Soon you can listen to the radio directly from your Samsung phone
Months after the FCC badgered Apple to do it, Samsung is finally unlocking the FM radio chip in its next smartphone models.
The company announced Tuesday that its upcoming devices will contain unlocked FM radio chips. Samsung phone users will be able to access local FM radio through apps like NextRadio, which connects smartphones to nearby radio stations.
Users were already able to stream radio stations through services like iHeartRadio and Pandora. Connecting to radio directly through the FM chip will use less data and less phone battery.
"Samsung should be lauded for taking this important step," said NextRadio President Paul Brenner in a statement. "They are providing their customers a more engaging, immersive radio experience and, as importantly, a means to connect with life-saving information in emergencies."
Most smartphones, including all iPhone models before the 7, are manufactured with hardware capable of receiving FM radio signals, but this hardware is usually deactivated.
Samsung joins LG, Motorola, and Alcatel (a French brand used under license by TCL) in activating their phones' FM chips. Apple has declined to do so, saying that iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips.
Monica wrote for Mashable's Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
