Huawei will work with TomTom to provide a Google Maps alternative

TomTom has revealed that it has closed a deal with Huawei to provide maps, navigation, and live traffic data for the Chinese company's smartphone apps.

Huawei is still dealing with the effects of the Trump administration's trade ban, and it has since been forced to develop its own smartphone OS to replace Google's Android.

The ban also means that Huawei hasn't been able to use popular apps like Google Maps, so it has had to come up with an alternative to many of Google's apps as well.

TomTom is based in the Netherlands, which allows Huawei to get around the US ban. TomTom spokesman Remco Meerstra told Reuters that the deal had actually been finalised some time ago, but had not been made public for unspecified reasons.

The Dutch company has been moving away from selling devices to offering software services. Last year, it sold its telematics division to Japan's Bridgestone to focus on its digital map business.

The partnership is not entirely surprising. Huawei's newest phones still run Android, but it's been working to build out alternatives to both Android and Google's key apps.

If it ever has to completely ditch Android, it'll still be able to provide key services that consumers are used to.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.