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... water resistance (a jack can be just as water resistant as a USB port) ...

Case in point. My Kyocera Hydro Vibe (that I bought in 2015) has a headphone jack and is "Certified waterproof for IPX5, and IPX7. Immersible for up to 30 minutes in up to 3.28 feet (1 meter)." Also comes with a user-replaceable battery and FM receiver that works with NextRadio. Sure, it only runs Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) but it does what I need it to using Ting

I had a $200 Qualcomm QCP-1920 from 1998 through 2015 from nTelos (originally PrimeCo in my area) until they sold their local spectrum Sprint and they said my phone wouldn't be supported. I bought a Kyocera Hydro VIBE on sale for about $150 from Ting (which also uses Sprint in my area) in August 2015 and am still using it with them. I'm not a heavy smartphone user and my bills are around $15/month -- which is what I was paying with nTelos/PrimeCo w/o the per-minute costs.

I'm pretty happy with both the phone and Ting and see no need to upgrade the phone or change providers anytime soon. My only complaint is that the phone is running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and there are no updates available. Not sure if I can root it and/or install something else. But... It does have an FM receiver that works with NextRadio, as well as a headphone jack, removable battery, wireless charging, NFC, Bluetooth, and is certified waterproof to 3m for 30min (suck it iPhone).

Many phones have the hardware included to receive FM broadcast radio. Here's a list of phones that are compatible with the nextradio app.

Many phones have the hardware included to receive FM broadcast radio. Here's a list of phones that are compatible with the nextradio app.

If you aren't using wired headphones (which act as an FM antenna), then you are definitely using wifi. Some Galaxy S5s are FM enabled and others aren't. I'd like to use Nextradio, but I connect via AT&T which disables the FM radio.

You can see which phones have FM radio enabled here: http://nextradioapp.com/suppor...

It turns out that the Samsung Galaxy S5's FM chip is supported by NextRadio -- provided your mobile provider hasn't disabled it. Mine has (Verizon.)

There's more information on supported devices and networks here.

Tell Samsung, Tell Pixel, Tell Motorola, tell ALL the smartphone manufactures to turn on the FM radio chip so i can at least get local broadcast FM radio music, news and weather

Many of those devices already to have their FM radios enabled, but lack software to drive them. I use the free NextRadio app on my Kyocera Hydro Vibe and it works great. It uses the headphone wire as an antenna, so they (or a speaker) must be plugged it, but you can also output through the built-in speaker.

Here's the official list of supported devices. Note that my device wasn't listed when I first installed the app, but it worked anyway. I sent some feed back telling them it worked and my device is now listed.

Tell Samsung, Tell Pixel, Tell Motorola, tell ALL the smartphone manufactures to turn on the FM radio chip so i can at least get local broadcast FM radio music, news and weather

Many of those devices already to have their FM radios enabled, but lack software to drive them. I use the free NextRadio app on my Kyocera Hydro Vibe and it works great. It uses the headphone wire as an antenna, so they (or a speaker) must be plugged it, but you can also output through the built-in speaker.

Here's the official list of supported devices. Note that my device wasn't listed when I first installed the app, but it worked anyway. I sent some feed back telling them it worked and my device is now listed.

That would be a valid argument in the product development stage. The FM receiver is already in your phone. It's just been disabled at the request of carriers so they can make more money via data plans used to listen to music, or in the case of Apple because the manufacturer makes money from streaming services.

Bullshit. Apple doesn't bother with the FM section in its WiFi/BT module, because their own market research with the iPod Nano with the FM radio shows that nobody cares, and it's just one more standards-compliance-procedure to deal with, worldwide.

I would wonder more about whether the new FCC Chair has financial ties to the NextRadioApp people.

Given the rest of Trump's cronies, that is a far more likely possibility.

http://nextradioapp.com/suppor...

My Nexus 5 supports FM just fine by using the headphone as part of the antenna and using the NextRadio app - http://nextradioapp.com/

Next Radio

I wonder how much of this is actual consumer demand for listening to ads and the same songs every hour to avoid data overages vs. FM radio's last desperate gasp to remain relevant now that streaming is offering an alternative?

My Kyocera Hydro Vibe (Android) has an FM tuner and I use the free app NextRadio to listen to live radio, usually NPR, at work where streaming isn't available. My provider is Ting so I also don't want to burn data minutes by streaming. The app supports an ad-free basic mode, selecting stations by frequency and uses zilch data or an enhanced mode that displays album art for the current song/album playing on the local radio stations, station selection by tile and (reportedly) uses very little data. Small banner ads are displayed at the bottom of the screen in enhanced mode.

NextRadio
Supported Devices

I wonder how much of this is actual consumer demand for listening to ads and the same songs every hour to avoid data overages vs. FM radio's last desperate gasp to remain relevant now that streaming is offering an alternative?

My Kyocera Hydro Vibe (Android) has an FM tuner and I use the free app NextRadio to listen to live radio, usually NPR, at work where streaming isn't available. My provider is Ting so I also don't want to burn data minutes by streaming. The app supports an ad-free basic mode, selecting stations by frequency and uses zilch data or an enhanced mode that displays album art for the current song/album playing on the local radio stations, station selection by tile and (reportedly) uses very little data. Small banner ads are displayed at the bottom of the screen in enhanced mode.

NextRadio
Supported Devices

Here's a list of devices and carriers that are supported now.