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FCC Chairman Encourages Activation of the FM Radio Receiver Built Into Your iPhone

Krevnik said:
Again, this assumes the chip's even wired up to receive the signal it needs from an antenna. The article paints it as if this is just a firmware switch, but fails to comment on if the required hardware piece to make this feature of the chip useful is even present and connected.

It's not a surprise (to me) that the chip supports it, since these chips are worldwide chips, and in asian markets, FM is a bigger draw to a device than it is in the US currently (despite those who want it). But the tuner is just one piece of what has to be there.
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So the iPod Nano has FM radio via wired headphones and the iOS devices cannot do it. What a joke.
 
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zauriel said:
Riiiiight. You walk around with a device that has GPS and location services, but you're worried about FM radio being the culprit that allows you to be tracked by the nefarious FCC with a chairman that specifically states they neither want to mandate its use nor have the authority to do so.
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Of course I'm aware that all this is going on. Why exactly are they even bringing this up is really what I'm asking. It's obvious this is not at all for the consumers good, so what's the motive?
 
There is a Digital HD Radio device made by Gigaware (discontinued) and app still in the App Store, but not for long as it's outdated and needs an update, but it is still functional. The device can be found on eBay. It requires an adapter however from the 30 pin connector to Lightning, but I got the whole thing for less than $20 on EBay including shipping!

As for Apple's stance, it's unlikely because that device uses the headphone jack and headphones as the antenna. A built in chip with Digital HD-Radio however might not be any bigger than the current chips if one exists. but HD-Radio sounds so much better than regular FM.

And finally, the FCC really waited a long time to take a more firm stance on this. By waiting so long and not requiring it to be standard, they are a bit late to the party.
 
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derek4484 said:
Apple's not going to do it because it'll allow you to listen to radio for free, rather than having to pay them for a monthly subscription.
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I listen to radio and I have Apple Music. They serve different purposes. If there was an FM radio on my iPhone that definitely would not preclude me from also getting a streaming music service. I doubt the reason Apple doesn't turn on the radio is because they want people to subscribe to Apple Music. There could be cellular, network, etc. tradeoffs because having the radio would require another antenna. You can be certain it's probably a design issue, and not some kind of far-fetched malicious reason.
 
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acedout said:
Why not allow both. Consumer choice. If the hardware is there...! I had no idea.
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Whoa, whoa, whoa thar, young feller! You're talking about interfering with Commerce and Freedom, etc. Who knows? We could all be violating the Patriot Act just by turning-on and listening to "free" music on a radio. ;)
 
newyorkone said:
I listen to radio and I have Apple Music. They serve different purposes. If there was an FM radio on my iPhone that definitely would not preclude me from also getting a streaming music service. I doubt the reason Apple doesn't turn on the radio is because they want people to subscribe to Apple Music. There could be cellular, network, etc. tradeoffs because having the radio would require another antenna. You can be certain it's probably a design issue, and not some kind of far-fetched malicious reason.
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Design issue, affordable Android phones have had this feature for a while. Have you seen the pertruding camera on the iOS devices (iPhone 6/6S/7), I do not believe it is a design issue. I believe it is a financial issue to push people into Apple Music, if Apple had believed in Apple Music, they would allow FM radio and allow the free-market to decide. Shocking if Apple would have to lower cost for Apple Music, nope cannot have that. :rolleyes:
 
FM radio was a favourite feature of my iPod Nano years ago. Used it for hours in the remotest of places.

Doesn't matter quite so much today with podcasts, audible etc, but still great.
 
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Krevnik said:
The chip is there, but it still needs to be wired up to an antenna. If the antenna pins aren't hooked up to anything, that's a no go, even if there is FM support by the wireless chipset being used. And I suspect they aren't. And since antenna length is based on the frequencies you are operating at, it's unlikely that the antennas used for 700Mhz+ are going to be all that great for 80-100Mhz frequencies (plus the transmission part might throw a wrench into it, my RF is a bit rusty).

They could have it hooked up to the headphone jack and do FM that way, but when I tried that with an iPod Nano a few years ago, it was a sort of "it works, but isn't great" answer.
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Yep. That and new iPhones don't even have a headphone jack to leverage if they wanted to.
 
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JamesPDX said:
Whoa, whoa, whoa thar, young feller! You're talking about interfering with Commerce and Freedom, etc. Who knows? We could all be violating the Patriot Act just by turning-on and listening to "free" music on a radio. ;)
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People should put Tim Cook under pressure, he is rather vocal regarding political policies. Though I see nothing wrong with what his choice is, I do feel that consumers should also be allowed to have access to FM radio for free as the FCC states it also has to do with health and safety alerts and announcements. Is Tim Cook against health and safety alerts and announcements. :p;)
 
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Krevnik said:
The chip is there, but it still needs to be wired up to an antenna. If the antenna pins aren't hooked up to anything, that's a no go, even if there is FM support by the wireless chipset being used. And I suspect they aren't. And since antenna length is based on the frequencies you are operating at, it's unlikely that the antennas used for 700Mhz+ are going to be all that great for 80-100Mhz frequencies (plus the transmission part might throw a wrench into it, my RF is a bit rusty).

They could have it hooked up to the headphone jack and do FM that way, but when I tried that with an iPod Nano a few years ago, it was a sort of "it works, but isn't great" answer.
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Good observation and get another reason to dislike the removal of the jack.
 
code-m said:
Design issue, affordable Android phones have had this feature for a while. Have you seen the pertruding camera on the iOS devices (iPhone 6/6S/7), I do not believe it is a design issue. I believe it is a financial issue to push people into Apple Music, if Apple had believed in Apple Music, they would allow FM radio and allow the free-market to decide. Shocking if Apple would have to lower cost for Apple Music, nope cannot have that. :rolleyes:
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Yes, many Android phones have had this feature but their "solution" is often to use the headphones as the antenna. There are considerable issues with having the antenna in the same device when you also are transmitting on frequencies in the same relative space (FM radio is around 100 and now we have 600 cell coming on-line). It is not something that can be solved due to a little thing called physics and the properties of radio waves. Add to the fact that FM radio is by and large analog and it further complicates the problems with interference. By using the headphones not only are you gaining an antenna, but more importantly you are moving it outside and away from the rest of the phone and it's transmitters. This though is a major problem when you have an all digital connector as then you have to look at things like connecting it on a ground pin, which needs all sort of protection and other circuitry to accomplish (and obviously it wouldn't work at all, in any way with wireless headphones). At this point in time it just can't be done.
 
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