When you think about any one of the tech giants, I assume, like me, you are of the impression that they have gotten too big. Now, don’t get me wrong, I benefit from a lot of these services, and dare I say it – they make my life easier. But at what point are they too big? Now, this argument has been made for years and is being made by lawmakers right now in an attempt to get support for the upcoming election. Outside of regulation, is there anything that can be done to stop the likes of Google, for example?
According to Huawei, there is. In fact, the Chinese tech giant is gearing up to take on Google Maps. Huawei has started developing its own mapping service known as Map Kit. But there’s a catch – this isn’t a solution for consumers, but rather, Huawei wants to give developer tools to build new applications based on its mapping capabilities. This is an interesting idea, but will it work?
The service will be available in 150 countries and regions, will be connected to local mapping services. It will also support 40 different languages. It’s being rumored that it will also include real-time traffic conditions, sophisticated navigation capabilities and augmented reality mapping. In addition to this, Huawei has already gotten Yandex on board. If you’re not familiar with Yandex, they are commonly referred to as the Russian Google. Huawei has also gotten Booking.com on board. It seems that others have gotten tired of Google being such a behemoth, and are supporting Huawei in this venture.
That said, this news comes only days after Huawei confirmed rumors that they are building their own operating system for mobile devices, laptops, wearables, and televisions. The new operating system will be known as Harmony OS. And this was sparked after Google banned Huawei from using their Android OS after the Chinese manufacturer ended up on the US entity list. Since then, Huawei has been looking into alternatives in order to decrease its reliance on Google and its services. Which means if Huawei wants to stay in business, they have no choice but to adapt.
Regardless, this is all very interesting. I mean, Huawei became public enemy number one in the United States, which meant that Google had to put a stop to any kind of involvement they had with the Chinese company. Otherwise, their products would have been at risk as well. I say this is interesting because I don’t believe that the information against Huawei has been substantiated. And we all know that Donald Trump is in the middle of a trade war with China. I mean, you can definitely put two and two together.
That said, it was only a matter of time before another company came out with an operating system. Sure, it might not last, and it might not make it to North America, but it will further divide the United States from China and maybe other parts of the world. Even though it seems like Huawei is taking on Google, their actions are really as a result of something Google did to them in the first place. Next time you hear something, make sure you dig a little deeper to get a better understanding of the rest of the story.
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