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FCC Chair and Others Call on Apple to “Activate FM Chip” in iPhones (Sep 28, 2017)

FCC Chair Ajit Pai has called for Apple to “activate the FM chip” built into at least some iPhones as a way to help with disaster relief in places hit by recent natural disasters. Others have also made similar calls over the last couple of years, including industry groups with obvious interests in Apple doing so, such as the National Association of Broadcasters. But of course to suggests that this is as simple a matter as activating a chip in a device is to ignore the fact that without some kind of app to tune the radio, it would be useless. So in fact Apple would need to create an SDK for developers to use to create apps, it would need to release an iOS version that incorporated the new functionality and turned on the FM radio functionality, app developers would need to create apps using the SDK, and then Apple would need to approve those apps to be distributed through the App Store. So this is a far from simple process, and not one that could be implemented overnight. It’s also unclear whether FM radios are actually in all iPhones, given that Apple recently switched some of its modems to Intel. The idea that FM radios in existing devices should simply be switched on is obviously an appealing one, especially in a place like Puerto Rico where communication infrastructure is currently in poor shape following the hurricane, but the practicalities of trying to force such a solution in the short term seem unfeasible. The broader issue of whether Apple should enable such uses in general rather than in response to a particular current situation is rather different – Apple has never said why it won’t do so, and I’ve never heard a good reason why it shouldn’t, but that is very different from suggesting there’s some sort of immediate fix to the current problem.

Also worth reading: this piece from PC Mag’s Sascha Segan, which talks about one potential hurdle, which is that FM radio functions in phones typically require wired headphones, something Apple is moving away from in its newer iPhones.

Update: Apple has now issued a formal comment, which among other things says that its newer iPhones (the 7 and 8 models) don’t even have FM radios to turn on, making much of this moot.

via Bloomberg