iPhones lack FM radio function for emergency situations

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Apple has just revealed today that its flagship product, the iPhone, can't receive an FM radio signal.

The FM radio can be useful when disasters like hurricanes bring phone signals down - just like Harvey, Irma and Maria did this year to the US and the Caribbean.

The US government has been persuading Apple to activate the FM radio function in iPhones, and in their latest effort, the chairman of Federal Communication Committee (FCC), Ajit Pai, issued a statement on September 28 urging the company to do so.

The FCC statement urging Apple to provide FM radio functionality /Screenshot from FCC

"It is time for Apple to step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first," Pai said in the statement. "As the Sun Sentinel of South Florida put it, 'Do the right thing, Mr. Cook. Flip the switch. Lives depend on it,'"

Unfortunately, Apple responded that "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."

In the response, the smartphone giant provided the two "modern safety solutions" it engineered to address the issue: Emergency dial on the lock screen, and government emergency notifications, but neither work without a cellphone signal.

Older iPhones have FM chips inside, thanks to Apple's chip provider Broadcom, but the chips don't function properly due to improper connections. This might be the reason why no apps on Apple's App Store provide FM radio function – all of them only support streaming audio through cellphone networks or WiFi connections.

The FM chips can be found in most Android smartphones. Brands supporting this feature ranges from Apple's biggest rival Samsung to Chinese companies like Lenovo.

More than a hundred Android smartphones can use the NextRadio app to listen to FM radio in the US without network connection. /Screenshot from NextRadio

Users can plug a headphone in to act as the radio antenna and enable this feature, but newer iPhones don't even have headphone jack.

Apple has long been considered as an innovative company and has showcased this by removing many popular features from its flagship products, including the headphone jack of iPhone 7, the home button of iPhone X and the USB 3.0 jack of Macbook Pro.

While removing these features can possibly drive people to buy cloud-based services, Apple users may be rendered helpless in extreme situations like a disaster.

Citizens have been suggested to buy a traditional radio device as a backup if your cellphone cannot receive an FM radio signal without a network connection.