“Screens Are Everywhere. Radio Must Be Visual”

14 avril 2026 à 04:01

Screens are “everywhere” inside cars now — not just in the center stack of the dash, but directly in front of the driver, in front of the front-seat passenger and in front of folks in the back.

And this trend matters for radio.

That’s one finding from the latest In-Vehicle Visuals Report published by Quu Inc. It found that 68% of the 100 top new models sold in America now display information on not one but multiple screens.

Quu also found that every one of the top 100 cars still has FM and AM radio, though radio is getting harder to find in today’s multi-menu infotainment systems.

Once again the company sent a researcher to sit in those car models and log a set of parameters about how radio and metadata display. Then broadcast researcher Doug Hyde analyzed the data.

Key findings of the report are summarized in this chart:

A slide that lists six key findings of the Quu report. They are: 1 -- Screens are everywhere—radio must be visual. 2 -- Infotainment systems are more familiar and intuitive. 3 -- AM/FM is still ubiquitous but increasingly harder to find. 4 -- Earning the ‘last touch’ matters more than ever. 5 -- HD Radio is growing. 6 -- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto hold steady while SiriusXM loses ground.

CEO Steve Newberry said in the announcement, “In our third year, trendlines are emerging. Screens are everywhere in vehicles. Dashboards are getting smarter and more intuitive to use. Audio is now almost always paired with a visual.”

Newberry said that for radio, “the challenge isn’t availability — it’s discoverability. Ensuring sound is seen isn’t optional. It’s essential.”

The chart at right shows what percentage of the top 100 have certain features.

A chart that lists the percentage of the top 100 vehicles that have certain features. Both FM and AM radio are in 100% of them. — Click to enlarge

Almost 3/4 now have HD Radio and about 1/4 are equipped with DTS AutoStage. SiriusXM has seen a dip since last year. Android Audo and Apple CarPlay continue to be well supported.

But another notable finding: The number of models with streaming apps built right into the vehicle is now 53%, up from 20% just two years ago.

The data on all these models is available at QuuReport.com. The site provides searchable findings as well as photos of the dashboards.

Quu sells technology that helps radio stations schedule and publish programming and sales messages on screens.

Newberry will discuss the findings in a free webinar this Wednesday, including guests Fred and Paul Jacobs from Jacobs Media, Joe D’Angelo from Xperi and MikeMcVay of McVay Media Consulting.

The post “Screens Are Everywhere. Radio Must Be Visual” appeared first on Radio World.

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