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why no FM radio for iphone?

T

ThereGoesJB

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 29, 2010
132
1
seems like if they really wanted to they could, so why dont they want to add it?
Also seems like it would be a great way to take some load off 3G, for all the time i just listen to local radio via streaming since i cant get FM signal. Im sure a lot of people do the same.
 
Because why? You have a ton of streaming apps and more likely than not, you can find the station you want on TuneIn or iHeartRadio.

FM radio isn't very elegant for Apple. It has static, it hisses, sometimes you won't be able to find the station you want because the antenna (aka, headphone cable) isn't strong enough, the list goes on. Not to mention they'd like you to buy music from the iTunes store instead of streaming it.
 
Why IN The Name

ThereGoesJB said:
seems like if they really wanted to they could, so why dont they want to add it?
Also seems like it would be a great way to take some load off 3G, for all the time i just listen to local radio via streaming since i cant get FM signal. Im sure a lot of people do the same.
Click to expand...

Of Gods green Earth do you need an FM radio when So many other apps (most free) do far more?

Discuss.....I'm writing, all night. Songs that is.

Try Tunein Radio Pro.
 
I think I'm right in saying that the Broadcom chip in the iPhone does indeed include an FM receiver but Apple have never enabled it. I personally would like to see it used but I doubt it'll ever happen.
 
I'm not going to pretend to know why Apple doesn't include FM radio reception on the iPhones but the arguments commonly thrown about like:
- Use streaming apps lie iHeartReadio. The problem with these apps is that they don't include EVERY station, as a matter of fact only a few are included.
- Use Pandora. FM radio is not for music only. It's for news, sports, talk, etc.
- Apple wants you to buy music. This is the same (invalid) argument used by the music labels in the early days of FM radio. If that were the case, why would Apple allow apps like Pandora?
- Static? Why does Apple allow streaming then? Sometimes streaming has issues with buffering so unless it's perfect Apple shouldn't allow it? That's lame.

What about HD Radio?
 
Why don't they slap an 8 track or cassette player on the phone while they're at it. Seriously, I hate whenever I have to rent a car or ride with a buddy and listen to terrestrial radio. It's all complete crap. With Sirius, Pandora, Spotify, Slacker, etc. why would anyone want onboard FM?
 
HitchHykr said:
I'm not going to pretend to know why Apple doesn't include FM radio reception on the iPhones but the arguments commonly thrown about like:
- Use streaming apps lie iHeartReadio. The problem with these apps is that they don't include EVERY station, as a matter of fact only a few are included.
- Use Pandora. FM radio is not for music only. It's for news, sports, talk, etc.
- Apple wants you to buy music. This is the same (invalid) argument used by the music labels in the early days of FM radio. If that were the case, why would Apple allow apps like Pandora?
- Static? Why does Apple allow streaming then? Sometimes streaming has issues with buffering so unless it's perfect Apple shouldn't allow it? That's lame.

What about HD Radio?
Click to expand...

HD radio is as relevant as HD-DVD. I can see the need for radio for listening to sports broadcasts, but Tune In should cover that.
 
HitchHykr said:
I'm not going to pretend to know why Apple doesn't include FM radio reception on the iPhones but the arguments commonly thrown about like:
- Use streaming apps lie iHeartReadio. The problem with these apps is that they don't include EVERY station, as a matter of fact only a few are included.
- Use Pandora. FM radio is not for music only. It's for news, sports, talk, etc.
- Apple wants you to buy music. This is the same (invalid) argument used by the music labels in the early days of FM radio. If that were the case, why would Apple allow apps like Pandora?
- Static? Why does Apple allow streaming then? Sometimes streaming has issues with buffering so unless it's perfect Apple shouldn't allow it? That's lame.

What about HD Radio?
Click to expand...

TuneIn Radio's library of radio stations is phenomenal, especially in my area. It has all radio stations, ranging from Talk shows to music.

Besides, the need for radio has gone down and a majority of people do not use the radio as much as before when it was introduced in the 1930's. If it was still majorly used, Apple may have implemented radio with a more polished look "so to speak"...

Apple is known for turning away the minority sometimes and this is one of them...
 
SmittS said:
HD radio is as relevant as HD-DVD. I can see the need for radio for listening to sports broadcasts, but Tune In should cover that.
Click to expand...

How so? HD FM is digital where regular old FM is analog so there's no static and fading. Sports broadcasts are blocked out from streaming, so TuneIn Radio is useless for it. BTW, TuneIn Radio lists just about every station but a bunch of them are restricted, not streamed. Take a closer look.
 
ThereGoesJB said:
seems like if they really wanted to they could, so why dont they want to add it?
Also seems like it would be a great way to take some load off 3G, for all the time i just listen to local radio via streaming since i cant get FM signal. Im sure a lot of people do the same.
Click to expand...

No thanks. I didn't buy a smart phone just so I can listen to poor quality over the air analogue radio. If they were able to include a DAB radio then maybe. That said I still rather use 3G or Wi-Fi to listen to digital radio through apps like Tunein or music through apps like Spotify.
 
Tech Elementz said:
Besides, the need for radio has gone down and a majority of people do not use the radio as much as before when it was introduced in the 1930's.

....

Apple is known for turning away the minority sometimes and this is one of them...
Click to expand...

The use of email has gone down too, the younger generation relies more on messaging, and social media for communication instead of emails but no one is advocating that Apple should not include it just because is used less than before.

Tech Elementz said:
....
Apple may have implemented radio with a more polished look "so to speak"...
...
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone is advocating that Apple adds a tune nob to the side of the phone...:)

----------
Mr.C said:
No thanks. I didn't buy a smart phone just so I can listen to poor quality over the air analogue radio. If they were able to include a DAB radio then maybe. That said I still rather use 3G or Wi-Fi to listen to digital radio through apps like Tunein or music through apps like Spotify.
Click to expand...

I don't think Apple would force you to only listen to the FM radio, this is a wild guess but I think you would still be able stream all the music you wanted even if the phone included an FM radio for the people that had different needs from yours.
 
My point was I don't want such unnecessary technology in my phone. Not only would it probably increase the cost it's one more reason for the phone to have problems. If someone wants to listen to bog standard analogue over the air radio they can get a portable radio. My Sony Ericsson MW600 Bluetooth headphone adapter has built in FM radio and I never use it.
 
No, you can't listen to absolutely every radio station in the world through streaming, but it's pretty damn close. And if you're looking to listen to something other than music, you're most likely listening to AM, which is going to be of no help if all you have is an FM receiver. CBS has recently blocked their stations from streaming through 3rd party apps such as TuneIn (stupid move on their part), but you can get them through the Y! Music app or the Radio.com app.
 
rosemary1 said:
No, you can't listen to absolutely every radio station in the world through streaming, but it's pretty damn close. And if you're looking to listen to something other than music, you're most likely listening to AM, which is going to be of no help if all you have is an FM receiver. CBS has recently blocked their stations from streaming through 3rd party apps such as TuneIn (stupid move on their part), but you can get them through the Y! Music app or the Radio.com app.
Click to expand...

I'd say you can stream less than half of the world's radio stations, and that's being generous.

But in any case, arguing about FM radio reception on the iPhone is like arguing religion, even Apple committed blasphemy by including this "obsolete" technology on the iPod nano thus making it "dirty" and increasing its cost by about 2¢.
 
If an FM radio was a big deal to portable music players, the Microsoft Zune would have taken off. The reality is, terrestrial radio is not a big deal to most consumers with all of the other music and apps available to listen to music. Apple made a good decision not to include an FM antenna as it would surely degrade battery life further.
 
The only time I want FM in my iPhone is at the gym, where the TVs are on mute, and the sound is rebroadcast in the immediate area on FM.
 
brand said:
Source?
Click to expand...

Not sure about the 4 and 4S but:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...oneipod-touch-an-easy-bone-to-throw-users.ars


The iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and second-gen iPod touch all use a Broadcom BCM4325 radio chip that combines low-power WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM capabilities. The newest iPod touches use the newer Broadcom BCM4329, which also has FM receiving. The original iPhone and iPod touch used chips from Marvell for WiFi, and the iPhone had a separate chip for Bluetooth, so those devices wouldn't work with an FM tuner app.
 
AdeFowler said:
Not sure about the 4 and 4S but:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...oneipod-touch-an-easy-bone-to-throw-users.ars


The iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and second-gen iPod touch all use a Broadcom BCM4325 radio chip that combines low-power WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM capabilities. The newest iPod touches use the newer Broadcom BCM4329, which also has FM receiving. The original iPhone and iPod touch used chips from Marvell for WiFi, and the iPhone had a separate chip for Bluetooth, so those devices wouldn't work with an FM tuner app.
Click to expand...

Thats news to me, thanks for the link. I knew that the iPod Nano has a FM receiver but didn't know that some of the iOS devices have a chipset with FM functionality.
 
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