Samsung will ensure that at least some of its future U.S. smartphones ship with active FM radios, says NextRadio.
Sometimes Samsung and/or its carrier partners leave FM radios, which are included in nearly all phones, inert. That will change.
FM radio makes it possible for hundreds of millions of people to find and listen to local broadcasts for free. NextRadio allows people to listen to local radio stations via their phone’s FM radio, in addition to stations from all over the country through their phone’s data connection.
NextRadio says gaining access to the FM radio on Samsung’s phones will translate to huge power and data savings for end users. NextRadio can access FM signals even when cellular data networks are not available.
Neither Samsung nor NextRadio said which phones might be the first to benefit from this partnership. Alcatel, LG, and Motorola have already enabled FM radios on their handsets.