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I'm trying to gather information regarding ANT+ hardware support in Android phones. Basically, what Android phones have ANT wireless hardware?

ANT and ANT+ (http://thisisant.com/) as wireless protocols are quite promising, especially with potential open-source support for ANT+ ready-made fitness devices (see http://www.thisisant.com/news/stories/ant-enabled-live-google-data-feed).

For now, only Sony Ericsson has officially stated they have it in X10 mini pro, X10 mini, X8, and upcoming Xperia Arc (and AFAIK "plain" X10 is not included) - http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/developerworld/2011/01/06/use-your-sony-ericsson-phone-with-ant-enabled-health-and-fitness-products/. Also, it is known that Texas Instruments WiLink 6 and WiLink 7 module support ANT as well (some sources state Motorola Droid and Motorola Droid X have it, and therefore interesting too).

Sony Ericsson support seems to make its way to users, here the list of phones regarding Android ANT+ API (http://www.thisisant.com/pages/developer-zone/android-api). Still waiting for any official or unofficial support for non-Sony Ericson phones.

List of supported phones from the directory of mobile phones and devices - http://www.thisisant.com/directory/

ANT+ enabled phones: Any device with a USB Host feature and a connected ANT USB stick.

Any other? Please, share if you find others!

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  • had to use ANT+ directory to get updates this time
    – IgorK
    Commented Jun 8, 2014 at 18:30

10 Answers 10

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This list gives the most correct answer, as it gives "what Android phones have ANT wireless hardware" regardless of if the software piece has been turned on: http://forum.xda-developers.com/hardware-hacking/hardware/ref-devices-ant-hardware-t2879990

For which devices have the hardware and the software to support apps, the best place is the ANT+ Product Directory: http://www.thisisant.com/directory/filter/~/60/~/ However, this does not include devices which have not gone through certification to prove they work correctly, such as the Xiaomi Mi3 or OnePlus One.

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For the Tour de France Google created some custom firmware to run on HTC Legends so that they could track the riders in real-time. It seems those phones also have the ANT+ capabilities. I believe that those chips are fairly common in many phones. The protocol is apparently similar to Bluetooth so it's not much additional work for the chip manufacturers, like TI, to put it into their chips.

I think the biggest obstacle is the drivers for the ANT+ protocol don't come with the phone. That was the custom part of the firmware that Google provided.

Check out this article here for more about the Tour de France.

Have a look at this link as well.

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  • 1
    seems those HTC Legends were not standard ones, HTC Legend you can buy uses Quallcom chips instead of TI WiLink :( see this thread - groups.google.com/group/mytracks/browse_thread/thread/…
    – IgorK
    Commented Jan 12, 2011 at 15:13
  • I hope when SE gets their things done with public firmware, someone will be able to figure out how to use it with custom firmwares on other WiLink phones as well. But it's just a hope, and I'm not 100% sure SE Xperia X8/X10mini/X10pro uses WiLink :(
    – IgorK
    Commented Jan 12, 2011 at 15:15
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As well as the phones with embeded ANT support it is now possible to use ANT via a USB ANT stick. The phone needs to have working USB Host mode support but that is true for most modern phones. I posted some details when the anouncement came out a few months back as a developer of some ANT related apps.

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  • Thanks, from your linked page it looks like to use a USB ANT device in addition to working USB Host Mode support on your device, you need to install the ANT USB Service and ANT Radio Service (both free from Play Store)?
    – GAThrawn
    Commented Nov 28, 2012 at 6:56
  • Yes you need the two software packages from the store to get things working. You then of course need some apps with ANT support built into them like my IpBike.
    – Ifor
    Commented Nov 28, 2012 at 9:13
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In order to enable ANT+ in Android devices there are mainly two options.

One is to have a smartphone with ANT+ built-in, another is to add an ANT USB stick and connect it to the smartphone using a USB OTG (OnTheGo) cable.

However, also the Android applications have to be written to support the external ANT USB stick. At the moment, only applications that use the official ANT Alliance APIs are able to communicate with the external accessory. This situation will probably change in the near future, but this is the state of the art, concerning ANT+ and Android.

For more info, check this how to: http://www.selfloops.com/resources/tech-guides.html

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You can also go to the official ANT+ website at www.thisisant.com and then under the 'directory' tab (www.thisisant.com/directory) select in the filter options the following checkbox: CATEGORIES > Mobile Phones/Devices

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  • If you need it for sports and want to buy now, maybe worth looking at Sony acro S. At least it is more protected (water-proof) than most phones. Anyway going for ANT+ enabled phone right now means you miss a lot of other interesting options though :-( (too many more capable newer models around are still coming without ANT+)
    – IgorK
    Commented Dec 3, 2012 at 12:43
  • really? so, you recomend me to wait? but, if newer models without ANT+ are better, how they can receive beat rate signals? (I mean, without attaching any adapter)
    – JMR
    Commented Dec 5, 2012 at 11:08
  • depends on what you need, just saying that most latest-greatest are not with ANT+ right now. for active usage external USB dongle is a dubious endeavor too. so for now, if you need ANT+ for sports in your phone - list is very narrow (and for some people even old and cheap SE Active would suffice)
    – IgorK
    Commented Dec 5, 2012 at 11:32
  • yes right, I agree
    – JMR
    Commented Dec 5, 2012 at 12:29
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I can see this is an old thread, but there have been a few new phones announced recently with ANT+ support.

This list is updated regularly: http://www.thisisant.com/directory/filter/~/60/~/ and now includes the Sony Z1 and Z Ultra (two new flagship phones) and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

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To add to the list, supposedly Samsung is going to release a firmware to enable ant+ on their s4 and others

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/10/samsung-mobile-devices.html

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Add Nexus 5, Nexus 10, HTC One and LG G2. root is required though.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.z2software.antplus

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  • Good that there is an app activating ANT+ on certain devices, but it's rather expensive IMO.
    – hgoebl
    Commented Nov 10, 2015 at 14:20
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ANT+ is enabled by sw upgarde only in phones that contains TI 1271/1281 connectivty devices

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  • 5
    And which phones are those, perchance?
    – ale
    Commented Feb 6, 2011 at 13:45
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Currently supported mobile phones and devices:

  • Nokia 7.2 (HMD)
  • Monterra (Garmin)
  • HTC Rhyme (HTC)
  • GALAXY Note 3 Lite (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY Note 4 (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY TabPRO 12.2 (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY Note 3 Neo (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY TabPRO 8.4 (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY TabPRO 10.1 (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY NotePRO 12.2 (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY S5 (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY Grand 2 (LTE) (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY J (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY S4 (Android 4.3 and up) (Samsung Electronics)
  • GALAXY Note 3 (Samsung Electronics)
  • Xperia T2 Ultra (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia Z2 Tablet (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia M2 (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia Z2 (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia Z1 S (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia Z1 Compact (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia Z1 (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia Z Ultra (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia SL (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia acro S (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia X8 (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia x10 mini pro (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia S (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia x10 mini (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia ray (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia pro (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia neo V (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia neo (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia mini pro (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia mini (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia ion LTE (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia ion HSPA (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia arc S (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia arc (Sony Mobile)
  • Live with Walkman (Sony Mobile)
  • Xperia active (Sony Mobile)
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