Android devices and apps with support for Galileo positioning?

Question

While the European's Galileo positioning system is only expected to be fully deployed by 2020, the first positioning made using already deployed Galileo satellites was made back in 2013. Also, hardware devices supporting Galileo are already commercially available.

However, I am not aware of any Android smartphone supporting Galileo.

Are there any known, existing or planned, Android devices and android apps supporting Galileo positioning?

From what I understand, Galileo support might depend on support within the microprocessor itself. So the question regarding android devices supporting Galileo may boil down to a question about which microprocessor series support Galileo...

Answer 1

I maintain the GPSTest app on Google Play, which is open-source on Github.

I'm actively interested in adding Galileo support in the app, but to do this I need to know what IDs the Galileo satellites show up as in the Android platform. And, this requires that there be some agreement between Galileo hardware manufacturers of those IDs - see Is there an industry-standard official mapping of Galileo satellites to global "PRN”/ID values?.

I personally haven't seen any Android devices reporting Galileo satellites yet - as soon as I do, and I'm able to find out the ID range agreed upon for Galileo, I'll add support to GPSTest.

If you have an Android device that supports Galileo and you're willing to help identify the range, please comment on this Github issue.

EDIT Sept. 19, 2016

For Android 7.0 (N) and higher, Google has added a new API in Android that allows apps to explicitly determine the GNSS type of each satellite for the following GNSS constellation (from https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/GnssStatus.html).

I'll work on adding this to GPSTest, and will update my answer when it's live.

EDIT Oct. 6th, 2016

I have a working build of GPSTest that I believe should support Galileo. If you have and a device with Galileo support (i.e., hardware), please comment on the below pull request on Github - I'd love to get feedback to know if it works!

https://github.com/barbeau/gpstest/pull/59

EDIT Oct. 26, 2016

GPSTest v2.1.8 and up now supports Galileo! Download on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.gpstest. Supports all devices with Android 7.0 (N) that have a Galileo-compatible chipset. Support for Galileo on Android 6.0.1 (M) and lower will depend on your device OEM.

So far users have confirmed that they are able to see Galileo satellites using GPSTest on the following devices:

• BQ Aquaris X5 Plus (See this post)

• Huawei Mate 9 (See this post)

• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (See this post and official specs which say "Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou) *Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited.")

• OnePlus 5 (Android 7.1.1 / OxygenOS 4.5.8) (See this post)

• Huawei P10 (See this post - Android 7.0, firmware version L29C432B171)

• OnePlus 5T (See this post)

EDIT Mar. 26, 2018

The site UseGalileo.eu (by the EU GSA that operates Galileo) now has a list of devices and chipsets that support Galileo:

• Galileo-compatible smartphones and chipsets

Answer 2

Android devices and apps supporting Galileo positioning are bound to arise and become more popular as Galileo itself starts to operate in full gear, with the whole array of satellites having been deployed.

In that respect, yesterday's launch by the European Space agency of satellites 13 and 14 in the Gallileo constellation mark a significant step forward, towards allowing the first official services to be run:

Tue 24 May 2016 FLIGHT VS15: ARIANESPACE ORBITS TWO MORE GALILEO SATELLITES

Arianespace has successfully launched the 13th and 14th satellites in the Galileo constel-lation for the European Commission’s DG GROWTH (Directorate-General for Internal Mar-ket, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs), under a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The company’s second Soyuz launch of the year took place on May 24 at 5:48 am (local time) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana.

With this seventh Soyuz launch from CSG at the service of Galileo, the company has now orbited 14 satellites for the global navigation system. Before the end of 2016, Ari-anespace will launch four more Galileo satellites, using an Ariane 5 ES launch vehicle, enabling the system to offer its initial services.

Today’s Soyuz success – the fourth launch overall in 2016 for Arianespace - marks the 250th launch from the Guiana Space Center with its family of launchers. This total, com-posed of 229 Ariane flights, 15 with Soyuz and six liftoffs of Vega, confirms Ari-anespace’s operational performance over time for the benefit of all its clients.

Answer 3

The Leica Geosystems Zeno 20 is the only device I know that will support both Android and Galileo. It is not a smartphone, but a ruggedized GIS/GNSS device running Android and high accuracy GNSS.

Answer 4

Some mobile CPUs are marketed as supporting Galileo. Like the MT3333 cpu from Mediatek, integrated in the Garmin Monterra, which is an android based GPS. But i don't know if there needs to be some additional software to integrate the functionality, or just an android config file to play with to make more satellites systems available in android configuration

Answer 5

Seems bq aquaris x5 plus will support it, has a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 652 i wonder if other like this will have support and if its hardware or software dependent