Smartphones have a hidden FM Radio Inside them

You may not know it but most of today's smartphones have FM radios inside of them. But the FM chip is not activated on two-thirds of devices. That's because mobile makers have the FM capability switched off.

The National Association of Broadcasters has been asking mobile makers to change this. But the mobile industry, which profits from selling data to smartphone users, says that with the consumer's move toward mobile streaming apps, the demand for radio simply isn't there.

In the words of NPR's Robert Siegel

Samsung, Apple and LG are among those who have not switched on the chip, but HTC and Motorola chips haven't been blocked, Sprint has turned on the FM chip for phones on its network.

The smartphone has fueled a change in media consumption habits and it's a growing challenge to radio as the go-to audio source for news. To get local broadcasts, Users increasingly download podcasts or stream from news apps where they can skip or pause segments. As popular as this form of consumption is, these apps all suck up costly data.

Aside from the huge benefit he sees for the radio industry, Smulyan says users could avoid expensive data charges and save battery life if they listen to the FM chip for free.

This article is made possible by multiple inputs from Sources: NPR, Wikipedia.