yes, is much more rudimentary than in Google Maps. No photos or reviewsand information, which in most cases is limited to the address and, hopefully, the phone number and web address. Location information is one of the slightly greener aspects in Petal Maps for now.

Research

As mentioned above, Petal Maps includes several companies and points of interest in its database, therefore it is not difficult to find a specific place, unless it is very recent. Like Google Maps, the app performs quick searches for bars, hotels, parking lots, and other common searches.

The results are something like using Google Maps in incognito mode, and Huawei doesn’t know, at least for now, your tastes so you can prioritize the results like Google Maps does. Otherwise, the results of a search are displayed both on the map and in a list.

Itineraries

Petal Maps doesn’t have everything that Google Maps does, but it does include the basics: maps, routes and navigation. Creating a route from point A to point B is as easy as in Google Maps. The paths also coincide in many cases, although estimates of how long they will take vary widely between applications, with more than 2 hours away for a Madrid-Barcelona route.

One should take the route to be able to empirically buy which map application is closest to reality, although as mentioned earlier Google Maps has more up-to-date traffic data obtained via anonymous data from drivers with Android phones, something that while Huawei manages to imitate, it won’t have the same user base if only Huawei phones are included.

Beyond navigation time, alternative routes in Petal Maps are not as alternative as those found in Google Maps, and in our tests they often are practically the same path. For the same route, Google Maps offers two totally different alternatives, even if they take longer.

It goes without saying that Petal Maps at the moment it can generate routes only by car, while Google Maps has increased its route types to include motorcycles, bicycles, public transit and walking.

Navigation

In addition to seeing the route, you can also use Petal Maps as a navigation application. Yet, the inspiration in Google Maps is evident, with a design that, if it were not for the use of a different color, would be almost identical.

Petal Maps navigation is very similar to Google Maps and speedometer included how many years did it take to get to google maps. There is also a button to center your eyes and see the path, even if there are no voice settings, site search or voice search … at least, not yet.

settings

Taking into account that Petal Maps is a much simpler application than Google Maps, it is to be expected that its settings will be much more concise. They almost fit on a single screen, were it not for the navigation settings, where you can choose the file voice navigation theme and language.

Apart from that, in Petal Maps you can choose the distance unit and check the places you have marked as favoritesby tapping the star icon. Meanwhile, Google Maps options add up to a dozen pages, some with more options inside.