Seamless Location Tracking with FusedLocationProviderClient in Android

Introduction:

Location awareness is a crucial aspect of many modern mobile applications, enabling features like turn-by-turn navigation, location-based recommendations, and real-time tracking. In the Android ecosystem, the FusedLocationProviderClient is a powerful API that allows developers to retrieve device location information efficiently and accurately. In this article, we’ll explore the FusedLocationProviderClient, understand its advantages, and walk through the process of integrating it into an Android application.

Understanding the FusedLocationProviderClient:

The FusedLocationProviderClient is part of the Google Play services location APIs and is designed to provide a simplified and unified approach to location tracking. It seamlessly combines multiple location data sources, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks, to provide the most accurate and power-efficient location fixes possible.

One of the key advantages of the FusedLocationProviderClient is its ability to intelligently manage location updates based on the app’s requirements and the device’s battery level. It can automatically adjust the location update frequency and accuracy to balance performance and power consumption, ensuring a smooth user experience without draining the device’s battery excessively.

Integrating the FusedLocationProviderClient:
To start using the FusedLocationProviderClient in your Android app, you’ll need to complete the following steps:

1. Add Google Play Services to your project: The FusedLocationProviderClient is part of the Google Play services location APIs, so you’ll need to add the necessary dependencies to your app’s build.gradle file:

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:18.0.0'
}

1. Request necessary permissions: Your app will need to request the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission to access the device's location. If you're targeting Android 10 (API level 29) or higher and your app needs to access the location while running in the background, you'll also need to request the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission.

private val LOCATION_PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE = 1
private fun requestLocationPermissions() {
    val permissionsToRequest = mutableListOf<String>()
    if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        permissionsToRequest.add(Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION)
    }
    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q && ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        permissionsToRequest.add(Manifest.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION)
    }
    if (permissionsToRequest.isNotEmpty()) {
        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, permissionsToRequest.toTypedArray(), LOCATION_PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE)
    }
}

1. Get the FusedLocationProviderClient instance: You can obtain an instance of the FusedLocationProviderClient using the LocationServices.getFusedLocationProviderClient(context) method.

private lateinit var fusedLocationClient: FusedLocationProviderClient
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    // ...
    fusedLocationClient = LocationServices.getFusedLocationProviderClient(this)
}

1. Configure location request parameters: Create a LocationRequest object and set the desired parameters, such as update intervals, priority, and accuracy.

val locationRequest = LocationRequest.create().apply {
    interval = 10000 // Update interval in milliseconds
    fastestInterval = 5000 // Fastest update interval in milliseconds
    priority = LocationRequest.PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY // Set the desired accuracy
}

1. Register for location updates: Use the requestLocationUpdates method of the FusedLocationProviderClient to start receiving location updates. You'll need to provide a LocationCallback to handle the incoming location updates.

private val locationCallback = object : LocationCallback() {
    override fun onLocationResult(locationResult: LocationResult) {
        locationResult.locations.forEach { location ->
            // Handle the received location update
            Log.d("LocationUpdate", "Latitude: ${location.latitude}, Longitude: ${location.longitude}")
        }
    }
}

override fun onStart() {
    super.onStart()
    if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        fusedLocationClient.requestLocationUpdates(locationRequest, locationCallback, Looper.getMainLooper())
    }
}

1. Stop location updates when not needed: Don’t forget to stop location updates when your app no longer requires them, for example, in the onStop or onPause methods of your activity or fragment.

override fun onStop() {
    super.onStop()
    fusedLocationClient.removeLocationUpdates(locationCallback)
}

By following these steps, you’ll be able to seamlessly integrate the FusedLocationProviderClient into your Android application and start receiving accurate and power-efficient location updates.

Conclusion:

The FusedLocationProviderClient is a powerful and versatile API that simplifies the process of location tracking in Android applications. By combining multiple location data sources and intelligently managing location updates, it provides accurate and power-efficient location fixes. With the provided code examples and explanations, you should now have a solid understanding of how to integrate the FusedLocationProviderClient into your Android app and leverage its capabilities to enhance your app’s location-based features.

If you are not able to receive Location callbacks Please checkout our story on working with pendingIntents