In the era of Map 3.0, Petal Maps presents a distinctive answer sheet.

The map market, which has been calm for nearly a decade, has finally witnessed new developments. 

On one hand, traditional map providers are venturing into the local life service sector and upgrading to produce high - precision maps, achieving remarkable results.

On the other hand, maps developed by hardware manufacturers, represented by Huawei Petal Maps, have started to gain prominence during this period. They have found their niche by targeting the weak areas of traditional navigation, such as overseas navigation, outdoor and indoor navigation, and golf course navigation.

If the former represents the inevitable upgrade of the business model of maps as a natural traffic entry point and infrastructure, then the latter's transformation is based on the changes in the terminal device entry, the innovation of underlying technologies, and the expansion of the ecosystem. In the history of the map industry, such stories have repeated themselves every decade.

Looking back at the map innovation over the past two decades, we can easily identify a trend:

More types of terminals have been added over time, from computers to mobile phones, and then to in - car infotainment systems and smartwatches. Technologically, navigation has evolved from offline to real - time, from two - dimensional to three - dimensional, and from rough to precise. Meanwhile, the technological upgrade and the increase in the number of terminals have further promoted the continuous expansion of the service scenarios and the capability boundaries of maps. The market demand has evolved from simple geographical information provision to real - time navigation and support for special environments, and now to refined scenario - based services.

In this process, the map industry is never a zero - sum game but more like an infinite game. Its boundaries are constantly expanding with the development of technology and the ecosystem, and new players are emerging with the changes of the times. However, scenarios, ecosystem, and terminals are always the key concepts that cannot be ignored.

To understand the significance of these three concepts for the map industry and how they have achieved breakthroughs in the Map 3.0 era, let's take Huawei Petal Maps, the most representative and fastest - growing player in this period, as an example. The practice of Petal Maps has vividly demonstrated the meaning of these three keywords: "scenarios, ecosystem, and terminals".

What capabilities are needed to create a map that works well in all scenarios?

Electronic maps have a history of several decades, but they have always struggled to make the leap from being usable to being truly user - friendly. Outdoor exploration and indoor navigation are two well - recognized "experience blind spots". Huawei Petal Maps has a clear strategy to break the deadlock: instead of piling up functions, it focuses on real pain points and uses a combination of "hardware, software, chip, and cloud" technologies to continuously improve the navigation experience on hardware.

In outdoor scenarios, imagine that when you are immersed in the mountains, the navigation quickly drains your phone's battery. This is probably the most frustrating problem for outdoor enthusiasts. The outdoor exploration mode first launched by the Huawei Mate 80 series in the industry, which is deeply integrated with Petal Maps, aims to solve this fundamental problem.

The core is a micro - kernel map engine. Simply put, it is like an "energy - saving butler" (MCU chip and SensorHub system) specifically designed for navigation tasks. It takes over core tasks such as positioning, route calculation, and rendering from the power - hungry main processor. In this way, it can not only enable navigation with the screen off but also reduce the overall navigation power consumption by up to 50%, providing a super - long battery life of up to 36 hours. From now on, you can more confidently reserve your phone's battery for taking photos and emergencies.

After solving the battery anxiety, the next challenge is the signal. In uninhabited areas or deep mountains, losing the network means losing your sense of direction and security. Petal Maps first launched an outdoor route signal map on the Mate 80 series in the industry, which is equivalent to providing "signal forecasts" for more than 10,000 high - quality hiking routes.

This is due to the chip - level signal perception and AI big - data prediction capabilities. Petal Maps can sense the signal strength and interference in real - time. By combining with the AI model trained with a large amount of historical route data, it can accurately predict which sections of the journey will have "disconnection" or no signal before you start. You can download offline maps in advance and be well - informed during the journey, making your adventure more controllable and safe.

In addition, outdoor navigation often requires following a track, but inaccurate tracks and signal loss can easily lead to getting lost. The track - following navigation of Petal Maps can intelligently repair the track (automatically fill in breakpoints and smooth out jitters) to ensure the reliability of the route. Combined with the aforementioned signal risk prediction, it can give an early warning when entering a weak - signal area. Its intelligent off - route reminder function is like a considerate guide. Once you deviate from the preset track, it will give a timely voice prompt to ensure that you always stay on the right track.

In indoor scenarios, positioning has always been a major problem. For example, it is extremely frustrating when you can't find your car in a large parking lot or locate a store in a complex shopping mall. Petal Maps' solution is the 3D precise indoor positioning technology.

After parking, it can automatically record the parking space and floor. When looking for your car, you can directly access the navigation from the negative - one screen card with a single click, and it can even lead you back along the same route. Thanks to the multi - source signal (Wi - Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) fusion and AI learning capabilities of Petal Maps, even if the layout of the environment changes, it can achieve store - level precise positioning and automatic floor - switching. On devices such as the Huawei Mate X7, this capability is implemented as the "precise car - finding" function, completely eliminating the possibility of getting lost in the parking lot for users.

In the era of the Internet of Everything, how to evolve from fragmented device experience to seamless cross - terminal navigation?

In the vision of the Internet of Everything, there should be a "living map" that can freely shuttle between devices and scenarios. However, when we try to switch navigation between in - car infotainment systems, mobile phones, and smartwatches, we often encounter information gaps and a fragmented experience.

This seemingly minor inconvenience actually reflects the long - standing drawbacks in the map industry: map providers, software developers, and terminal hardware manufacturers each focus on their own areas, resulting in a fragmented industrial chain. In the wave of ecosystem collaboration, they have actually built barriers that prevent a seamless user experience.

Firstly, there is the problem of multi - device adaptation. In - car infotainment systems need simple and large - screen navigation information to avoid distracting the driver. Smartwatches can only display core data such as altitude and remaining distance. Mobile phones need to balance detail and ease of operation. This requires the presentation logic of navigation information to be re - engineered according to the device form, and most map providers lack the ability to adapt to all types of devices.

Secondly, there are barriers to cross - device data transfer and synchronization. In the past, cars used the Linux system, mobile phones used Android or iOS, and smartwatches were equipped with RTOS, which became the core difficulty in data collaboration across different scenarios. The distributed architecture of the HarmonyOS system allows different devices such as phones, tablets, in - car infotainment systems (including HiCar), and smart wearables to share the same operating system. This makes data transfer between different devices no longer require complex format conversion and path retrieval, enabling seamless sharing.

At the level of cross - device interaction, Huawei Petal Maps has also achieved a multi - terminal navigation experience: during the route planning stage, when users plan a travel route on their mobile phones, the relevant information can be promptly synchronized to the computer, in - car infotainment system, and smartwatch. For example, when traveling, the navigation route on the mobile phone can be transferred to the in - car infotainment system with a simple touch, and the mobile phone can automatically resume navigation after getting off the car. Another example is that after driving into the basement, the in - car infotainment system and the mobile phone can work together to automatically record the parking position and floor, and the mobile phone can also automatically record and identify it, completely eliminating the awkward situation of disconnection when switching scenarios.

Through cooperation and integration, how can the ecosystem make up for the last shortcoming of the map experience?

As the core infrastructure of each era, maps are never just isolated navigation tools.

Its usage scenarios are often combined with specific services. From location sharing on social media to recommended places on lifestyle platforms, and to route planning for food delivery riders, all of these are essentially extensions of map capabilities.

When map software can provide services across all terminals and the scenarios have expanded to outdoor, overseas, and indoor environments, cooperation and integration at the ecosystem level have become an inevitable choice.

The standard travel process for contemporary young people is to first browse recommended notes on Xiaohongshu and then switch to a map to check the route. The disconnection between travel guides and map navigation in this process has brought many inconveniences in interaction. Therefore, on the HUAWEI Mate X7, Petal Maps has implemented a split - screen linkage function with apps such as Xiaohongshu. When users are browsing travel guides on Xiaohongshu, they can click on the location on the picture, and through the distributed capabilities of the HarmonyOS system, the system can quickly add the location to the map, conveniently display the location and route, and achieve intelligent multi - destination itinerary planning, making the itinerary clear at a glance.

A high - quality in - depth outdoor trip often requires half a day or even a week of thorough preparation.

To address this pain point, Petal Maps has jointly launched more than 10,000 high - quality routes with the outdoor app "Two Steps Road", covering the needs of all scenarios from beginner - level suburban hikes to professional - level high - altitude off - road adventures. Each route is detailed with information such as distance, altitude change curve, difficulty rating, distribution of supply points, and real user notes. Users can quickly filter suitable routes according to their own abilities. Even in the "outdoor exploration mode", it supports precise filtering according to conditions such as route length, difficulty level, and cumulative climb. For niche exploration enthusiasts, Petal Maps also supports importing KML and GPX format route files shared from other platforms, enabling precise navigation on custom - defined routes.

Of course, the experience improvement brought by this kind of ecosystem cooperation is not limited to the domestic market. The four upgraded functions of Petal Maps for outbound travel are a concentrated manifestation of the in - depth ecosystem cooperation.

In the exploration guide, official lists and guides for destinations such as Malaysia and North Queensland in Australia are from direct cooperation between Huawei and local tourism boards. The recommendations for scenic spots, cuisine, and accommodation are all endorsed by local authorities. The overseas navigation planning ability uses the resources of local data partners to build a global map, enabling Huawei mobile phone users to navigate and plan routes globally, so that they will never lose their way when traveling.

The infinite game of maps and the growth secret of Petal Maps

In this infinite game of maps, players still have a long way to go. In the future, with the popularization of terminals such as smart cars and wearable devices, the boundaries of map services will continue to expand. Full - terminal collaboration and full - ecosystem integration will be the inevitable challenges for all players.

Since the Map Kit map service was launched at the Huawei Developer Conference in 2019, to the official release of Petal Maps (Petal Maps) 1.0 with the Huawei Mate40 series in October 2020, and then to the debut of the in - car version of Petal Maps on the AITO M5 in December 2021, although it started late, it has grown rapidly. Now, Huawei Petal Maps covers more than 160 countries and regions around the world, providing reliable map services for global users and setting a highly valuable example for the industry.

Looking at the overall situation, the continuous progress of technology, the increasing refinement of scenarios, and the diversification of terminals will ultimately lead to the same goal: to enable ordinary users to no longer worry about navigation failures, no longer be confused by fragmented scenarios, truly bid farewell to travel anxiety, and enjoy a more relaxed and free journey.