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FM radio might be hideously old-fashioned in this age of constantly connected streaming media, but it's free and sometimes it's just easier than finding streaming content. Samsung's phones have hardware support for FM radio reception, but the feature was missing from the unlocked Galaxy S9 and S9+ at launch. With the most recent update, that mistake has been rectified.
It's all too easy to hate on FM radio. When you've got access to an endless supply of on-demand streaming music, room on your phone to store a hefty local music library, and no shortage of options for personally tailored playlists, why bother with something as archaic as FM radio? Well, besides being free and using none of your data plan, you can also learn about local artists who might find otherwise themselves lost in the crowd of online options. And did we mention it's free? Ultimately, it's a feature we'd rather have on our phone than not. But as some new Galaxy S9 owners are discovering, things aren't working out quite as intended.
There are quite a few Android phones that support FM radio, at least on a hardware level. But the feature is rare on devices in the United States, and even more rare on carrier-sold phones (carriers would much rather you use more data). Most of LG's recent devices have shipped with the feature (at least in some regions), including the G5 and G6, but it will expand to more devices soon.
Verizon has released an update for both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge that adds some features and bug fixes. FM radio support, which was added to other carrier models several months ago, is now available on Verizon S7 and S7 edges. In addition, Samsung now includes a built-in barcode scanning app called Barcode Beaming Service.
It's common for American carriers to mandate the removal of FM radio functionality from popular phones. After all, they'd much rather you used their network services to gobble down data. Something very unusual is happening in the new GS7 update. Samsung and T-Mobile are actually turning on the dormant FM radio functionality.
Online streaming music is all well and good, but if you're hankering for the good old days of sliding FM dials, Rdio wants to oblige your craving. The long-standing streaming service is adding a new section to its app called "On the Air on Rdio," which gives users access to digital streams of 500 United States radio stations. The collection of stations covers basically every major market in the county, usually with a mix of top 40, classic rock, country, sports, and news content.
Having an FM radio built right into your phone seems like a really good idea, but for some reason the feature seems to be relegated to "value" phones like the Moto G in the US. In fact, the OEM chipsets for a lot of devices (including many of Qualcomm's super-popular Snapdragon SoCs) include FM capability, but the manufacturer disables it for whatever reason. According to a quoted report on RadioWorld.com, that's going to change for Android phones on AT&T in 2016.
If you've got a Moto G or Moto E, your phone has an FM radio built right into the design. Motorola's official app for using the FM tuner isn't much to write home about, but it's become considerably better today. The updated app (version 02.00.0045, according to the Play Store) updates the player's user interface to a fresh Material Design theme, now with a fetching teal and white color scheme.
Like a lot of manufacturers that hope to sell phones in developing territories, Motorola adds FM radio functionality to its budget models, currently including the Moto E and the first and second generation of the Moto G. And as is the vogue for manufacturer customizations, the developers at the company have published their custom apps on the Play Store for easier updating. Today the built-in version of the FM radio app gets an update adding some much-needed features.
Google-owned Motorola has already added several of the unique stock apps from the Moto X to Google Play for faster updating, but now it looks like the Moto G is going to get the same treatment. The FM radio app for the upcoming budget-friendly phone has hit Google Play.
Perhaps you've just finally gotten your mobile devices all upgraded to the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, and maybe Bluetooth 3.0 is enough to get you through the day. Qualcomm apparently has no intention of standing still, though. At Computex in Taiwan, Qualcomm has just demonstrated the first chip that will bring 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 to your next Android tablet. This is the chip first announced back in February, but now it's a real thing.
If you're one of a handful of people who have been wondering whether or not the new Droid Bionic has FM Radio capabilities, the folks at Android Central forums have confirmed that it does, and that the radio APK from the Droid 3 will let you listen whenever you want. It definitely works on our review unit:
This announcement should warm up some cold, digital, audiophile hearts. Following the rumors, Korean digital audio player maker Cowon announced its latest creation - the D3 "Plenue," running Android 2.1. Following on from the renowned D2/D2+, Cowon's newest device bests its predecessors in just about every way.
After celebrating CyanogenMod 6.0 hitting the final release version for a multitude of devices, the CM team got right back to work on the next version of the largest Android ROM on the planet. 2 months worth of sleepless nights paid off, as minutes ago, Cyanogen announced a new major milestone - CM 6.1 Release Candidate 1. According to the team, the release is definitely good enough to be a daily driver, and the remaining bugs will be quickly squashed, so go ahead and fearlessly hit up the download links below.
