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

[Derrick4Real]

I use TuneIn radio and iheartradio apps. the combination normally gets me the radio station i want.

 

[dpeters11]

Cool, scratch one off my list...

Careful though. While they are accepted in most states, there are some states that still don't allow them.

 

[dejanh]

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.

Care to be more specific about what "assumptions" I am making that you believe could be far from the truth? Pushing power can't solve the problem that you are going to need to transfer a signal to an external adapter. I very much doubt the signal will be analog over a port that was clearly designed for digital, which implies a DAC has to be in either the external dongle or the headphones themselves. Nothing to worry about though since a 3.5mm jack is so outdated I'm sure all those billions of headphones are ripe for replacement.

 

[DragonPoo]

Apple does include an FM radio chip in the latest 6S line of phones, and they have similar chips in past models. It's integrated into the Wifi/Bluetooth chip. They just choose to disable it, because that's in Apple's best interest. Why give you access to free FM radio signals, when you can rely on cellular data or wifi data, which is in the carrier's best interest?

Many Android and Windows phones use a similar wifi chip, which offers an integrated FM radio. This uses the headset port as a radio antenna. The quality of the reception depends on your location (I've had decent reception outdoors, and fair reception indoors).

Ref: iFixit teardowns (https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+6s+Teardown/48170 step 19, https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+6s+Plus+Teardown/48171 step 12.) The Universal Scientific Industrial 339S00043 Wi-Fi Module included in both is the Broadcom BCM4350: https://www.broadcom.com/products/wireless-connectivity/wireless-lan/bcm4350 which includes Wifi, BT, and FM

 

[scruffypig]

I listen to FM radio almost daily. Just saying.

I listen to AM radio all day long at work. Why can't Apple put an AM radio chip in the iPhone. I would definitely use that. FM is dead. AM is the way to go.

 

[Honey Beagle]

I listen to AM radio all day long at work. Why can't Apple put an AM radio chip in the iPhone. I would definitely use that. FM is dead. AM is the way to go.

That would be nice. AM stations that play music play much better music that most FM stations.

 

[qbnkelt]

Thank you for the explanation. I wasn't all that eager about downloading the app, but with all the hype on television and radio regarding emergency preparedness, I was merely curious. And your point about a small standalone radio is well taken. And of course there are our car radios as well.

I lived in California and they drum it in your heads to keep a small transistor radio with fresh batteries in an emergency box. Also a similar box in the car.
When I moved to the MidAtlantic I brought that lesson to my new home. I've added a few things like LED camp lights and flashlights and of course radios.

My next purchase will be a weather radio.

I don't like to have a single point of failure. Work has taught me to maintain redundancy.

 

[qbnkelt]

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.

The point is that in case of an emergency you want to have discrete tech for specific tasks.

When the 2012 derecho that came through the MidAtlantic left me with no power for three days and only my phones for weather information, I resolved to get a standalone weather radio. I've been lazy and haven't done but I will before winter hits.

You can carry your phone and rely on that only but if the towers go down you're a siting duck on your beach towel with your flip flops and your glasses and your phone that's inaccessible to information.