NAB Renews Call for Apple to Turn on iPhone FM Capability

Turning on existing FM radio functionality in iPhones would be easy for Apple if it wanted to, NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny blogged Wednesday. He said the company "has specifically chosen" not to offer FM functionality in the iPhone, having disabled the FM chips there, which also blocks app developers from offering FM apps. The company said it removed FM capability from its 7 and 8 series iPhones, but tear-down reports show the iPhone 8 contains a Broadcom 4357 chip family the manufacturer says includes an integrated FM radio core, Matheny said. Citing FM radio use after recent natural disasters, NAB urged the company to activate FM capabilities. At the NAB Show New York Wednesday, CEO Gordon Smith also urged Apple to activate the chips. Both NAB and Chairman Ajit Pai urged the company to activate the chip as a way to promote public safety (see 1709290002). Apple didn't comment.