Apple, Pai And FM Radio Chips

FCC chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday issued a public statement requesting that Apple activate the disabled FM radio chips within its iPhones.

According to ARSTehcnica, Pai made his appeal in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which have wreaked havoc on communities across the US and beyond in recent weeks. The FCC chief framed the activation of the FM radio chip as a boon to public safety, since FM radio signals are generally easier to receive in times of emergency when compared to Internet-based services provided over a cellular network.

Ajit Pai

Though it may not be obvious at first blush, most smartphones have the ability to stream local FM radio stations directly. Chipmakers like Qualcomm and Intel have long baked FM radio tuners into the chips that enable Wi-Fi connectivity in various handsets.

But many smartphone manufacturers and mobile carriers have either disabled or not utilized that function. Part of that, critics say, is because having a free alternative may discourage customers from using and thus paying for services that demand mobile data.

In recent years, however, manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Motorola, and HTC have started selling more handsets with the FM tuner enabled, while the four major carriers have provided some level of support. The whole thing is still far from ubiquitous—many higher-end phones still do not allow the functionality, and Verizon generally doesn’t support as many FM-enabled devices as its peers—but there’s been some change.

Apple has responded to Pai's call for the company to enable FM radio chips in its devices. In an emailed statement, the company downplayed the need for FM radio broadcasts in times of emergency, and said its iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 devices have neither the chips nor the antennas necessary to allow FM radio reception in the first place. Here's the full statement:

"Apple cares deeply about the safety of our users, especially during times of crisis and that’s why we have engineered modern safety solutions into our products. Users can dial emergency services and access Medical ID card information directly from the Lock Screen, and we enable government emergency notifications, ranging from Weather Advisories to AMBER alerts. iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products."