HUAWEI makes some sublimely designed smart mobile devices that offer enticing value per Rand and remarkable camera performance, the latest of which is the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro. However, many of our readers (and friends/family of the editorial staff) often ask about the software experience, and we are not talking about which version of Andriod the particular device in question is running or the EMUI experience, but what is it like using HUAWEI AppGallery instead of Google Play, Petal Search instead of Google, etc?
So while we are reviewing the HUAWEI Mate50 Pro, we will also be doing a series looking a little more closely at this third mobile ecosystem, and in particular aspects of it such as Petal Maps. Like Waze or Google Maps, Petal Maps is HUAWEI’s navigation application that is available within more than 160 countries and regions, for Android mobile devices and iOS-powered devices.
It provides real-time traffic conditions, lane-level guidance, nearby services (tourist spots, popular restaurants etc.), various map layers, traffic events, place favorites, and loads more. In order to put it through its paces and see how it compares against the likes of Apple Maps and other competitors, we took it on the weekly work commute, school run, to Sunday mass, and family excursions on weekends such as horse riding lessons, zoo trips, and so much more.
First of all, in terms of presentation, reliability, and stability (no app crashes/errors), Petal Maps is right up there with the competition. The same goes for the navigation and voice-guidance aspect of the turn-by-turn navigation. One of the newer features to Petal Maps, that regular users of Here Maps (formerly Nokia Maps), and Google Maps will be very familiar with using is offline maps, which sees you downloading a specific area and having it available for navigation even when you run out of data or enter an area where the cellular signal is weak. This is quite handy and a welcome addition to the Petal Maps arsenal.
Where Petal Maps lags against the competition is in terms of real-time traffic conditions. This is expected if you consider Google Maps has a lot of partnerships it can leverage such as Tom-Tom and a great deal many more smart mobile devices running Andriod that it can pull data from to ensure its real-time traffic conditions and re-routing functionality is quicker and more accurate.
Where HUAWEI stands a chance of waving its feature set top spot on high is when it comes to users who are very privacy and security minded. This is because Petal Maps assist in terms of privacy and protection through features like the ability to help users navigate and explore the world safely within an incognito mode.
Furthermore, the maps app protects users’ information with end-to-end encryption capabilities, which means the app does not save or retain search and location history, thereby allowing users to control how and where their location data is stored. People travelling in teams, for scenarios such as holidays/roadtrips with family or friends, or even work colleagues travelling to a client meeting, are also able to share their locations as part of the Travel as a team functionality – quite cool.
Ultimately, HUAWEI has done a remarkable job in a relatively short amount of time with its Petal Maps app. It might not be the leader in the sector, but when I first started out reviewing technology as a career in 2009, Nokia Maps was the standard bearer and Google Maps was up and coming. A lot can change over time, including the maps and navigation hierarchy…all we can say is watch this space as competition continues to drive innovation in this space to the end-users’ benefit.
