Upcoming smartphones from Samsung (possibly the Galaxy S9 line) will have active FM chips in the US and Canada, according to NextRadio. They’ll join companies like LG and Motorola, which have already made similar moves in recent months.
By having an active FM chip in Samsung phones, that’ll mean access to FM radio broadcasts. While that’s fun from an entertainment aspect (no data needed to stream radio!), this is an important move because of the access it gives to emergency broadcasts, even if cell coverage were to go down. Think about during a natural disaster, where all wireless communications might be down – you could at least keep up on information through an FM radio.
NextRadio didn’t say which phones this will be in, only that “upcoming” would have an active FM chip.
// NextRadio