Why hasn't Apple unlocked the FM chip in the iPhone?

dejanh

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The National Association Of Broadcasters say that streaming an FM audio feed can drain a smartphone battery real fast. Also that on the iPhone, the antenna would have to be built in, which could add bulk. Google it!
See Post above. Same solution was employed on the BlackBerry Passport. No need for an antenna to be built in. As for the former, I was streaming FM radio on the Passport when I still had it and did not notice the excessive battery drain you mention. Nothing to Google here actually.
 

Ledsteplin

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See Post above. Same solution was employed on the BlackBerry Passport. No need for an antenna to be built in. As for the former, I was streaming FM radio on the Passport when I still had it and did not notice the excessive battery drain you mention. Nothing to Google here actually.

Again, you're talking Blackberry. That's not an iPhone! You don't know much about Apple do you?
There's a missing appropriate antenna and amplifier chip dedicated to driving that antenna. Unlike the Murata chip that doesn't take up any extra space in the phone.
Could it be done? Absolutely. But Apple wants a very thin iPhone. No extra bulk. Besides, FM is apparently on the way out. And Apple knows this.
 
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dejanh

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Again, you're talking Blackberry. That's not an iPhone! You don't know much about Apple do you?
There's a missing appropriate antenna and amplifier chip dedicated to driving that antenna. Unlike the Murata chip that doesn't take up any extra space in the phone.
Could it be done? Absolutely. But Apple wants a very thin iPhone. No extra bulk. Besides, FM is apparently on the way out. And Apple knows this.
Now we're on the same page. They can do it. They don't want to. Reason - none. They just don't want to. This is very Apple, that much I know.

The last thing Apple wants is a reason to keep that pesky headphone jack.
Hahahaha, yes. We'll see how that works out for them.
 

JBSlough

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It might have to do with accounting rules. They once had to charge for an iPod Touch update to unlock features already in the device. I think they had the same issue on the Mac once. If they were to unlock it they'd be required to charge for it. I could wrong though.
 

Soapm

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I work in an industry where duplication of communication equipment is routine, and those who live long enough to learn understand that it is better to have several devices with "one function per box" rather than one single multipurpose device..

Don't miss the point, modern day life is more like an Swiss army knife, most want a single device that does everything to include wallet, keys, banking etc... I can't see anyone saying, "got my flip flops, shorts, beach towel, shades... Oh, and transistor radio in case there's an emergency..." But glad we can all gather around yours...

Heck man, I'm looking for the day when our drivers license, registration and insurance cards are loaded into our phones and you can give them to the cop via Bluetooth or NFC.
 

Ledsteplin

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Don't miss the point, modern day life is more like an Swiss army knife, most want a single device that does everything to include wallet, keys, banking etc... I can't see anyone saying, "got my flip flops, shorts, beach towel, shades... Oh, and transistor radio in case there's an emergency..." But glad we can all gather around yours...

Heck man, I'm looking for the day when our drivers license, registration and insurance cards are loaded into our phones and you can give them to the cop via Bluetooth or NFC.

You can auto insurance cards. They emailed me mine and it's good if I get stopped.
 

nite732

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Alot of phones have always had FM radios. They do not drain the battery the complete opposite. It saves the battery better than streaming. Alot of city workers and construction workers and drivers without radios in there trucks still us FM radio's on there phones. You can have the radio on way longer than streaming. Their is a FM receiver in every iphone that is a part of the bluetooth/wifi chip but apple can't just activate it with an update. The hardware to connect the receiver to the antenna or headphones is not there.
 

kevliu1980

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The FM receivers in the wifi radios of nearly all modern smartphones are perfectly capable of being used if they were enabled by the OEM/carriers.

Many countries outside the US have it enabled by default and even recently T-mobile and some other carriers have enabled it on the Samsung S7s. No issues with reception or battery life. In fact as others have said, playing music via the FM vs. streaming via data uses significantly less power.

Most have chalked it up to carriers not wanting to provide a data free method of playing any media. However T-mobile is certainly pushing back against than with their Binge program. If they make streaming music via data free, there's no incentive for them to block FM radio any longer.
 

Honey Beagle

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Now we're on the same page. They can do it. They don't want to. Reason - none. They just don't want to. This is very Apple, that much I know.


Hahahaha, yes. We'll see how that works out for them.

Most likely will sell less phones that would have sold if there was a headphone jack.
 

Rob Phillips

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Most likely will sell less phones that would have sold if there was a headphone jack.

People said the same thing when Apple ditched the 30-pin port on iPhone and iPad. They got over that and they'll get over this.
Truthfully, the Lightning port can push a lot more power than the headphone jack. What this will equate to is much better sound.
 

Branta

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Heck man, I'm looking for the day when our drivers license, registration and insurance cards are loaded into our phones and you can give them to the cop via Bluetooth or NFC.

More like... No, just unlock your phone and hand it to me so I can scan the barcode on screen. And while it's unlocked it there's a Cellebrite... You don't want to unlock it? Well please sit in my car.
 

dejanh

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People said the same thing when Apple ditched the 30-pin port on iPhone and iPad. They got over that and they'll get over this.
Truthfully, the Lightning port can push a lot more power than the headphone jack. What this will equate to is much better sound.
Heh, if only it worked like that. Instead, you're going to get some crappy dongle with a terrible DAC built into it for $50 that you will have to keep plugged in all the time. There will be fewer sales as a result of the headphone jack being removed. I have no doubts about it. Problem is though, it likely won't be possible to separate the lower sales due to the missing headphone jack from just a general decline in demand for the iPhone. We will likely have to wait until the 2017 release to really gauge the impact.
 

Rob Phillips

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Heh, if only it worked like that. Instead, you're going to get some crappy dongle with a terrible DAC built into it for $50 that you will have to keep plugged in all the time. There will be fewer sales as a result of the headphone jack being removed. I have no doubts about it. Problem is though, it likely won't be possible to separate the lower sales due to the missing headphone jack from just a general decline in demand for the iPhone. We will likely have to wait until the 2017 release to really gauge the impact.

You're working on assumptions. The Lightning port is capable of pushing more power, period. This is no different than switching from cassettes to CDs. People didn't stop listening to music; they griped for a moment and then adapted to a newer, better technology.
Yes, Apple will have a hole to fill with billions of headphones currently out in the wild but neither of us have any idea how they are going to tackle that.
And smartphone sales are slowing, not just iPhones.
 

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