Samsung is the first manufacturer to be completely compatible with the NextRadio FM smartphone app across all carriers in the United States. All major carriers and smartphone manufacturers, with the exception of Apple, now support the app at some level. So why do carriers want to be associated with the smartphone app?
Eric Williams, VP of Wireless Partnerships for NextRadio, told Inside Towers: “NextRadio is a valuable addition to carriers’ ever-growing music portfolios and is a new revenue stream for them. Over-the-air FM radio through the NextRadio application provides wireless customers with free music, discovery, interaction with their favorite local radio personalities, live news and sports.”
Emergency alerts are another reason, according to Williams. “NextRadio also provides carriers redundancy to their emergency alert systems. During inclement weather and nature disasters, people can use their smartphones to tune into their local affiliates for the latest breaking news in their area.”
Samsung sent a maintenance release to owners of new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices sold earlier this year which now makes those models compatible with NextRadio on all carriers.
The maintenance release activates all Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices sold since the original release date in March of 2016. The Galaxy Note7 released in early August is also compatible.
Including the latest three additions, a total of 84 devices are now compatible with the NextRadio app. That means they either come with the app already activated, or the consumer can download the app and it will work.