LG phone owners are about to suddenly find an FM radio in their pockets.
LG Electronics and TagStation, owner of the NextRadio app, inked an agreement to activate FM receiver chips already built in to current and future LG phones in the North American and Latin American markets. Subject to agreements with wireless carriers, LG will also preload NextRadio on a number of currently available models.
The collaboration will allow LG users to listen to live, local over-the-air FM radio on their smartphones without burning streaming data, while also providing users access to audio emergency alerts even if cellular coverage becomes congested or unavailable.
The NextRadio app’s direct connection to the phone’s FM chip allows consumers to use three times less battery and 20 times less data than streaming radio apps when listening to NextRadio broadcasts, TagStation said.