Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Samsung partners with NextRadio to unlock FM Chip in future devices

Brenda Stolyar
By

Samsung
Image used with permission by copyright holder
While smartphones have FM radio built into it, most manufacturers don’t enable it. In partnership with NextRadio, Samsung announced it will be unlocking the FM Chip in its new smartphone models within the U.S. and Canada.

NextRadio — available on iOS and Android — is an app that allows you to stream live, local FM radio stations on your smartphone. If your phone’s FM chip is activated, the app will also provide you with emergency listening capabilities.

Recommended Videos

By unlocking the FM Chip, Samsung will allow users to listen to local stations, meaning you’ll use less data and battery to stream radio apps. More importantly, the chip will help those in emergency situations by providing important information from local radio stations when cellular coverage is unavailable.

Related

Last year, LG revealed NextRadio was becoming a native platform on some of its top phones in North and South America. The phones not only have their FM chips enabled, but also already come pre-installed with the app.

NextRadio’s website lists over 200 radio-capable phones — most of which are Samsung phones, along with HTC, and Motorola devices — but the radio will only be available if you download the app.

While NextRadio is available for iOS, Apple smartphones are missing from the list. The iPhone 7 and its latest iPhone 8 are also both chip-free, with future models most likely continuing the pattern. The chip’s absence from iPhones could be due to the company not wanting consumers to use radio, since it may effect Apple Music subscriptions.

Ultimately, it’s the manufacturers that make the decision to enable the FM radio chip within its smartphones. But it does often rest on the carrier as well.

Even though FM radio chips are included in the chipset of most smartphones and can be activated by manufacturers, most carriers have no motive to do so. Having customers stream their music also means they’re using up more data, which allows carriers to make more money.

It’s clear that unlocking the FM Chip in smartphones is necessity when it comes to public safety — especially in the wake of recent natural disasters around the world — and manufacturers are noticing. If you’re looking for a smartphone with an FM radio, it’s clear that an Android device may be your best option.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Brenda Stolyar
Brenda Stolyar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brenda became obsessed with technology after receiving her first Dell computer from her grandpa in the second grade. While…
Samsung’s SmartThings Find sniffs out lost Galaxy devices using AR heat maps
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra S Pen

Lost doesn’t mean never to be found again, thanks to Samsung’s new SmartThings Find feature. This expanded, more accurate device-location service uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless communication technology to build an augmented reality-based heat map to sniff out missing devices. SmartThings is Samsung’s smart home platform, and the Find feature joins Samsung’s existing Find My Mobile service as essential tools for the more forgetful gadget fan.

Samsung Launches SmartThings Find, a New Way to Quickly and Easily Locate Your Galaxy Devices

Read more
Skip the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and wait for next year’s milestone model
Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones on chair

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 20 series today, and not surprisingly, the new phone are everything you’d expect them to be. They’re over the top in specs, sport capable cameras, and enthrall with their mesmerizing displays. They’re undoubtedly going to be on wish lists this holiday season, but despite the hoopla and showcase, I don’t think they’re worth buying. In fact, you’re better off saving for next year.
Fundamental appeal is gone
We all know that Samsung puts out two flagship-caliber lines each year, the Galaxy S and Note. Even though that format hasn’t changed, the company threw a wrench with the two foldables that were introduced the last couple of years. One can argue that they took the spotlight away from the Note series, but part of the reason why I’ve been less than enthused about the Note line the last couple of years is because the fundamental appeal about the Note is gone -- it’s just like every other phone out there.

What do I mean? Well, the original Samsung Galaxy Note launched in 2011 and it was a very different smartphone. Samsung’s intention was to bridge the gap between smartphones and tablets, which it did by introducing the term “phablet” into our vocabulary. What made the Note immensely popular was its size compared to other phones at the time, which was a conversation starter in its own right. Today, however, the Note 20 Ultra’s size is a smidgen larger than its contemporaries. If Samsung wants to make a serious statement, like it did with the original, it  would be a wise move to garner attention with something bigger and more grand in size.

Read more
Samsung’s next-generation folding phone may use last-generation hardware
samsung galaxy fold fixes explained feature

Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 introduction

Samsung's next major event, Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, is just over a month away, and the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to be one of the highlights. However, while Samsung's next generation of folding smartphone may be the future, don't expect it to use next-generation hardware. According to the latest rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 is likely to use last year's flagship processor, rather than this year's.

Read more