Most of the major U.S. carriers now include the NextRadio FM app in at least one model of their Android smartphones or other portable devices. Now the folks at NextRadio have unveiled a new in-dash vehicle integration with various car manufacturers and third-party integrators. With this next step, the app developer has moved its relationship closer to the automobile OEM, NextRadio President Paul Brenner told Inside Towers in an interview.

NextRadio is also planning to launch a streaming version of the FM app. It could operate on Apple CarPlay and that would be a way to bring Apple on board, which has been a holdout in this sector, he said. The streaming-only version has radio industry support. The idea is “to take the same experience and replicate it on Apple phones,” he said.

In general, carriers “are always asking us to improve” the app, he said; the streaming option means consumers won’t need to be educated so much about what the app does. On display at the NextRadio booth (N5113) at NAB2017 are the in-dash integration and a version of the app that enables users to hear FM on smartphones without needing to use earbuds as the antenna.