Check for navigation bar

Took me some time but I've found a more reliable way than relying on hasPermanentMenuKey() which doesn't work for newer phones like the HTC One which have no menu key but do have home & back keys so don't need (or show) the soft navigation bar. To get around this try the following code which checks for a back button too:

boolean hasMenuKey = ViewConfiguration.get(context).hasPermanentMenuKey();
boolean hasBackKey = KeyCharacterMap.deviceHasKey(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK);

if(!hasMenuKey && !hasBackKey) {
    // Do whatever you need to do, this device has a navigation bar
}

There's no reliable way to check for a navigation bar. Using KeyCharacterMap.deviceHasKey you can check if certain physical keys are present on the device, but this information is not very useful since devices with physical keys can still have a navigation bar. Devices like the OnePlus One, or any device running a custom rom, have an option in the settings that disables the physical keys, and adds a navigation bar. There's no way to check if this option is enabled, and deviceHasKey still returns true for the keys that are disabled by this option.

This is the closest you can get:

boolean hasBackKey = KeyCharacterMap.deviceHasKey(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK);
boolean hasHomeKey = KeyCharacterMap.deviceHasKey(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_HOME);

if (hasBackKey && hasHomeKey) {
    // no navigation bar, unless it is enabled in the settings
} else {
    // 99% sure there's a navigation bar
}

If the back and home button are not both physically present on the device, it must have a navigation bar, because the user otherwise wouldn't be able to navigate at all. However, you can never be 100% sure about this, since manufacturers can implement deviceHasKey wrong.

Another solution (a part of my class UtilsUISystem )

    public static boolean hasNavBar (Resources resources)
    {
        //Emulator
        if (Build.FINGERPRINT.startsWith("generic"))
            return true;

        int id = resources.getIdentifier("config_showNavigationBar", "bool", "android");
        return id > 0 && resources.getBoolean(id);
    }