FM radio in smartphones bundled with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on a “connectivity” chip
With the release of the NextRadio smartphone app now preloaded on some 30 devices, NAB Labs is seeing progress on the availability of FM in devices compared to two years ago. However, data shows that while FM chips have been present in nearly all of the top-selling smartphones in the U.S. in the past two years, their software and hardware integration levels still varies.
FM radio receivers found in smartphones are typically bundled with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on a “connectivity” chip. NAB is finding three categories of FM “enablement” in smartphones: 1) the FM receiver hardware is onboard, but not enabled, 2) the FM receiver is enabled and connected, accessible to a native app in the phone OS and 3) the FM receiver is enabled and connected, accessible to a native app and to third-party apps via API.
