Little by little, Petal Maps has established itself as one of the best GPS navigators for cell phones, but unfortunately Petal Maps is not compatible with Android Auto. Logical, since Android Auto is managed by Google and Huawei is still in “battle” with the American company.
And the truth is that Petal Maps is not bad at all and would be a great companion during our car trips on Android Auto. Although it is not supported, you can use Petal Maps on Android Auto with some ingenuity and we tell you exactly how.
Petal Maps is not available on Android Auto
Petal Maps comes from Huawei and Huawei cannot use Google services on its phones and apps, while Android Auto is an app that completely depends on Google services. SO, It's neither here nor expectedat least in the near future.
Where Petal Maps is going is not Huawei HiCarwhich is the equivalent system to Huawei's Android Auto. But while it's not officially available on Android Auto, you can still use a trick to force it to appear in the car.
The trick is to use Fermata Auto
If Petal Maps isn't going to Android Auto, let it stay on mobile. The simplest solution to force yourself to be able to use Petal Maps on Android Auto is use it on your mobile and project the screen to the car. There are several apps you can do this with, such as CarStream.
However, my favorite way to do it is with car stopone of the best unofficial apps for Android Auto. It's completely free and for the price of one you get four apps:
- Car stop: This is the usual Fermata Auto, similar to the mobile player. Here you can watch TNT channels, local videos from your mobile and YouTube, with a player based on the web version of the streaming service.
- Mirror shutdown: Show your mobile screen with a special launcher in which you can pin certain apps. This allows you to use any app on Android Auto, including YouTube, WhatsApp, or any other app. The system tries to force horizontal orientation on the mobile.
- Fermata FS mirror: It's exactly the same as the previous one but in full screen (FS is Full Screen), which may be more interesting if you use the system to watch YouTube videos with the car stationary and you don't have need to see Google Maps as a secondary application.
- Stopping the media service: This is the Fermata media player according to Google specifications. That is, it does not play video, but audio. This is the same thing you will have if you install the Fermata player from Google Play.
The one we're interested in for Petal Maps is Fermata Mirror, although they all come in the same package. You need to download the Fermata Auto APK from Github and make sure to enable developer options for Android Auto and apps from unknown sources. If Fermata Mirror still does not appear, I recommend choosing from the Developer Options Promoter In Method of application, which causes an application called Automotive applicationsin the car. Inside, Fermata Mirror should appear.
The first time you open Fermata Mirror, you will need to grant some permissions on the mobilesince the application must remain active and broadcast the screen. You will therefore need to grant special permissions to Fermata on mobile, particularly regarding accessibility (which means you must first release its permissions).
Next, it's time to add Petal Maps to the launcher, which you can do by pressing the + button then check the Petal Maps box. From there, you'll have Petal Maps as an app to launch more from Fermata Mirror. Tap its icon to open it.
It's not perfect, but it's pretty good
The main downside of using Petal Maps on Android Auto is that the app only works horizontally on the roadremaining vertical otherwise. This means that before you start navigation, the display is pretty bad on most Android Auto screens, which tend to be panoramic and horizontal.
It may also happen that the aspect ratio of the screen does not really match that of your mobile, so there are thick black stripes above and below which distorts the result a little.
But when the projection adjusts and we are on a route, the truth is that Petal Maps looks great on Android Auto and it is fully functional. Considering that it's almost impossible that the app will end up having official support for Android Auto, settling for this doesn't seem like a bad idea.
In Xataka Android | Android Auto: 23 tips and tricks to get the most out of Android in the car
