Galileo, the “European GPS”
The “European GPS” Galileo is open to billions of devices worldwide. It gives Europe autonomy in terms of satellite positioning services. Today, nearly a thousand smartphones can connect to it and allow geolocation.
These are not the selection criteria that are lacking when it comes to choosing a new smartphone: screen size, storage capacity, price, autonomy or even computing power.
It is less common to make compatibility with Galileo a criterion of choice. However, not all smartphones available on the market are yet able to connect to the European satellite positioning system – even if more and more of them are able to access “European GPS”, the first generation of which is almost finalized.
What is Galileo, GPS rival?
Basically, it is a modernized and European version of GPS. Galileo is capable of metric precision, where the older GPS (it was implemented between 1973 and 1995, but its satellites have actually been replaced over the years) gives a location within ten meters ( GPS is thinner for military use).
In fact, it is said that if the GPS can tell which street you are on, Galileo can tell which sidewalk you are on.
With Galileo, the European Union gains its strategic independence. Previously, it had to rely exclusively on GPS, which is controlled by the United States. Currently being deployed, Galileo has been operational since the end of 2016 and is already providing its services to millions of users around the world. In September 2019, there were a billion devices using it.
Test your smartphone with Galileo
To find out if your smartphone is capable of picking up Galileo signals, you can of course consult the list of compatible terminals. But you may also want to have a little more precise information on how your mobile interacts with this constellation – but also with the others, such as GPS, since the different networks are interoperable.
There are several mobile applications that provide information on Galileo. However, the European Union recommends going through GPSTest: the program tells you in particular which satellites you are currently receiving, with various sorting tools (constellation used, signal strength, frequencies, those in use). Of course, the Galileo satellites are symbolized with a European flag
List of Galileo compatible smartphones
The fact is that compatibility with Galileo is not the information that manufacturers put forward the most. Other characteristics are preferred. It will also be easier to find the repairability index, which is in the process of being generalized. The good news is that there is an official site, UseGalileo.eu, whose role is to make it possible to know the products capable of connecting to this satellite network.
As of March 17, 2022, 991 smartphones sold in Europe can provide geolocation by Galileo, according to tracking by the European Satellite Positioning System Agency. Some manufacturers offer many compatible mobiles, while others only have one or two models to highlight. All recent smartphones work with Galileo.
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