Even though Huawei’s smartphone business is struggling in the face of continued US sanctions, the company is making constant efforts to provide a well-rounded software experience on its devices. Not only is the company working on Harmony OS, but it has also released a couple of alternatives to Google’s services, like HMS and HMS Core, AppGallery, Petal Search, and Petal Maps over the last two years. Although these services haven’t really caught on outside of China. Huawei is now launching its own email service, called Petal Mail, to fill the void left by Gmail.
According to a recent report, Huawei has already started testing its Gmail alternative in China and users can now register. Signing up for the service will give an @ petalmail.com email id and the privilege to provide critical feedback during its initial testing phase.
Huawei’s Petal Mail service appears to have a very minimal interface at the moment. It also has a few options in the side menu. These include Inbox, Favorites, Draft, Send, Trash, and Spam. The interface is split into two columns; the first column displays all emails in an inbox and the second displays the selected email in an expanded form.
At the moment, we have no further information on Huawei’s new messaging service. However, the aforementioned reports reveal that the company has also introduced a new virtual currency, called Petals, for its users. While we cannot say for sure what this currency will be used for. In addition, Huawei HMS has launched alternative Google apps such as petal search and petal map services. Huawei has previously applied for a number of “petal” trademarks, such as petal payment, petal shop, etc.