WASHINGTON � NAB�s tech arm, Pilot, reports �a record number� of smartphones with enabled FM chips were sold in the U.S. during Q2.
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The top 70% of the best-selling devices, offered by at least one carrier with the chip enabled, sold in that period, totaled 12.7 million smartphones. That amounts to about �46% of the total� top models, according to a blog written by Skip Pizzi. These top devices usually account for 20�25 different smartphone models.
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That�s also the most smartphones sold in Q2 since Pilot began to track the sales of smartphones in 2012.
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With Verizon�s decision to activate FM chips for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, it is the first time a widely popular device was available with NextRadio compatibility across all four major U.S. carriers.
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Another bright spot in the report was the decline in popularity of the Apple iPhone, which represented about 38% of the best-sellers, demonstrating Android�s rise in popularity. That�s good news for NextRadio, since Apple is the only manufacturer that has consistently refused to activate the FM chip since it was added to devices in 2009.
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But a potentially concerning trend is the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone connector from some iOS and Android devices. Because majority of FM-enabled smartphones use wired headphones as the antenna for FM reception, this could be a hitch in the progression of FM activation. However, Tagstation President Paul Brenner has consistently indicated that he does not consider this to be a problem.
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Another change that Pizzi says Pilot will monitor is the inclusion of smartphone �connectivity chips� that have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transceivers � but no FM. However, Q2 data shows the sales of phones with these chips has dropped to below 5% of total sales.
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A version of this article originally appeared on the website of Radio World, sister publication of Radio magazine.
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