Blog Points To Number Of FM-Enabled Smartphones

Skip Pizzi

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS Sr. Dir./New Media Technologies SKIP PIZZI blogs on the PILOT site, "New data from the second quarter of this year shows that a record number of smartphones with their FM reception capability enabled were sold in the U.S. during the period.

"Since 2012, PILOT has tracked the sales and FM capabilities of top-selling smartphones in the U.S., which we define as the top 70% of the devices sold. This usually equates to around 20-25 smartphone models, representing the lion’s share of U.S. sales during any quarterly period. We evaluate these phones through teardown and sales analysis, to verify their FM reception capabilities.

"For 2Q16, U.S. sales of these leading smartphones in which at least one carrier has fully activated FM radio reception hit 12.7 million units—the highest number ever recorded by PILOT—representing 46% of the total top-selling units sold during the quarter."

PIZZI adds, "Another ground-breaking trend noted in the 2Q16 data shows that, for the first time since PILOT has been tracking these sales, APPLE iPHONE sales fell below 50% of the total. This is significant because APPLE has never activated the FM receiver chips that have been included in iPHONES since the 3GS model appeared in mid-2009, making the iPHONE the only device that FM-receiver friendly carriers (which now include SPRINT, AT&T, T-MOBILE and others) have not been able to offer with FM capability.

"Given that aggregate sales of iPhone models have previously exceeded 50% market share in each quarter evaluated by PILOT, however, iPHONE sales falling to only ~38% of 2Q16’s top sellers represents a major shift in the ANDROID vs. iOS market balance. Since all top-selling FM-activated smartphones are on the ANDROID platform to date, this change is welcome news for radio broadcasters."

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