I have noticed that Apple has the capability for FM radio in the chipset of their phones including my dinosaur.
I noticed some comment in the iOS 7 manual that this was available, but I see no such app on any screen?
The manual claims FM radio, so I assume the antenna is going to be the headphones as there is no other antenna that I can see inside the handset.
I am referring over the air broadcast, not internet streaming
iPhone 4, iOS 7.1.2
According to Wired magazine (and others), the feature is the Qualcom chipset used by iPhones and that enables FM reception is switched off (by Apple).
My Moto-G phone using Android is able to receive FM (with the headphone wire as antennae). But all one can do with IOS is download streaming audio - not over the air FM signals.
I am somewhat surprised that Apple is so retro on this matter.
BTW, at least some iPods can receive FM over the air signals, so it's not a programming issue...
Seems that when I looked with Google, the competitor Android phones seems to work OK with an app. Why does Apple have to be so arrogant against broadcast radio?
That's not a tuner; it's an app to receive the Internet streams of FM stations that have them. Nothing wrong with it; the audio quality is much better than you can get from FM over the air. But it doesn't use the FM capability of the RF chip in the phone.
The android phones that work with an app work the same way as the iPhone apps; they receive streams over the Internet from the FM stations that provide them. It's how I listen to FM on my iPhone. It has a huge advantage over "real" FM - I can listen to an FM station anywhere in the world. Not just within 20 miles of the transmitter. If I'm driving cross country I can listen to the same station all day, not just for the 15 minutes I'm in range of the transmitter.
The RF chip can receive FM signals, but only if they get to the chip. To do that it needs an FM antenna connection and an antenna. There is no connection to the antenna input to the chip in an iPhone, and no connection to the FM tuner connections and FM display connections in the chip. So without a total redesign of the iPhone there is no way to make the FM tuner work. In addition, an FM antenna is 30 inches long, so portable FM radios use the headset cord. It won't work with a Bluetooth headset.
Considering that you can buy a wired headset that has a built in FM radio for about $10, what's the big deal?
I have an old Sony Clock Radio with dual alarms, AM, FM1 and FM2 and it has a 30-pin dock for Apple. This clock radio stops working when the power dies. I have a much older CD/Cassette ghetto blaster that can use batteries or the wall plug. This is par for at home.
The phone is mobile so in the field I have iTunes and I have some apps. Phone is too small for reading iBooks easily. iBooks makes more sense with the iPad etc.
FM Radio
