NEW JERSEY — The smartphone has overtaken the traditional radio receiver as the primary device used for in-car audio among Americans ages 13 to 34, according to new Edison Research data.
Edison’s second-quarter 2026 Share of Ear study found mobile devices receiving 46% of the group’s in-car audio time, compared with 43% for radio receivers. The reversal is dramatic: in 2015, radio receivers held 66% while mobile devices accounted for 19%.
The device is not the content
The numbers do not mean young drivers have abandoned radio programming. Some AM and FM stations are heard through mobile applications, aggregators and connected dashboards. Edison separately found that AM/FM programming still captures 70% of ad-supported in-car audio time among the same age group.
That distinction gives broadcasters both a warning and an opportunity. The physical radio receiver no longer controls the dashboard, but local personalities, music, news, weather and traffic can still compete when stations are easy to locate on the devices listeners already use.
Radio must win the new doorway
Stations now need dependable mobile applications, accurate song and program metadata, voice-search compatibility and clean access through Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A strong signal is no longer enough if a driver cannot find the station by name or format.
The larger question is whether broadcasters will treat the smartphone as a competitor or as another receiver for radio content. The audience data suggests radio’s best response is to make its local product available everywhere rather than defend a single piece of dashboard hardware.
Source: Radio Ink, September 23, 2026.