...and I'd bet that Apple DOESN'T. Not for any financial or technical reason but simply because they don't want to... and they're now large enough that they don't HAVE to.
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National Association of Broadcasters Again Urges Apple to Add FM Radio to iPhones
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I think the point is that there are lots of things Apple could do to save lives. For example, up the battery size by 10% and X more people would have a working phone in an emergency who with the current models might have run out of battery at the wrong moment. You can either do a cost/benefit analysis of every feature and create a list sorted by cost efficiency or you can try to create public pressure by pushing an issue that looks efficient to the public.
(And this whole discussion might be moot anyway if the antenna issue cannot be solved.)
Right... they used to until they took the dang headphone jack out. Most phones use the headphone cable as an antenna and it works great. Maybe Apple could get some "courage" and and add it back, now that its been proven that its not about space, water proofing, etc...
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You have been in the Apple bubble too long... plenty of people prefer wired headsets for some applications. Apple likes to take things away and call it a feature.
If thinking that makes you happy, all the power to you. But I think deep down you know exactly that the percentage of users that would use FM on a smartphone is way too small to have any significant effect on things like Apple Music subscribers.
Why do you people hate having an extra feature? What would be the matter activating the chip and requiring users to plug in headphones or a charging cable as an antenna if they want or need to use FM. The difference between having an extra device at home for disasters is that you most likely have your phone at hand most of the time and that you might have no more home to get your device from after a disaster.
Thing with FM is that (as other users already pointed out) it doesn't overload (ever been at a large accumulation of people like a festival, city event, sports match? Imagine being in a disaster zone with everyone trying to get internet connection) and that the frequencies get higher reach and are easier to deploy in temporary setups so there's more chance of you being able to receive radio or emergency services.
Also, DAB+ is a digital signal so it's either on or off and not just some reception which the guy from Switzerland should know from driving through tunnels so that again is fallible. Also, cars aren't build with DAB+ receivers, that still is a $500 extra feature that only rarely gets build into most cars apart from the richest markets.
Last but not least, I've never been to the US so I can't tell how ****** your radio stations are but FM radio still is a major thing across Europe with a large variety of quality stations. Most users listen to it while driving their cars, many have radios playing at home, in their kitchen or at work. At least here, FM isn't dead and that in parts is due to the technology difference of analog signals vs. digital and their issues. Also, this poses a good backup option for if digital systems really are down or reception is bad for some reason.
Thing with FM is that (as other users already pointed out) it doesn't overload (ever been at a large accumulation of people like a festival, city event, sports match? Imagine being in a disaster zone with everyone trying to get internet connection) and that the frequencies get higher reach and are easier to deploy in temporary setups so there's more chance of you being able to receive radio or emergency services.
Also, DAB+ is a digital signal so it's either on or off and not just some reception which the guy from Switzerland should know from driving through tunnels so that again is fallible. Also, cars aren't build with DAB+ receivers, that still is a $500 extra feature that only rarely gets build into most cars apart from the richest markets.
Last but not least, I've never been to the US so I can't tell how ****** your radio stations are but FM radio still is a major thing across Europe with a large variety of quality stations. Most users listen to it while driving their cars, many have radios playing at home, in their kitchen or at work. At least here, FM isn't dead and that in parts is due to the technology difference of analog signals vs. digital and their issues. Also, this poses a good backup option for if digital systems really are down or reception is bad for some reason.
Sure, but 99.9% of the time the flashlight feature is used on an iPhone is not during power cuts but in a large variety of other situations. Case in point, I use the flashlight feature multiple times per week but never in my life have used it during a power cut (where I live, we haven't had a power cut in ten years or so and all but one of the power outages I have experienced during my life were during the day).
That's the reality, while features like the flashlight are useful in emergencies, they normally only get added if there is a significant use under normal conditions. Phones didn't get GPS to be used in emergencies, they got it for other purposes but once built-in it got used in emergencies as well.
In the US, radio stations are still prevalent as you said. Same as you, many people listen in the car (because they will include traffic information) and doing other tasks. I do think the younger generations are moving away from this because they seem to be less interested in the news and such. Personally, there are times that I prefer the radio with the DJ being in there... vs. just song after song. The point is that FM radio is an emergency notification tool and we have had several events just in the last few months that it was important to people's lives.
I don't personally think that Apple will do anything on this unless the US government forces them to do it. After all, they had the courage to remove the hardware that would make it work.
Soooo...
FM Signals are about 2-4m.
therefore
FM requires a longish Arial to be good quality and reliable.
Nano uses headphone lead
iPhone has no headphone lead.
Possibly could work with lightning headphones or a lighting Ariel.
Fixed - Apple can I have a job?
FM Signals are about 2-4m.
therefore
FM requires a longish Arial to be good quality and reliable.
Nano uses headphone lead
iPhone has no headphone lead.
Possibly could work with lightning headphones or a lighting Ariel.
Fixed - Apple can I have a job?
You're right, of course, but beyond that, why would anyone want to listen to FM outside of an emergency? I think the only thing that keeps FM hanging on is the fact that it's free and easy to use in a vehicle, and *that* is why the NAB is desperate to get it into cellphones, which are (finally, much later than should have been the case) really becoming AM/FM wireless content replacement items in vehicles.
Hey, I have an idea: Why not require flashlights to have a built-in FM radio? Imagine how many lives could be saved if every flashlight had a built-in FM radio.
Thumbs up on that.
But your point proves too much. Those same storms take down AM and FM tx towers, as well as the power needed to keep them on the air. Some have backup power, but so do cell towers.
Your logical fallacy is to not see the difference between a feature people use almost exclusively only during very rare (for any given person) emergencies (FM radio) and features that people use in their daily life (flashlight).
ROFL... perfect.
The iAntenna... you can get it for $199. Of course it would need a dongle or it wouldn't work on an iDevice.
Or, since this looks almost like the Pencil charging... maybe turn the Pencil into an iAntennaPencil
What supports "free" FM is endless commercials. I'll bet the average ratio of music to ads on commercial FM radio stations is roughly 3:1 or 4:1, which is a very poor listening experience.
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This is mostly off the point, but I'm amazed at how many people use their cellphones as flashlights. But hey, no extra chips required!!!
One backup generator can cover (via an FM radio tower) an area maybe 50x larger than one backup generator can cover via one cell tower. Plus FM radio towers can reach (from areas that still have power) far deeper into areas without power than cell towers.
If Apple does not want to add this functionality who is the government to require it is this instance
Fair points with a decent antenna. As I posted earlier, I've used FM with a Nano and the reception was very limited, not at all like what you'd get from a decent portable or vehicle radio. And someone raised the question whether the current Lightning port arrangement could even support use of wired earbuds (which many people toss or lose) as an antenna.
I believe you are incorrect. The functional infrastructure needed for a cell tower to be usable is not just the tower... its all of the internet, and the towers have very short reach. A radio station/tower can operate on emergency power with no other connection. So all they need is a generator and they are functional and cover a wide distance. In emergencies, at least in the US, radio is the primary means of communication. Most people have a radio laying around somewhere, but if you are not at home then the only thing you may have with you is your phone.
The difference is that people use the flashlight feature on smartphones in their daily lives quite frequently. They however hardly use the FM feature (that some smartphones have). Nobody added flashlights to smartphones for emergency purposes. Heck nobody even added them to have flashlight functionality. 'Flashlights' got added to smartphones to take pictures in low light situations. It even took a while for the flashlight feature being added to the OS despite the hardware being there already.
Is that a serious question? Are you under the assumption that the government doesn't already impose regulations on mobile phones?
Yeah, it is quite possible that the antenna effectively renders this whole discussion moot (can smartphones with FM radio use a USB charging cable as an antenna?).
There is a huge difference between a flashlight and an emergency communications channel.
It came as a freebee with the cellular radio chip bought from Qualcomm. Think of it like LTE bands not in use in a particular country, yet the phones sold in this country still support them.
We already have too many government regulations, especially when consumers can make Apple do this.
Apple is hyper politically correct. What does that mean, it means that all we need to get it done is for the minority and LGBT communities to think its a good idea and it will happen. We need to expose the lack of safety in Apple devices without radio for situation like Puerto Rico, Florida, and Texas hurricanes. What is the one thing that people take with them when an emergency arises. Its the phone. This means that Apple has a higher responsibility for a phone then they did for an iPod. Lets make this a national issue and keep the government out of it.
No I understand they do I’m asking in this particular situation I don’t think the FCC needs to force Apple