Which hardware sensors are supported by Android?

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Closed 7 years ago.

Which hardware sensors are supported by Android? Are there any imaginable sensors that may be planned to be supported in the future?

For every sensor:

• How is the sensor useful?


• Which devices currently have it? (Only for new sensors)


• What do notable apps use the sensor?

Here is a list of currently supported hardware sensors:

Environment Sensors

• ambient humidity


• illuminance


• ambient pressure



• ambient temperature


• Device temperature

Motion sensors

• accelerometer


• gyroscope

Position sensors

• geomagnetic field sensor


• the proximity sensor

The orientation sensor is software-based and derives its data from the accelerometer and the geomagnetic field sensor.